Rakuten Kobo's Plattform Revolution: Empowerment through Smart, Personalized and Connected Reading

 

 

This product strategy documentation outlines the product strategy of Kobo’s reimagined reading app, designed to transform it into a global, innovative leader in the digital reading experience.


1 Background

Kobo began in Canada in the late 2000s with a bold mission: to disrupt the way the world reads by making books more accessible, more personal, and more enjoyable than ever before. Now, as part of the Rakuten family, Kobo has evolved into a truly global brand, reaching readers across the Americas, Europe, and Asia with a distinctive combination of hardware, software, and subscription services.

The Kobo Reading App, launched in 2014, has since scaled to a worldwide audience of more than 100 million users. With over 10 million downloads on Google Play (4.0 ★ from 225K reviews) and a 4.5 ★ rating on the Apple App store (#11 in Books, 64.8K reviews), the app commands a loyal, engaged user base. Its catalog spans over 1.5 million ebooks and up to 150,000 audiobooks, supported by Kobo Plus, which is a flexible subscription offering tiered “Read,” “Listen,” and “Read & Listen” plans with region-specific pricing (e.g., Canada: $9.99–$12.99).

What differentiates Kobo is its integrated ecosystem: premium eReaders, a feature-rich mobile app, and the Kobo Plus subscription service that together deliver a seamless, end-to-end reading experience. Its recent innovations, such as the Instapaper integration and the audiobook Listening Bar, highlight Kobo’s commitment to continuous improvement. With these assets in place, Kobo is uniquely positioned not just to participate in the digital reading market but to redefine it on a global scale.


2 Problem Statement

In 2025, Kobo’s app has suffered a number of setbacks in its user experience. Negative feedback in app stores and online forums reveals recurring issues that erode trust, drive uninstalls, and hurt subscription conversion. See below for several user feedback.

  • From Google Play reviews (2025): 

    • “Missing features and tons of terrible bugs: Brightness is full manual, no auto and doesn't follow the device settings; … screen brightness setting resets constantly …”

    • "The audiobook feature is absolutely horrible. Oftentimes, I can't make it through where the first 10 seconds of a book without it not working anymore, and it never remembers where I am in the book."

    • "If I try to download a large book (e.g. audiobook), it pauses the download when I switch apps, very frustrating to not work in the background."

    • “I work in a remote area without cell service. I can't launch the app due to an error message because I am not connected to the internet.”

    • "I've been a Kobo Plus member previously, and neither the catalogue selection nor features make it worth the price."

  • From Reddit users (2025): “Footnotes don’t work – clicking on the footnote link on my epub nothing happens … clicking on chapter title links also randomly sometimes just reverts to the cover page and freezes … this is absolutely a dealbreaker…”

Table 2.1 contains the key problems, their impacts, and supporting evidence. It is followed by strategic gaps in UI/UX and product innovation that must be addressed for Kobo to reclaim a position among the top digital reading apps by 2026.


Table 2.1: Core Issues and their impacts from the recent Kobo app release in 2025.

Issue

Impacts

Issues and crashes in the mobile app: Brightness override/brightness control failures, translation not working, audiobook and offline issues, broken footnotes, and not being able to download in the background

The user's reading experience suffers.

This leads to dissatisfaction, trust issues, reading abandonment, negative reviews, and higher app uninstall rates.

This also reduces how long users engage during early sessions (lower activation and retention).

Poor availability of innovative features and content

New or light users are less likely to engage, explore, or convert to paid plans.

This lowers trial-to-paid conversion.

Unsatisfactory customer support experiences

Users feel ignored or misled. This leads to bad reviews and word-of-mouth damage.

Potential paying subscribers decide against committing, while existing subscribers are more likely to churn if issues are unresolved.

Subscription plan options are not worth the few features included in them and do not address the target's needs (e.g. family/student plans, simpler pricing tier)

This causes a loss of revenue generated by paying and potential users due to their perception of not being valuable.


Beyond bugs and technical regressions, there are deeper strategic gaps and product innovation needs in how Kobo competes and delivers value:

  • UI/UX redesign is needed: The app’s visual layout, navigation, and feature access need to be more intuitive, modern, and aligned with current user expectations.

  • Personalization and AI are lacking: The experience does little to tailor content based on users’ preferences or re-engage lapsed readers with smart AI insights and points awarded for personalized reading performance. These are differentiators in top apps today.

  • Holistic reading journey is missing: The app is perceived by some users as simply a storefront and a reader. It must become more than that with innovative ideas, such as fostering a community with a reading buddy or virtual book clubs, hosting events such as 'Silent Book Clubs', or having giveaways or companion products such as candles and socks, that can be part of the paying subscription to make it feel richer.

