DECATHLON COACH APP: from GPS tracker to personal coach for millions

TL;DR

In 2017–2018, I led the full redesign of the Decathlon Coach app—transforming it from a basic tracker into a motivational coaching platform. The result:

  • +1M downloads

  • 4.5+ app rating (up from 3.2)

  • Lasting business impact through increased in-store visits and purchased from app users

  • Still widely used 7 years later, demonstrating sustained user value

  • Praised by customers -particularly beginners- for its life-changing impact:

    “I have never done sport in my life, not even running. I started this program at the age of 43 after a huge weight loss and I followed the sessions to the letter.”

    “Started using the DECATHLON coach app and it really made a huge difference on how I do my fitness routines every day. What I loved about it are the challenges and the detailed instructions on how to do it. It made it easier for me to learn new ways on how to maximize and meet my fullest potential. Got it 5 stars for it. Definitely recommend for you to try :)”

The challenge

The original app (“myGeonaute mobile”) was a GPS tracking tool—functional, but not engaging.

  • 3.2 App Store rating

  • No real motivation for long-term use, not addressing real users motivations.

    Yet Decathlon’s mission—“Make sport accessible to the many”—demanded more.

  • We gave a few iterations on the app such as adding HR sensor support, but decided it was time for a deeper change.

Our objective

Redefine the app’s role: from tracker to coach in order to empower users to achieve their goals and become a better version of themselves. We also focus on being accessible and friendly to beginners, contrasting with that took a more performance-driven approach.

Key goals:

  • Deliver personalized coaching

  • Support users’ real-life goals: fitness, fun, performance

  • Improve usability and motivation

  • Create a scalable foundation for new sports, plans, and features

  • Support Decathlon mission and business by encouraging folks to practise more sport and hence buy more sport equipment.

My role

Lead UX Designer (solo designer in a 10 people startup-like team)

I owned the redesign end-to-end:

  • Led research, IA, wireframes, prototyping, visual design, and testing

  • Collaborated daily with PM, devs, business, and comms teams

  • Managed trainee designers, freelances, improved design ops

  • Dev support, also very involved in quality testing

Key contribution highlights

  • Contributed to shifting the product vision from passive tracking to habit-building coaching

  • Boosted quality & retention: 3.2 → 4.5+ rating

  • Designed for motivation, not just utility

  • Built scalable IA for long-term feature growth

  • Embedded a culture of user feedback and UX maturity

Design process

1. Research & discovery

  • User interviews , some conducted by me, and others by Geonaute research team, revealed 4 core motivations we wanted to tackle:

    • Feel good (health, stress relief)

    • Feel beautiful (weight loss, confidence)

    • Have fun (social, group activities)

    • Prepare for a race (10k, marathons)

  • Partnered with R&D on sport psychology and motivation levers

  • Created personas, journey maps

  • Worked on SUS baselines, that reveal the app was functional, but lacked emotion & memorability

2. Information architecture optimization

  • Card sorting to match user mental models

  • Simplified into 3 main areas: Home, Follow-up, Settings

  • Reduced navigation depth to improve focus and flow

3. Interaction design

  • Designed coaching flows for beginners and advanced users

  • Prioritized plan discovery, onboarding, flexibility (e.g., rescheduling)

  • Introduced motivational mechanics and micro-moments of encouragement

4. User testing

  • Multiple rounds from concept to final design, where we learned the importance of flexibility and celebrating achievements

  • Address different levels of commitment, from free sessions to multi weeks coaching programs, advice and one-time sessions.

  • Simplified architecture: 3 tabs, key role of the home screen, simplified session summary

  • “future-looking” coaching plans vs “past sessions” feed

  • Refined UI for clarity, flexibility, and real-life sport scenarios

5. Visual design & handoff

  • Full UI refresh aligned with Decathlon’s brand

  • Designed with real-world sport use in mind (e.g., glare, motion)

  • Created specs, motion guidelines, and scalable UI components

  • Defined tone of voice for a “coach in your pocket” experience

Results

User Impact

  • App rating: 3.2 → 4.5+

  • 1M+ downloads

  • Users reported significant life impact:

    “I’ve never done sport in my life… I followed the sessions to the letter.”“This app changed the way I train—clear, motivating, effective.”

Business Impact

  • Top-rated app within Decathlon’s ecosystem

  • Proven increase in store visits and spend among app users

  • Featured in stores ads, catalogues, and TV (post-launch)

Longevity

  • App remains largely unchanged 6+ years later

  • Proof of scalable, sustainable UX

What I learned

“Alone you go faster. Together you go further.”

→ Collaboration with PMs, devs, content, comm, research was key to success

“Make butter with water.”

→ A small team with clarity, shared vision and on a mission can do big things. We were a small team competing against bigger ones like Nike, Adidas, Runtastic, Strava, Endomondo etc.

“Dream first. Prioritize second. Implement third.”

→ Ambitious thinking at the start led to long-term impact

“Respect is design fuel.”

→ Listening to users created buy-in, trust, and better results

Beyond the brief: going the extra mile for users and the team

  • Prototyped video-based coaching (using advanced tools like Pixate and Origami, when Invision was the norm) to explore indoor sport use cases. This allowed to get buy-in and confidence to tackle new sports like Pilates

  • Created rituals: “Voice of the user” moments, shared metrics, rotating app store responders

  • Initiated viral and strategic features through hackathons (e.g. sharing workouts, progress moments, digital locker)