Apple Free Trial Bundle
A service banner that helps users make informed purchase decisions while strengthening business partnerships.
My role
Me, the designer
Team
Product team x1, Business team x2, & Engineering team x2;
Duration
4 weeks
Due to project NDA, selected works only. Please reach out for more content, I would love to tell you more about the behind-the-scenes story.
Project Background
Apple’s proposal
Apple's business team sought to expand service reach by offering free trials for Apple Music, Apple News, Apple Books, TV+, and more to everyday consumers via Walmart's eCommerce platform.
They proposed banner ads on search result pages as key entry points to broaden adoption beyond Apple's ecosystem, setting the stage for the collaboration.
Project Background
Walmart’s opportunity
Boost product value & attract new customers.
Strengthen long-term Apple partnership and align with broader plan.
Project Background
Walmart’s opportunity
Provides upfront free trial info for informed, confident decisions.
Provides upfront free trial info for informed, confident decisions
Project Background
Problem, goal, & metrics
🚨 Problem
Lack of entry points
Missing offer redemption opportunities
🎯 Project goal
Design a banner with a clear message
Provide an entry point to allow users to redeem the offer
Research & Discovery
Design pattern
To achieve that goal, I first started with understanding the the pattern to ensure a positive user engagement with the content and service.
Problem
0.017% clickthrough rate
Lack of trust with customer
Problem
0.017% clickthrough rate
Lack of trust with customer
Research & Discovery
Sustainable & scalable design
I collaborated with our engineering team to craft a scalable message structure using Apple’s API. We started with an actionable verb like “Get,” followed by the promoted service and a dynamic indicator for single or multiple offers—ensuring flexibility to support Apple’s evolving business plans for service promotions.
Design Exploration
Banner design explorations
To achieve that goal, I first started with understanding the the pattern to ensure a positive user engagement with the content and service.
Option #1
A text-led banner following the same pattern as the Affirm service.
#1 Detail msg
Option #2
Tried out an icon-led banner message to better align with user browsing intent.
#2 Concise msg
Option #3
I worked with the content designer to refine option #2 by adjusting the banner message and adding the exact dollar value for the free month trial.
#3 Msg + $
Research & Discovery
V1.0 design
During my design process for V1.0, I expanded the banners to the entire journey, including cart and checkout, to maintain consistency.
I also introduced post-purchase entry points in thank-you pages, emails, and claim pages, creating a cohesive flow that aligned expectations and simplified redemption for Sara.
Research & Discovery
Apple’s feedback
✅ Apple made complimented the sustainable designs for banners, detail pages, and claim flows.
❌ However, they flagged two core issues.
1st, the dollar values as a legal risk due to varying state taxes, which could mislead users on exact savings,
2nd, the copy-paste icons for redeem codes, citing rising scam risks from promo code fraud. Apple's data showed increasing abuse cases, leading to code deactivations.
🌈 Optimal Solution
Final design
Multi-offers Scenario
The item page banner will lead Emilia to a multi-offer list, ensuring she doesn’t miss out on anything.
Post-checkout
Email communication serves as the main channel to guide Emilia in claiming the offer.
Search Result &
Item Page
Apple’s service icon-led design effectively aligns with Emilia’s intent.
🌈 Impact & Outcome
Achieved 50% higher click through rate
Although the product launched after I left Walmart, I followed up with my PM regarding performance and data. The banner design received significant improvement and showed great engagement with users:
Approximately 50% higher clickthrough rate and conversion rate.
Additional internal data indicates that more users are willing to engage with products that highlight free trial benefits on search results.