With this user feedback and lack of advanced features, Kobo will continue to face these challenges:

  • Lower trial-to-paid conversion rates: Users trying the app or subscription will encounter friction and drop off.

  • Higher churn and uninstall rates: Disappointments in core reading experience (e.g. brightness, links, audiobooks, support, etc) cause people to abandon.

  • Poor app store rating momentum and bad word-of-mouth: These amplify each other by dissuading new users via negative reviews, making growth more expensive.

  • Loss of competitive positioning: Other apps (e.g. Kindle, Audible) are innovating aggressively. Kobo risks being perceived as lagging behind or plateauing, rather than leading.

To become a top 3 digital reading app globally in the upcoming years, Kobo must not only fix the urgent issues but also reimagine the ecosystem holistically. The goal is to restore trust, deliver delight, and build a product that prospective subscribers feel they can’t live without because of the continuous value in the reading experience.


3 Solutions

Kobo has an extraordinary opportunity to transform its app from a typical reading platform into a solid, defining pioneer. To do so, the product vision and mission must be redefined as follows:

  • Product Vision: To become the world’s most holistic reading lifestyle ecosystem where stories and communities come together to generate lifelong learning and optimism.
  • Product Mission: To deliver a deeply personal, intelligent, and innovative digital reading experience that empowers readers to discover, connect, and grow through stories.
  • Core Pillars: Engagement · Personalization · Innovation · Intelligence · Lifestyle · Community
  • Slogan: Read deeply. Connect widely, Live inspired.

One of the most important components for this refreshed product positioning is defining the north star and its KPIs. Kobo wants to grow and retain paying subscribers, and to enhance their reading behaviour, which directly drives subscription renewals, upsells and word-of-mouth growth. Therefore, for the north star, it would be to increase paid Kobo Plus subscribers by driving regular reading engagement and retention-based conversion. This can be translated to this metric:

Monthly Active Subscribers × Average Reading Hours per Subscriber

To support this product strategy, the immediate priority is to repair user trust by addressing several bugs and then layering on differentiated features that drive engagement, retention, and subscription growth. The following high-level solution areas will deliver the greatest impact:

  • Fix critical UX regressions

    • Eliminate blockers such as brightness overrides, broken footnotes, inability to read offline, audiobook issues and crashes.

    • Emphasizing reading comfort is the fastest way to reduce uninstall rates and improve app store ratings, directly boosting trial-to-paid conversion.

  • Generate reading-first retention and community features

    • Introduce features that build daily/weekly reading habits and create attachment, such as smart AI reading insights, streaks and achievements, and personalized progress summaries.

    • Enable community engagement through virtual book clubs, celebrations and reading buddies, allowing users to see what peers are reading and join discussions. Promote altruism by having users redeem their points for charities/social causes related to reading.

    • Enhance discoverability with book quotes, social recommendations based on the user's preferences, along with AI-generated reflective questions post-reading, ensuring users feel connected in their reading experience.

  • Strengthen paid subscription activation

    • Simplify the monthly and yearly subscription options to 1 tier (i.e. Kobo Plus) with family add-on plans or student discounted plans. Sell merchandise at a discount to Kobo Plus members.

    • Provide stronger incentives and upsells to convert trial users into subscribers: extended trial bundles with device purchases, personalization tracking, community inclusion, exclusive perks (e.g. Kobo Originals, special editions, author interviews), rent-a-book, serialized fictions, an AI-assisted shopping agent, and point collection only for subscribers.

    • Surface the paid subscription call-to-action at key touchpoints (e.g. onboarding, first sample read) via fun images and videos (e.g. see Brightmind for ideas) throughout the app. This also includes nudges during the trial period and end-of-trial pop-ups (e.g. "5 days left before your trial ends - keep your streak going by joining Kobo Plus!", "Upgrade now for X bonuses").

    • Preview these features as a teaser by having paywalls and watermarks of “Kobo Plus Exclusive” to get users' attention.
    • Allow users the option to 'Buy Now Pay Later' to have a frictionless payment experience.
    • Incorporate Kobo's AI shopping assistant, called KAI, as part of the conversational commerce to engage users and transform how the product is discovered and purchased by the users.

  • Improve customer support and responsiveness

    • Establish a proactive feedback loop by responding directly to app store reviews with clear instructions and transparent updates.

    • Introduce an in-app help center/resources with AI-assisted troubleshooting and escalation to human agents for complex cases.

    • Strengthen customer satisfaction by tracking resolution times and publishing service SLAs.

By stabilizing the core user experience, then layering in innovation, simple subscription plans with add-ons/discounts, and support enhancements, Kobo can move from being 'good enough' to being powerful. These solutions not only repair the current gaps but also establish the foundation for the pioneering features (detailed in another section) that will differentiate Kobo and help position it among the top global digital reading apps in the future.


