Cricut

Improving onboarding confidence and subscription growth for new creators

Overview

Cricut is a hardware and software platform for creators, with a large portion of revenue coming from its Access subscription. Although machine sales were strong, multiple signals showed that new customers were struggling to get started.

Customer frustration was surfacing across:

• Social media posts
• Customer support contacts
• Behavioral data showing unregistered and unused machines

These signals pointed to a clear problem: many new users felt intimidated early on and were not building enough confidence to continue.

The problem we needed to understand

The team needed to understand why new customers were failing to activate and use their machines, and how onboarding could better support beginners.

In particular, we needed to:

• Identify what was causing early frustration and drop-off
• Help new users feel confident using their Cricut independently
• Determine how and when to introduce the Access subscription without adding friction

My role

I led a 16-week participatory research effort, working closely with product and design to investigate the problem and shape onboarding improvements in Cricut's Design Space software.

I was responsible for:

• Defining the research focus based on customer and behavioral signals
• Interviewing and observing first-time Cricut users
• Sharing insights frequently with product and design partners
• Helping guide onboarding and monetization changes as designs evolved

What we learned

1. New users didn't feel "expected"

Beginners weren't failing because the product was broken. They struggled because they didn't feel like Cricut was built with beginners in mind.

When users were asked about their experience level and goals, they felt supported rather than overwhelmed. This simple acknowledgment helped users feel more confident from the start.

2. Early freedom created confusion

When beginners were dropped directly into the full product, many became overwhelmed and abandoned the experience.

Guided learning plans helped users stay focused long enough to build basic skills. Once they had early success, they felt more comfortable exploring on their own.

3. Subscription prompts worked better after progress

Users were more open to the Access subscription after they had experienced small wins and felt capable using their machine. Introducing the subscription later in onboarding made it feel like a natural next step, rather than a barrier to getting started.

What changed

• Added onboarding paths tailored to different experience levels
• Introduced guided learning plans for beginners
• Adjusted the placement of the Access subscription within onboarding

Research findings were shared continuously, allowing the team to iterate quickly and address issues as they emerged.

Impact

• 20% increase in Access subscriptions
• 10% decrease in unused or unregistered machines
• Fewer onboarding-related customer support calls

The participatory research approach used here was later applied to other Cricut initiatives.

Why this matters

This work shows how research can:

• Respond quickly to real customer signals
• Reduce frustration early in the product experience
• Support both user success and business outcomes

It also demonstrates the value of embedding research into ongoing product development, rather than waiting for problems to escalate.