Citi Shop
Launching Citi’s first shopping browser extension in a crowded, high-trust market
Senior Product Designer
12 months
Jan 2023 — Jan 2024
Design, Product, Engineering, Research, Business, Marketing
Legal, Compliance
Overview
Launching Citi’s first shopping browser extension in a crowded market
Citi Shop was Citi’s first browser extension for online shopping — helping eligible Citi customers discover savings, activate shopping benefits, and understand rewards while they shop.
I led design across extension UI, desktop/mobile enrollment, iOS Safari onboarding, earnings dashboard, and a local design system.
100K+
Enrollments in less than 6 months
$13M+
Incremental shopping revenue
5,000+
Participating online merchants
The Problem
Customers already had shopping extensions—Citi needed a reason to matter
Citi Shop was entering a market where customers already had Honey, Rakuten, and Capital One Shopping.
The question wasn’t just: can we build a shopping extension?
It was: why should Citi Shop exist — and why would customers choose it?
Citi also had an added constraint: customers needed an eligible Citi card relationship. That meant the experience had to make the value feel clear enough to overcome setup friction.
The Solution
Design the experience around Citi’s relationship with the customer
Rather than positioning Citi Shop as another savings extension, we treated it as a natural extension of the customer’s Citi relationship.
Every interaction—from enrollment through rewards—needed to reinforce a simple idea:
Your Citi card is already working for you while you shop.
That product strategy shaped the entire experience.
Design Decision 01
Reframed Citi Shop from generic savings to card-connected value
Early messaging made Citi Shop feel interchangeable with every other shopping extension.
Instead of emphasizing generic savings, I repositioned the product around card-connected value.
Before: “Shop and save.”
After: “Your Citi card benefits, working while you shop.”
This subtle shift helped differentiate Citi Shop from coupon-first competitors while reinforcing trust through Citi’s existing customer relationship.
| Feature | Citi Shop | Capital One | Honey | Rakuten |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic coupon apply | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price comparison / deal discovery | –No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price-drop alerts / tracking | –No | Yes | Yes | –No |
| iOS Safari support | Yes | –No | –No | Yes |
| Card-linked value | Yes | –No | –No | –No |
| Ecosystem advantages | Yes | –No | –No | –No |
Design Decision 02
Made the extension feel like a perk, not a pop-up
If the experience is too loud, users disable it. If it is too quiet, users forget it exists.
The design principle became: right place, right time.
The extension needed to appear when it had something meaningful to offer — during deal discovery, coupon application, rewards eligibility, or checkout — without interrupting the shopping flow.
Design Decision 03
Treat mobile as a primary activation experience
MVP thinking started desktop-first, but early behavior showed that mobile enrollment and activation were stronger than expected.
I pushed the team to treat mobile as a primary activation path, not a secondary adaptation.
Mobile path:
Open Citi app → choose eligible card → accept terms → continue to Safari extension setup
Using Citi’s authenticated app context helped reduce friction and made the experience feel more trusted.
Design Decision 04
Simplified iOS Safari setup to make activation feel achievable
iOS Safari setup was one of the highest-friction parts of the experience.
Rather than debate preferences, I pushed to test both versions. Users preferred the simpler flow because it was easier to scan, easier to follow, and better matched mobile behavior.
⚠️ v01: 6 steps + separate visuals
✅ v02: 4 steps + one looping GIF
Design Decision 05
Help customers understand the value they’ve earned
Citi Shop’s value was layered and consisted of Citi card rewards, Citi Shop statement credits, and merchant offers.
The dashboard needed to answer: Did it work? What did I earn? What happens next?
I designed the earnings experience to help customers connect their shopping activity back to visible Citi value.
Impact
The launch proved there was room for a Citi-first shopping experience
Citi Shop successfully launched nationwide across desktop and mobile, creating a new shopping experience for eligible Citi cardholders.
The product generated measurable business impact while improving onboarding clarity, activation, rewards education, and cross-platform consistency.
🛍️ $13M+ incremental shopping revenue
🎉 100K+ enrollments
💙 5,000+ participating merchants
Beyond the metrics, the project established a scalable design foundation that continued supporting future product growth.
Reflections
Looking back, there are several opportunities I’d prioritize next
Clarify the value earlier
Make Citi’s differentiated value more obvious before enrollment.
Educate around rewards stacking
Help customers better understand how card rewards, statement credits, and merchant offers work together.
Track the full funnel
Improve visibility from enroll → activate → earn.
Create stronger reward moments
Make “you earned this” moments feel more satisfying and memorable.
“You are the reason Citi Shop will launch successfully. Your hard work, dedication, and commitment to pushing the status quo has been impressive and extremely appreciated. Thank you for tackling the ambiguity of an entirely new program and creating boundary-breaking solutions that are guaranteed to impress our clients and deepen their engagement with Citi.”
Harris Robinowich
Senior Vice President, Head of UX & Service Design @ Citi
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