4 Target Market and User Journeys

Kobo operates in a rapidly expanding global digital reading market. While ebooks and audiobooks continue to grow worldwide, consumer behaviour differs significantly by region:

  • North America and Europe: Mature ebook markets with strong competition (e.g. Amazon Kindle, Audible, Apple Books, Google Books, Libby). Users demand seamless cross-device experiences and value subscription flexibility.

  • Asia-Pacific and Emerging Markets: Rapidly growing smartphone-first reading markets where affordability, accessibility to quick translation, and localized content are key differentiators.

  • Global Trend: Younger demographics (e.g. Gen Z, Millennials) increasingly consume audiobooks, serialized digital fiction, and social/interactive reading content.

Kobo’s opportunity lies in leveraging its international presence and Rakuten ecosystem to deliver an internationally consistent yet locally relevant reading experience that balances affordability, catalog depth, and innovative engagement features.

The main user personas for the Kobo reading app are the following:

  1. The Committed Reader (“The Bookworm”)

    • Profile: Reads multiple books per month and uses both ebooks and audiobooks. Values a deep catalog, curated recommendations and social interactions.

    • Needs: Seamless access to a large catalog, reliable reading experience (no UX regressions), personalized reading insights, free giveaways/book charity donation based on collected points, community presence and holistic subscription tier.

    • Opportunities for Kobo: Has incentives to stay with the Kobo Plus subscription long-term, and strongly advocates it if delighted with stability and discovery features.

  2. The Listening Commuter (“The Audio Adventure”)

    • Profile: Listens during commutes, chores, or workouts. Only consumes 1–3 audiobooks/month. It is highly sensitive to playback UI and offline/travel access.

    • Needs: Smooth audiobook playback (e.g. listening bar, speed controls, car integration), reliable offline sync, and discoverability of new titles.

    • Opportunities for Kobo: Engage with exclusive audiobook-first launches via the Kobo Plus subscription.

  3. The Occasional Reader and Listener (“The Casual Explorer”)

    • Profile: Reads 2–5 books or audiobooks per year, often tied to trends, recommendations, life events or limited budget. Uses the app sporadically.

    • Needs: Easy onboarding, sample previews, a strong free trial hook with a simple subscription model, and rent-a-book/library integration/serialized reading.

    • Opportunities for Kobo: Convert into paying subscribers through trial promotions, borrowed books, point collection, and personalized nudges.

  4. The Knowledge Seeker (“The Researcher”)

    • Profile: Students and academic researchers; reads nonfiction and annotated texts with heavy use of highlights, note-taking, and footnotes.

    • Needs: Accurate footnote navigation, robust highlight/annotation tools, and easy export for sharing.

    • Opportunities for Kobo: Ensure reliability in academic features. Offer student pricing tiers. Promote Instapaper integration as a research tool.

The current user journey through the Kobo subscription and purchasing funnel is seen as the following flow:

Table 4.1: Funnel stages and their goals and metrics for the Kobo app.

Stage

Goals

Steps

Metrics

Awareness to Acquisition

  • To attract users into the Kobo ecosystem (e.g. app download, account creation via device purchase (i.e. Kobo eReader), app stores, company website, partner channels (e.g. influencers, book clubs), marketing campaigns (e.g. email reactivation from inactive or past buyers), or referrals.

  • To get users to complete the onboarding process.

  • User discovers Kobo.

  • User shapes their first impressions by app store ratings, reviews or word-of-mouth.

  • User downloads the app.

  • User creates account.

  • Traffic source (e.g. partnership vs marketing campaigns)

  • App installs (e.g. iOS, Android)

  • Sign up conversion rate (i.e. downloads to account creations)

  • Onboarding completion rate 

  • Customer Acquisition Cost (important for paid campaigns)

  • Drop-off points during the onboarding flow

Activation to Trial Start

  • To get new users to start reading and/or listening.

  • To get users to begin the free trial.

  • User downloads the first free sample or listens to the audiobook preview.

  • User completes the first chapter or listens to 15 minutes of the audiobook.

  • User subscribes to the trial version of the Kobo Plus plan.

  • Activation rate (percentage of new users who read a book within the first 48 hours)

  • Trial start rate (percentage of new users starting the free trial of the plan)

  • Number of sessions, DAU and WAU during the first week and month

Engagement to Value Discovery

  • To get users to experience enough value to use the Kobo app regularly and justify paying for it.

  • User creates a habit formation with the app via regular reading or listening sessions.

  • User wants their engagement with the app through other features, such as reading buddies and streak performance.

  • User sees the value of the Kobo Plus subscription to have a holistic reading experience.

