Allstate Trade-In
A mobile-first portal for trading in electronics, rebuilt from a shelved desktop draft into thirteen screens.
Context
A trade-in portal that had been shelved for years.
Allstate Protection Plans, which is also SquareTrade, wanted a portal where people could trade in used electronics. They already had a desktop draft, but it had been shelved for years and did not work well.
I joined through Avenue Code as a consultant product designer and worked day to day with the Product Owner and the technology team.
Challenge
One flow. Six device categories. Several retail partners.
The old draft had to become a mobile-first product. Phones, tablets, smartwatches, laptops, gaming and other devices all had to fit the same path.
The brief was to remove as much friction as possible while keeping every piece of information the trade-in needed.
Process
Understand it, then take things away.
Most of the work was deciding what the flow did not need. Each step below came before any final screen.
- AuditWhat existed
Went through the draft and the material left behind.
- ResearchPersona and benchmark
Built a persona, mapped the user flow and compared similar services.
- AlignStakeholders
Presented a version and refined it with the Product Owner and technology.
- ReduceMinimal, still complete
Removed information until the flow was as clear and short as it could be.
The flow
A selection from the final flow, partner-branded version, from the original Figma file. Each screen shows what fits on the phone.
Key decision
Every step asks one thing.
The flow came down to 13 screens. Device condition is three plain levels, each explained in one sentence, so nobody has to guess what “good” means.
I also designed a progress bar study: five named steps had to fit a small screen and still show where you are.
The phone on the left is a working recreation of the condition step, in the product’s own interface.
Edge states
When the answer is not the happy path.
The flow also covers a device you cannot find, a device in poor condition, a zero value, a financed device that cannot be traded, and help for finding the IMEI number.
Get paid first
The gift card before the device.
Instead of charging the card, the person authorizes a temporary hold equal to the offer. The gift card arrives right after the order, before the device is sent.
The screen had to make that feel safe, so it says plainly that the hold is not a charge and when it is released. The awards later praised this same model.
Outcome
From shelved draft to a platform sold to retailers.
The new flow shortened the time it takes to start the service. I don’t have measured numbers, so I’m not stating any.
It became Allstate Protection Plans’ white-label trade-in product. In June 2025 it launched in Canada as Staples Trade-in by Allstate: people answer a few questions, get an instant quote and receive a Staples e-gift card, then drop the device at a store or ship it with a prepaid label.
- TITAN Sustainability Awards 2026, winner, Waste Reduction, Reuse & Recycle Initiatives
- Business Intelligence Group Sustainability Awards 2026, winner