ON-DEMAND CARWASH
A mixed-method research engagement for CAFU, a UAE mobile fuel and car services app. The brief was to understand why the newly launched car wash service was underperforming on adoption and retention, and to identify what was driving users to drop off. Pure research project, qualitative followed by quantitative.
/// CAFU had launched on-demand car wash through its app, expecting it to mirror the success of its core fuel delivery service. Adoption stayed low compared to fuel, and first-time users weren't returning. The product team needed to understand whether the issue was positioning, pricing, service quality, or something deeper in user behaviour before deciding where to invest next.
/// The service was new enough that CAFU didn't yet have rich behavioural data to analyse internally. Existing personas were based on the fuel business and didn't transfer to car wash. There was also a question of whether the comparison to fuel even made sense, the two services have different purchase frequencies, different decision triggers, and different competitive sets. The research had to surface user behaviour without assuming the original framing was correct.
/// Started with desk research on the competitive landscape and Voice of Customer analysis from existing reviews. Examined the conversion funnel to locate where users were dropping off. Designed and ran a qualitative phase: contextual inquiries at petrol stations and stand-alone car washes, then focus groups with both non-CAFU customers and CAFU users (mix of frequent and churned). Used thematic analysis to interpret the data, then formulated hypotheses about behaviour and motivation. Ran a quantitative survey with 250 respondents to test the hypotheses at scale. Integrated qualitative and quantitative findings into two behavioural personas, then compared CAFU's value proposition against what each persona actually needed.
/// Two behavioural personas grounded in mixed-method data. A comparative analysis showing where CAFU's value proposition aligned with user needs and where it diverged, with specific gaps explaining the adoption and retention shortfalls. Findings delivered to the client through a presentation deck and overview session, informing their next round of product decisions on car wash strategy.