  • Average reading time per active user per week and month

  • Average number of books or audiobooks consumed and completed per week and month

  • Average number of user sessions and time per week and month

  • User satisfaction and feedback during the trial period

Conversion to Paid Subscription

  • To convert trial users into paying subscribers, due to various reasons, such as nudges during trial (e.g. "1 day left in your trial - so upgrade now to keep your streak going", end-of-trial pop-ups and reminders, incentivized extensions with perks (e.g. "Upgrade today to get 3 exclusive books"), limited-time offer of a discounted subscription plan (e.g. "Black Friday's discount of an extra 5% on the monthly plan this weekend only!").

  • To provide users with frictionless payment flows, such as '1-click checkout, digital wallets, 'Buy Now Pay Later', etc.

  • User converts to a paid subscription.

  • Trial to paid conversion rate

  • Percentage of plan type selection (monthly vs annual)

  • Feature adoption metrics 

  • Percentage of users using reading streaks

  • Percentage of users joining book clubs, challenges or reading buddies

  • Percentage of each payment type

  • Cart abandonment rate

  • Churn/cancellation during the trial period

Retention to Advocacy

  • To keep users subscribed and increase customer lifetime value.

  • To get users to advocate the Kobo app to other potential users via referrals, gifts, positive reviews/ratings, etc.

  • User stays as a subscribed member if they feel value beyond 'just a store' with unique features and consistent quality.

  • User receives immediate support and resolution from the Kobo team/in-app AI chat when facing any issues.

  • A satisfied user promotes the Kobo app to others.

  • Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)

  • Average revenue per user (ARPU) and Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

  • Upsell rate (percentage of subscribers upgrading from monthly to annual or purchasing extra merchandise)

  • Number of repeated purchases

  • Number of monthly active subscribers

  • DAUs and MAUs

  • Number of sessions per subscriber in 3 vs 6 months

  • User satisfaction and feedback during the paid period

  • Total reported bugs vs Customer support resolution time

  • Trends in ratings and reviews in app stores

  • Public review sentiment (i.e. positive vs negative mentions of the app) in articles

  • Churn rate during 1 to 6 months of paid subscribers

  • Total inactive/deleted accounts and uninstalled apps

 

Kobo must evolve from being a ‘functional reading app’ into a personalized, habit-forming, and community-driven reading ecosystem. By mapping solutions directly to these personas and journeys, Kobo can maximize engagement, reduce churn, and achieve its goal of becoming a top global digital reading app in the years to come.


5 Competitive Research

An important aspect of the Kobo app is to analyze the competitive landscape to better understand how this organization can position itself uniquely and truly provide valuable services to its target market. Table 5.1 highlights the core features, pricing, user metrics and current gaps.


Table 5.1: Competitive landscape of the major digital reading apps.

Competitor

Core Features

Pricing Models

User Metrics

Gaps vs Kobo

Amazon Kindle/Kindle Unlimited

• Massive catalog of ebooks with broad genre coverage.

• Deep integration into Amazon’s ecosystem (e.g. purchases, Prime, device sync, Audible).

• Mature reading apps and eReaders with strong device and content tie-in.

• Filters/browsing, recommendations, user reviews, highlights, and more.

• Kindle Unlimited: ~$9.99/month (or region equivalent).

• Prime Reading (for Prime members) gives access to a limited selection.

• Audiobooks are often purchased separately via Audible.

• Some markets have various promotions.

• Catalog size: over 4 million Kindle Unlimited titles (ebooks and audiobooks).

• Huge user base worldwide and consistently active subscribers.

• Strong device install base via Kindle eReaders.

• Because catalog is so large, discoverability and recommendation quality matter a lot.

• Rights/licensing restrictions: many best sellers/new major releases are still excluded from Kindle Unlimited.

• Dependence on Amazon’s ecosystem may limit openness or flexibility. Kobo has a chance to differentiate on local content and differentiator features.

Google Books

• Deep integration with Google (e.g. search, Android devices).

• Seamless sync across Android /Chrome/Google Play.

• Flexibility in purchasing types (e.g. $X credits, X-book bundles, family library, gift, free samples).

• Mostly one-method transactional by buying individual eBooks/audiobooks.

• Some eBook preview/free sample mechanisms.

• No unified “all-you-can-read” subscription like Kindle Unlimited or Kobo Plus in many markets.

• Large presence and high purchases given Google’s reach; many Android users already using Google Play Books.

• No active subscription models since these are more purchase-based.

• Less strong in subscription/streaming reading, and less strong community/social reading features.

• Weak in audiobook bundling (vs Kindle and Kobo).

• Unsure about the lag in localized content in certain markets.

