Unlocking Customer Segments Using Hardware Accessories

Abstract: This report aims to describe the process for the master thesis within product development done by the authors during the spring of 2017 at KTH and iZettle, Stockholm. iZettle is financial technology company founded in Stockholm in 2010. In 2011 they released their first card reader terminal which, in combination with a mobile application, allowed small businesses to receive payments by card.   The background for the project is that iZettle has identified customer segments that are not fully explored or satisfied by their current products. The card reader is today formed in a universal way that fits many different customer segments, but there is a lack of specialization that would benefit or unlock certain segments.   The goal of the project was to identify segments that could benefit from a hardware accessory and to develop a solution/product to any of these problems.   The development process implemented a user-centered approach and was carried out in three main phases, starting with a research phase focusing on understanding the problems by observing and interviewing potential users. This was followed by a concept development phase to diverge and explored a variety of possible solutions. The last phase, final concept development, converged into one concept that was further developed. The development phases made use of methodologies such as brainstorming, morphological matrix, sketching, CADmodelling and high- and low-fidelity prototyping.   Three scenarios; taxi, food truck and counter, were found to have most potential benefits from an accessory combined with also being feasible for concept development within the scope of the project. Later in the process, the three scenarios were narrowed down to focus on the taxi scenario also due to the potential array of options, feasibility of a hardware solution as well as the market potential.   The final concept is called the iZettle Dock Lite and is meant to fulfill the needs of a taxi driver by providing a mount that charges the reader and gives it a professional appearance in the car. An additional mounting device is the mounting stands that allows for placing the holder on a table or attach it to a wall, opening up for other use cases, such as food truck or restaurant.