Rotten Tomatoes Mobile App
Visits lasted under five seconds. The app was our attempt to change that.
The problem and the solution
Problem. People used Rotten Tomatoes as a data point: check the score, then leave. That’s hard for a business that earns from time spent. On the website, an overview page visit averaged under 5 seconds and about 1.2 pages. The app, built from scratch, was meant to give people a reason to stay.
Solution. A social feed for home, a Discover page for browsing, and scores that link straight into reviews.
Business impact
The app turned a check-and-leave audience into an owned channel, reaching about 1 million installs. That matters because we monetize attention: at web’s 1.2 pages per visit and 1.5 ad impressions per page, each visit from the install base is worth roughly 1.8 million impressions. Deepening sessions to 1.4 pages would lift that to 2.1 million, +300,000 impressions (about 17%) on every visit cycle, with no added acquisition cost.
Role
UI Designer
Team
4 designers (2 UX, 2 UI)
Duration
About 9 months
Platform
Net-new iOS app
Key decisions
1. Home is a feed, not a search box
Most old-site visits were check-and-leave, so home became a social feed and search became Discover, a page to browse.
2. Built around why people came
People arrived to check a score, look up cast and crew, or track what they’d seen. Scores became tappable links into reviews, and the header collapses to a thin bar as you scroll.
3. Registration required
A requirement is easier to loosen than to add, so I argued for starting strict. The splash screen leads with posters.
4. Reviews bring people back
Rating comes first, and reviews are visible to other users, which we hoped would make the app feel like a place.
What I’d change
Discover. It asks you to pick a release window before you know your mood; I’d lead with real categories.