Apple Books

• Seamless for iOS users because it is integrated into the iOS ecosystem.

• Solid UI/UX expectations for purchases via Apple ID

• Strong support for high-quality design, rich media, and exclusive content.

• Primarily pay-per-book and pay-per-audiobook.

• No major universal 'unlimited access' subscription in most markets.

• Huge addressable audience (all iOS users), which leads to strong reach.

• Many ebook purchasers via Apple, especially for iPhone/iPad users.

• No visibility into subscription models.

• Less incentive for users to stay 'inside' the Apple Books system, other than convenience.

• Discovery/recommendations are often less aggressive than Amazon or Kobo.

• Subscription-first or habit-forming features are not their core differentiators.

• Less library lending integration and community features.

OverDrive/Libby

• Library lending/renting model (ebooks, audiobooks, magazines) via public/school libraries.

• Free to users who have library memberships; strong reach into underserved users.

• Libby app is modern, clean, and reliable.

• Massive content circulation and borrowing usage.

• Free for users (supported via libraries).

• No subscription cost for users.

• Libraries pay publishers/licensing.

• In 2024, OverDrive reported 739 million checkouts of digital media (i.e. ebooks, audiobooks, magazines) globally.

• Over 90,000 libraries and schools served.

• Millions of users access content this way.

• Libby app has very high ratings (e.g. 4.8 on Apple App Store) and is used by millions.

• Because it’s 'free', users may value experience differently, and the subscription leverage is different.

• Discovery is limited to the library collection because the books are not owned/licensed by the local library.

• No subscription upsell (direct)—less ability to monetize reading habits beyond borrowing.

• Other gaps: waitlists/holds can frustrate users, and less content ownership.

Goodreads

• Social/cataloging: users can rate, review, track “want to read/currently reading/read” shelves; see friends’ reading; get community recommendations; host book clubs/discussions.

• Wide coverage of books and metadata.

• Owned by Amazon but still used by many for social reading rather than buying or subscription.

• Free for users.

• No subscription for reading content (e.g. books) through Goodreads itself.

• Monetization comes from advertising/affiliate/Amazon integration.

• ~125-150 million members.

• Massive book reviews.

• High traffic/awareness among serious readers.

• Less direct reading/purchasing in Goodreads itself (mostly social/discovery).

• No integrated subscription for reading content.

• UX more oriented to review/discussion, less to 'reading habit/features/comfort/retention.'

• Could be seen as complementary rather than a direct competitor in some respects.



6 Feature List

For this Kobo’s app reimagined transformation, there are endless feature ideas that can be included. Table 6.1 is a preliminary list of these feature ideas that can be considered.

Regarding the modification of the current subscription model, the proposed structure is to simplify the Free/Read/Listen/Read+Listen to the following tier and add-ons:

  • Free
    • Description: Access to free ebooks, samples, wishlist, and merchandise purchases
    • Pricing: $0 CAD
  • Kobo Plus (one price, infinite and intelligent access)
    • Description: Unlimited access to reading and listening, personalization, rewards through points, AI insights, offline mode, community perks, exclusive content, author interviews and events, renting books, serialized fictions, discounted Kobo events, book swap, multi-language support, and more.
    • Pricing: $14.99 CAD per month or $164.99 CAD per year
  • Add-ons:
    • Family plan with up to 4 users for $12.99 CAD per month or $149.99 CAD per year for each family member
    • Student plan with a valid school ID for $9.99 CAD per month or $109.99 CAD per year

These new subscription plans and add-ons have the following benefits:

  • Simplifies the decision process and speeds up conversion for users to subscribe
  • Positions Kobo Plus as an 'all-in-one' ecosystem
  • Supports upsell flexibility with the add-on options and yearly discounted plans
  • Improves marketing storytelling to “Free to start, Kobo Plus to read and listen without limits and many perks.”

 

Table 6.1: List of current and new features for the Kobo app transformation.

Area

Feature

Existing or New

Free vs Kobo Plus Subscription

Must-Have vs Nice-to-Have

Notes

1: Onboarding

Readers can navigate the app as a guest (no need to sign up and log in) during onboarding

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This reduces friction and improves the first-time experience.

2: Onboarding

Readers can sign up and log in via social accounts (e.g. Google, Facebook) during onboarding

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This creates a lower barrier to account creation.

3: Onboarding

Readers can enter their book preferences, such as genres, during onboarding

New

Free

Must-Have

This seeds personalization early.

4: Onboarding

Readers can set intentions and goals for their reading (e.g. 1 book per month) during onboarding

New

Free

Nice-to-Have

This encourages engagement and habit-forming.

5: Home

Readers can track their performance through statistics (e.g. how much time they have spent on reading,  how many pages or books they have covered already, the type of genre read most) on ‘Home’

New

Free

Must-Have

This is a core engagement driver to foster retention.

