To help Grubhub's merchant partners increase visibility and drive more orders, we created a self-serve sponsored ad creation flow. This feature enables merchants to design and manage targeted ad campaigns directly from their Grubhub for Restaurants dashboard, giving them more control over who sees their ads, when they run, and how much they spend.
Merchants often struggled to promote their business effectively on the Grubhub platform. Advertising options existed, but they were complex, opaque, and lacked flexibility. The challenge was to create a simple experience that empowers merchants to launch effective campaigns without needing marketing expertise.
Interviews and usability testing revealed that merchant partners prioritized targeting specific diner groups like new, returning, and Grubhub+ customers. They also valued flexibility in scheduling and budgeting, wanting control over when ads ran and how much they spent. Transparency was equally important—partners wanted clear previews and performance estimates to build confidence before launching campaigns.
9/10
Merchants wanted the ability to reach specific types of diners
7/10
Saw flexibility in scheduling and spend as a top priority
5/10
Believed the ability to preview ads was essential for trust
Goals
Simplicity
Make the process approachable for non-marketers
Transparency
Demonstrate ad placement through visual examples
Control
Allow merchants to customize targeting, timing, and budget
Scalability
Accommodate future campaign and promotion types
To enhance visibility, we introduced a dedicated ‘Ads’ page within the Grubhub for Restaurants portal. Through flow mapping, I identified key customization options that provide merchants with flexibility while keeping the setup simple. These options included active dates, targeted customers, specific timeframes, and monthly budgets to empower businesses to optimize ad spending and reach the right audience with minimal effort.
I created wireframes to define the end-to-end experience for sponsored ad creation and management. Leveraging our design system, I built form components for the ad creation flow and introduced new elements to display ad performance insights. To improve efficiency and differentiate from competitors’ multi-page experiences, I designed a streamlined single-page flow.
Landing Page
A clear, inviting entry point into the sponsored ad creation experience that highlights the value of running sponsored ads on Grubhub. The page showcases key benefits and value propositions to encourage engagement and drive ad creation.
Simple Creation Flow
An intuitive, streamlined flow with minimal required fields makes ad creation quick and approachable for merchant partners. Visual examples of sponsored ads build trust, while customizable campaign parameters—such as start and end dates, target customer types, specific times or days, and monthly budgets—give merchants control without adding complexity.
Insights Page
A data-rich dashboard that visualizes ad performance and empowers merchants to manage campaigns efficiently. Users can view and compare current and past ads, launch new ones, and access key performance metrics like ad sales, clicks, conversion rates, and return on ad spend. Trend indicators and graphs help merchants quickly gauge performance and optimize future campaigns.
This project strengthened the connection between Grubhub and its restaurant partners by giving them agency over how they appear to diners. The design balanced accessibility and control, turning a complex advertising system into a straightforward, results-oriented tool for any restaurant.
$10-20M in yearly revenue
Grubhub made $9,000 per day after launch
30% increase in orders
Merchants gained new customers who contributed to a significant increase in monthly orders
6x Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Merchants running sponsored ads experienced an average ROAS of $6 for every $1 spent
Increased engagement
Merchants experienced an increase in engagement when using targeting and scheduling features