Tiger Trek Choicemart
Client: Specialist Apps and Taronga Zoo
Year: 2017
This research helps to turn visitors into activists. Dr Toni Roberts contributed to the success of the Choicemart Supermarket kiosk experience within the precinct by undertaking user testing of this digital interactive which led to significant improvements in its design.
The Choicemart supermarket is part of Taronga Zoo’s New Tiger Trek precinct, which has just taken out Interpretation Australia’s top award for projects over $150,000.
At around $17m, this is a huge project in scale and ambition. The aim of the kiosk is to raise visitor awareness of the impacts of palm oil plantations on the Sumatran Tiger’s habitat. Sustainably produced palm oil has a much lower environmental impact.
Visitors engage with the supermarket kiosk which displays real products in a virtual context. As visitors shop, they find out the sustainability rating of the product and are invited to email the company that produces it to either congratulate them for using sustainable palm oil or to encourage them to do so.
Roberts’ research identified the barriers to visitors engaging with the interactive display and factors that limited the length of time they participated in the activity. The research led to improvements that increased the level of understanding, engagement and number of emails sent.
In the 12 months that the precinct has been open, visitors have sent over 66,000 emails to suppliers of everyday consumer items. This element of the Tiger Trek precinct not only raises consumer awareness, but also turns visitors into activists.