6: Home

Readers can view their 'Milestone Memories' (e.g. "On this day 1 year ago, you finished The Alchemist book") on ‘Home’

New

Free

Nice-Have

This is a personalization feature to foster retention.

7: Home

Readers can discover upcoming Kobo specials/discounts for books and subscriptions (e.g. ‘Books for less than $5’) on ‘Home’ 

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This supports conversion and monetization.

8: Home

Readers can have access to exclusive content, found only on the Kobo platform (e.g. Kobo Originals, special editions, author interviews) that can’t be purchased on other reading platforms on ‘Home’ 

New

Kobo Plus

Must-Have

This is a competitive differentiator to boost subscription value.

9: Home

Readers can read special quotes from the books daily on ‘Home’

New

Free

Nice-to-Have

This is a light engagement to upsell potential.

10: Home

Readers can view the current book they are reading on ‘Home’

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This provides quick access to the book to reduce drop-off.

11: Discover

Readers can view new and popular/trending items (‘Recently Added’ section) on ‘Home’ or 'Discover'

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This improves discoverability.

12: Discover

Readers can view personalized reading recommendations (e.g. ‘Recommended for you’ or ‘Because you read X book’) section that is generated based on their past readings, owned shelves, and followed readers' recommendations on ‘Home’ or 'Discover'

New/Existing

Free

Must-Have

This is another differentiator for retention.

13: Discover

Readers can search books and apply filters (e.g. price, ratings, release date, book category/genre) on ‘Discover’

New

Free

Must-Have

This is a standard ecommerce expectation.

14: Discover

Readers can scan a book cover in the bookstore on ‘Discover’

New

Free

Nice-to-Have

This provides more info for the user and bridges offline-to-online to increase conversions.

15: Book Details

Readers can add items to a wishlist and quickly purchase them via ‘add-to-wishlist’ and ‘1-click purchase’ buttons

New and Existing

Free

Must-Have

This boosts purchase frequency.

16: Book Details

Readers can see an AI feature that provides a summary of reviews and add their review for an item (AI-assisted if needed)

New and Existing

Free

Nice-to-Have

This reduces cognitive load, leading to a differentiator from other platforms.

This adds UGC content as a trust layer.

17: Book Details

Readers can pre-order books and audiobooks

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This builds user anticipation and generates revenue.

18: Book Details

Readers can read the author’s profiles and follow them

New

Free

Nice-to-Have

This builds community and fandom.

19: Book Details

Readers can rent the books as an alternative to purchasing

New

Kobo Plus

Nice-to-Have

This provides a flexible alternative for monetization to appeal to price-sensitive users.

20: Book Details

Readers can view basic info about the books (e.g. title, author, summary, etc.)

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This is a baseline expectation.

21: Book Details

Readers can read a sample of the book

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This is another standard in digital reading.

22: Book Details

Readers can share the book details with others via social media and email

New

Free

Nice-to-Have

This expands virality and referrals through sharing.

23: Reading Experience

Readers can have the full customization of fonts, colours, page transitions, and backgrounds

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This enhances the UX comfort for reading.

24: Reading Experience

Readers can take notes for their reflection and export them to a PDF, email or social media

New and Existing

Free

Nice-to-Have

This adds reflective value for users.

25: Reading Experience

Readers can highlight sections in the book

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This is a core reader behaviour.

26: Reading Experience

Readers can bookmark their page in the book

Existing

Free

Must-Have

Expected functionality.

27: Reading Experience

Readers can view a timeline of reading (i.e. purchases vs completions)

New

Free

Nice-to-Have

This adds a visual of their reading history.

28: Reading Experience

Readers can select night mode

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This is a comfort feature to enhance the reading experience.

29: Reading Experience

Readers can select a word and see its dictionary definition and pronunciation

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This is an accessibility feature and learning value.

30: Reading Experience

Readers can choose from vertical or horizontal scroll reading

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This provides flexibility for reader comfort.

31: Reading Experience

Readers can be reminded/nudged to continue reading

New

Free

Nice-to-Have

This can be set by users as a habit-forming mechanism.

32: Reading Experience

Readers can have the option of colour view for graphic content (e.g. comics, cookbooks, kids)

New

Kobo Plus

Nice-to-Have

This is a premium positioning for multimedia appeal.

33: Reading Experience

Readers can have the option to select a language via the on-demand translation widget

New

Kobo Plus

Must-Have

This is a global differentiator, esp. for Rakuten’s markets.

34: Reading Experience

Readers can access AI-generated discussion points after finishing the book

New

Kobo Plus

Nice-to-Have

This drives deeper engagement.

