How ZOMATO uses the Hooked model
Have you ever wondered what makes you go back to the Zomato app without your conscious thought, which then makes you order food repeatedly? Here is a study about the Hooked Model responsible for it and a clear explanation of how Zomato is leveraging the ideology to become the best food delivery app in India.
About: Zomato is an Indian multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company that provides information, menus, user reviews of restaurants, and food delivery options from partner restaurants in select cities.
I am hooked! Let us first get to know about the Hooked Model. It is a four-step process built on the basic principles of behavioral psychology that can be used to create habit-forming apps. It starts with the ‘Trigger phase’ where the external triggers act as cues and the internal triggers connected to the user’s emotions persuade them to perform the intended action. Then comes the ‘Action’, which is made as simple as possible so that the user is motivated enough to look forward to what’s coming next in the ‘Reward phase.’ These variable rewards make sure that the users get what they came for and further, have the ability to create a craving for more. But what actually makes the user come back to the product is the sense of ‘Investment’ in various forms, which results in them valuing the product even more. The more users follow this cycle, the more likely they are to form habits.
Stay Invested Now let us see how Zomato has seamlessly integrated the ‘Investment phase’ of the Hooked Model as a pathway to their success. There are multiple ways in which the investment can be made from the user end and Zomato just clicks them all :
Content: Users have an option to like or save their favorite restaurants and even share them with their friends/family over other apps. This provides a two-way advantage. For one, this gives users a sense of investment since they’re putting in the effort to like and have a favorites list, which they can retrieve whenever they want by just opening the app. It also provides Zomato with a deep understanding of the users and their preferences. The stored data is used to enhance the user experience and offer suggestions in accordance with their previous activity.
In addition, multiple restaurant owners are attracted to host their businesses on the app to have a better reach. More the restaurants on the app, the more users will start using it and vice-versa. This acts constructively with users, owners and Zomato as well.
Data: Few personal information of the users is collected, including access to the user’s current location. Zomato uses this to personalize the experience based on their surroundings. For example, if the user is traveling or at a new location, this data is used to suggest the best place around as a notification or even to run ads with respect to it.
Also, users who have taken the ‘Zomato Pro’ membership get additional discounts and multiple offers. This is a unique capital investment that binds the users. The app also has a section to display how much the user has saved with a Pro membership. So the more the users feel that they’re saving, the more they look forward to exploring, spending and eating with the Pro membership.
Followers: Once users share a place with their close ones, they’re bound to open the app and view the restaurant. This is a strong driving factor in bringing in new users to the app reducing the Viral Time Cycle by a considerable factor. As a result of repeated shares, users go through rationalization and are persuaded to join the crowd and use the app.
Reputation: Zomato uses a rating-based system to review a restaurant and sort them accordingly. So having a good reputation becomes an important factor for owners to grow their businesses. The ratings provided by users give a sense of stored value which increases the quality of the service. So the higher the rating, the more people visit, the better the business and of course, higher user engagement on the app.
Conclusion: Zomato has entirely revolutionized the functioning of the food and restaurant business. It has provided one of the best food delivery options to its users and the pandemic is live proof, resulting in a 105% increase in the company’s revenue. No doubt that it has used the Hooked model most appropriately by providing the right solution at the right time.
References :
- Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
- https://srinivaspublication.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/2.-Impact-of-COVID-19- Pandemic-on-Zomato-A-Case-Study_Fullpaper.pdf
- https://loyverse.com/blog/best-online-ordering-delivery-services-for-small-and-mediumbusinesses
- https://dribbble.com/shots/10625840-Zomato-app
