Frictionless suburb selection that reduced waste & boosted conversions

Converted 20% of the target audience, throught the dynamic suburb selection while reducing operational waste

Timeline

Nov 15, 2025 - Dez 01, 2025

Company

Marley Spoon Group

Brands

Marley Spoon, Dinnerly

Devices

Web app, mobile app

Role

Product design, UI design

Challenge

Australia’s vast postcodes—often spanning 150–300 km—presented a challenge. These areas mix low-density regions (fewer than 2,000 people) with high-density hubs (over 30,000 people). Compounding this issue, legacy systems couldn’t categorize suburbs within postcodes, blocking access to vendor-deliverable areas and creating operational waste from undeliverable orders.

td;dr

Customers in accessible zones were
.
blocked, while operational waste accumulated
from undeliverable orders.

Design hypothesis

By integrating suburb selection into the zip code entry flow, we could expand serviceability while maintaining conversion rates

Seamless entry

To minimize friction, we introduced a dynamic modal triggered after zip code and email entry, ensuring users only encounter the suburb step if their postcode contains multiple deliverable suburbs. The modal loads instantly, mirroring native app behavior for a familiar, seamless experience.

Risk mitigation

To safeguard the user experience, we implemented progressive disclosure—surfacing suburb selection only when needed (e.g., auto-redirecting single-suburb zip code to the next step). Clear upfront messaging like “Unlisted suburbs are outside our delivery area” managed expectations and reduced frustration. Finally, non-linear flexibility let users revise their suburb choice without restarting the flow, leveraging modal patterns to maximize usability.

Impact

Seamless suburbs, stronger results: expanding reach and boosting conversions without compromise

By integrating the dynamic suburbs selection, we directly addressed the core challenge of navigating Australia's complex zip code geography, unlocking previously inaccesssible customer and reducing operational waste.

20%

Conversion rate

Within the multi-suburbs zip codes, turning previously blocked, high-potentional area into source of growth

16%

Dismissal rate

Indicates strong user progression. This may represents customers unable to find their suburbs

1%

Funnel drop-off

Seamless integration, with no harm or negative impact on the overall customer journey

Metrics are anonymized for compliance. Results reflect relative improvements post-launch.

Team and credits

The success of the project is also the success of the team

Project Manager

Peter Bustin

Frontend Engineer

Elise Dujardin

Quality

Franziska Lantermann, Dragos Apostol

Staff Product designer

Chiara Contrino

Engineer Manager

Thiago Camargo