35: Reading Experience

Readers can control the brightness while reading

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This is another UX baseline and a bug to fix.

36: Community

Readers can view general community insights via ‘Community’

New

Free

Nice-to-Have

This adds a social layer.

37: Community

Readers can join exclusive virtual book clubs, hosted by authors, influencers or the Kobo team, in ‘Community’

New

Kobo Plus

Must-Have

This will lead to a high retention and differentiation driver.

38: Community

Readers can participate in reading challenges (e.g. Finish X books by the end of the month to get X points) and leaderboards via ‘Community’

New

Free

Nice-to-Have

This creates a gamification element.

39: Community

Readers can view or follow community members’ social media and other info via ‘Community’

New

Free

Nice-to-Have

This has the potential to build stronger connections between readers.

40: Profile

Readers can collect points as rewards through various ways (e.g. Spin the Reading Wheel, reading performance, and monthly leaderboard winner) and have badges for different tiers of points

New and Existing

Kobo Plus

Must-Have

This is a loyalty builder to hook to subscriptions.

41: Profile

Readers can redeem reward points for charities (e.g. The Children's Book Bank) or other Kobo items (e.g. subscriptions, merchandise) or partners (e.g. Cineplex via Scene+)

New and Existing

Free

Nice-to-Have

This will increase engagement and allow users to be altruistic.

42: Purchase

Readers can purchase supporting merchandise (e.g. socks, tea, candles, journals, etc.)

New

Kobo Plus

Nice-to-Have

This creates a holistic reading experience and lifestyle expansion.

43: Reading Experience

Readers can interact with an AI assistant, called KAI, for anything, such as shopping and recommendations, discussion and smart comparison of books

New

Kobo Plus

Nice-to-Have

This will position Kobo as an innovator and allow users to gain deeper insights about the book.

44: Discover

Readers can play reading games, learn jokes and read blogs

New

Free

Nice-to-Have

This adds a fun, ‘beyond books’ value.

45: Home

Readers can participate in a Kobo or an author’s free/discounted giveaway listed 'Home'

New

Free

Nice-to-Have

This is part of the loyalty builder to increase user satisfaction.

46: Reading Experience

Readers can listen to certain relaxing music in the background while reading

New

Kobo Plus

Nice-to-Have

This will enhance the reading experience.

47: Reading Experience

Readers can listen to Kobo’s podcast, 'Kobo in Conversations'

New

Free

Nice-to-Have

This allows for cross-media engagement.

48: Community

Readers can find and connect with a reading buddy via ‘Community’

New

Kobo Plus

Nice-to-Have

This is another engagement incentive.

49: Profile

Readers can update their profile and account settings

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This is an essential feature.

50: Reading Experience

Readers can have offline access to purchased ebooks

Existing

Kobo Plus

Must-Have

This is important for periods of no internet (e.g. travelling).

51: Reading Experience

Readers can download their books and audiobooks in the background while they are using other apps.

New

Free

Must-Have

This is important for large files to download to make it convenient for users.

52: Reading Experience

Readers can borrow books via a library card integration

Existing

Kobo Plus

Must-Have

This extends catalog, providing an all-in-one platform for reading (e.g. purchased, rented, borrowed).

53: Support

Readers can have access to robust in-app support and ‘Help’ sections with a live chatbox

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This reduces churn and increases trust.

54: Reading Experience

Readers can receive notifications (e.g. offers, reminders)

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This increases engagement.

55: Purchase

Readers can check out and pay for their ebooks and other items

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This is an essential part of ecommerce.

56: Reading Experience

Readers can access the Listening bar across iOS/Android

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This is for audiobooks.

57: Purchase

Readers can gift a purchased ebook or gift card to someone else/charities

New

Free

Nice-to-Have

This will increase user growth and referrals.

58: Profile

Readers can get referral credits (e.g. X points)

Existing

Free

Nice-to-Have

This is a user growth feature.

59: Community

Readers can register for Kobo’s events (e.g. 'Silent Book Club', book swaps) via ‘Community’

New

Kobo Plus

Nice-to-Have

This is a deeper community engagement.

60: Reading Experience

Readers can access Instapaper integration (Save to Kobo, convert to audio)

Existing

Kobo Plus

Nice-to-Have

This is a differentiator that appeals to knowledgeable readers.

61: Reading Experience

 Readers can access footnotes and links

Existing

Free

Must-Have

This bug from the user’s comments must be fixed.






62: Reading Experience

 Readers can get serialized digital fiction (i.e. a story is released in chapter installments over time, like a TV episode) as part of a micro-purchase

New

Kobo Plus

Nice-to-Have

This will be a unique feature to build anticipation and user engagement.

