Since I personally often use apps when camping, I wondered if other people have difficulties using these apps as well. For this reason, I decided to start a UX case study to find out how other campers interact.
What do I want to create?
A camping app that meets all user requirements, but at the same time is not cluttered. It has to be easy to use and reduce time wasting, of course. With this app you should make it possible to enjoy your vacation and not search for camp sites for hours.
My Mission:
Finding users’ need when searching for a place for overnights.
Dec 22 - Feb 23
Time consuming.
Sometimes it takes quite a long time to search for a lovely spot with good reviews and all the required equipment.
Money & availability.
There are only very expensive camps shown und you do not know whether they are even open.
Social network.
You want to plan a trip with friends and share all the information about the route details.
First of all, it is very interesting to conduct research about how many people are going for a campingtrip in Germany.
How many people do camping - and is the trend increasing or decreasing?
To get a feeling who likes camping: It is most popular for young adults (30%), families (27%) and singles (23%). Motorhome owners stay on 47% on campsites, 25% on parking places, 15% freeparking and 6% on farms.
The most important additonal services for campers are:
All these facts considered, I decided to start with a survey based on these topics. Statista shows that there is a large market in Germany. Nearly half of all campers like spending overnights at different places - as a result, they need to search often for new places to stay. The most important additional services shown above give hints what is important for users and what should be asked in the survey more detailed.
When doing research about Camping, I found a lot of apps. It is always quite interesting to take a look at the competition and find out which features are on the market, where all apps are the same, or where they differ.
I picked a colorful mix of apps - as heterogeneous as possible - and did an extensive analysis. This helped me to find out which features are common.
Conclusion:
The competitor analysis helped me to concentrate on certain features. It gave me a lot of hints, to ask whether users might be interested in routes or social interactions.
52 people participated in my user survey. It had 17 questions about camping habits, app usage and social demography. I created it on Google Forms, based on the findings of the desk research and competitor analysis.
SUMMARY:
78% of all participants in the survey go camping approx. 5 times a year or more. 34% always do camping when they have time. And in total 76% use Camping Apps on holiday. People who did not use it have given as a reason that they want to be alone.
For users of an app are most important: reviews, photos, filters, favorites, private camping options, offline maps and inspirations. Some new features would also be interesting, like the type of camper and a rain radar. Further I asked about the recommendation usage and almost 46% of all people have already used the inspirations.
Preferred places to stay:
50% for free
20% campsites
17% private camping
The most important equipment is sanitary, draining, water refill and electricity.
For quality time, I found out, that the following characteristics of a spot do matter: sport / hiking, public transport, restaurants, city nearby and shopping possibilities.
The new feature I asked for was the possibility to share a route with photos with friends. 50% replied that they would use such a feature. Due to the fact that I did not found something like this in the competitor apps, I would have a try.
65% of participants do have a Campervan and 11% a Camper - they love the flexibility (52%) and the nature (44%).
loves the flexibility of camping and enjoys the nature, whenever he has time to travel. Often he is using free of charge spots, but private spots/camping sites are an option as well. For his next trip he really wants good recommendations and reviews from the community.
Interests
sports, hiking, city trips
Needs
sanitary, draining, water refill
Motivations
loves free spots to be in the nature
Pain points
Hard core camper
If the app is simple and clear the users just find what they are searching for.
Rain radar and recommendations can help users to find a beautiful place when they are undecided.
An option to share the route with friends can increase the app usage.
Some individual options like submitting the campervan size will make it easier to find suitable places.
I started with some scribbles on paper and then created some wireframes in Figma.
For me this is a perfect way to get first impressions how the elements could look like while considering the user survey results. The search function should be easy, simple and fast to use - it is one of the ost important. Further should be recommendations, a rain radar, a shared route and the van size option be implemented.
Summarize the survey results and turn them into wireframes: Ratings, photos, filters as well as private camping options, camper type selection and inspirations are important features to include in the wireframes. Offline map and rain radar are included in the menu, not as prominent, but still present.
Based on the survey results, I developed many filtering options.
Users wanted the ability to search based on their needs. These filter options include: open, free, private, and also certain amenities such as sanitation, drainage, water replenishment, and electricity, as well as the location of the site and its features such as sports, public transportation, city, or shopping.
When searching for a site, all campsites are displayed, which you can then sort by distance (ascending/descending), price (ascending/descending), and ratings (ascending).
Let the user choose the van size to get better recommendations; it is possible to find campsites for your specific needs (tent, car, van,..).
The app displays some recommendations to inspire vanlifers where to go.
You can mark them as favorites and then see at a glance if it's open and how much it costs
The saved favorites can be shared with friends. Routes can be documented. 50% of respondents said they would use such a feature. So try it out.
There is a direct contact button on the details page, the location is shown accurately, the address is there and the amenities, photos and ratings.
Badges could help to see if the site is free and open.
In the wireframes I added some new features, but yes, it needs to be tested again if they are used or not by vanlifers! Overall, I've tried to keep the app fairly simple. I hope it's still not too cluttered.
As a UX Researcher & Designer, it is natural for me, that every feature or design must be tested. For my case study I would recommend to start a usability test to get real user feedback for the wireframes. Maybe there need to be done some adaptions to fulfill the users’ needs completely. For me, it is quite important to do some retesting after finishing a design. Because this user feedback helps to improve.
As sustainability gets more and more important in our society it could be the next step to provide a label for ecological camping sites. Statista data give a hint that there might be a market for camping that leaves a small climate footprint - I would start a small survey about this topic.