63: Reading Experience

 Readers can be celebrated (e.g. an animated confetti or a personalized 'thank you' note from the author) when finishing a book or audiobook

New

Kobo Plus

Nice-to-Have

This will be a unique feature to allow people on a budget to read a book.

64: Community

 Readers can celebrate other readers' major milestones in the 'Community'

New

Kobo Plus

Nice-to-Have

This promotes community-connections and user's motivation.

65: Community

 Readers can swap a purchased book with another reader's book of similar value in 'Community'.

New

Kobo Plus

Nice-to-Have

This promotes a sense of community sharing.

66: Admin

Admin can view analytics

Existing?

N/A

Must-Have

This is an operational baseline to gain insights about app performance.

67: Admin

Admin can add and update items in the app

Existing

N/A

Must-Have

This is a core flow.

68: Admin

Admin can upload quotes and other relevant content

Existing

N/A

Must-Have

This is a core flow.

69: Admin

Admin can have a troubleshooting view (mirrors user screens)

Existing?

N/A

Must-Have

This reduces support friction.

70: Admin

Admin can send notifications (e.g. new books, offers)

Existing

N/A

Must-Have

This is for marketing and engagement purposes.


 

7 Benefits

For this Kobo’s app transformation, there are multiple benefits for both the business and users. This means higher subscription growth, stronger brand equity, and ecosystem expansion. For users, it means an easier, more personal, more engaging, and more joyful reading journey. See its list below.

1. Business Benefits

  • Higher Subscription Growth and Retention

    • Fixing UX regressions and adding retention hooks (e.g. reading streaks, exclusive perks, book clubs) directly increases free-to-paid conversion and reduces churn.

    • More engaged readers lead to longer subscription lifetimes and higher LTV.

  • Increased Revenue per User (ARPU)

    • Tiered subscription plans with add-ons (i.e. Kobo Plus for family or students) become more attractive for certain target demographics.

    • Additional monetization via upsells: special editions, merchandise, events, AI features, rentals, etc.

  • Improved Market Positioning

    • Stronger differentiation vs competitors: Kobo becomes the app that cares about readers first through UX modernization, personalization, community and AI features.

    • Opportunity to grow into emerging markets where competitors may lack localized and translated content.

  • Better Brand Perception and Trust

    • Quick fixes to regressions and improved support responses shift ratings upward in app stores.

    • Transparent, responsive communication (e.g. in-app help, replies to reviews) reinforces Kobo’s reputation as reader-centric.

  • Ecosystem Expansion and Partnerships

    • Opens new revenue streams (e.g. events, podcasts, merchandise).

    • Strengthened ties with publishers, authors, and libraries by offering richer analytics, promotion options, and integrated lending pathways.

2. User Benefits

  • Frictionless Start and Personalization

    • Guest mode, social logins, and personalized onboarding make it easy to try Kobo without commitment to a paid subscription.

    • Genre preferences, goals, and AI recommendations ensure every user feels catered to from day one.

  • Superior Reading Comfort

    • Deep customization (e.g. fonts, backgrounds, scroll style, brightness control, translations) creates the most comfortable reading app on the market.

    • UX bugs are fixed, restoring trust and reducing frustration.

  • Habit Formation and Motivation

    • Stats, streaks, nudges, and challenges turn reading into a rewarding daily ritual.

    • Readers are celebrated for their milestones, boosting self-motivation and stickiness.

  • Community and Belonging

    • Virtual book clubs, reading buddies, leaderboards, and peer recommendations create rich, social bonds and a sense of shared reading culture.

    • Following authors and joining discussions (e.g. generated by book clubs or an AI assistant) deepens the connection to books and creators.

  • Broader Access and Flexibility

    • Rentals, library integration, and offline reading options meet diverse needs across income levels and regions.

    • Multilingual support and on-demand translations open Kobo to a wider international audience.

  • Beyond-the-Book Experiences

    • Podcasts, relaxing music, Instapaper integration, merchandise, and giveaways enrich the ecosystem.

    • Kobo becomes more than just a bookstore. It will become a holistic reading lifestyle hub globally.

8 Designs

The designs and high-level flows of the current Kobo app are illustrated in these images.

     

See below the screenshots of the redesigned Kobo app.

ONBOARDING

       

            

HOME

     

DISCOVER

    

LIBRARY

 

COMMUNITY

   

MORE

   

OTHER

   

   

This transformed prototype of Kobo's app, with the above screenshots, can be found here: https://anjusharma.adalo.com/kobo.

Note that this version has only a subset of the features mentioned earlier, and some functionalities don't work well. The primary objective of this is to convey the high-level vision for the reimagined Kobo app.

 

Sources:

 

#Kobo #CaseStudy #DigitalReading #ProductManagement

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