Success Story Retail

Luxury Department Store Increases Big-ticket Online Sales With New Customer Experience (Cx)

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Our customer is an American luxury brand that sits
at the apex of everything in fashion and luxury.

The retailer of high-end apparel depends on its ability to provide a highly personal and exclusive shopping experience to its premium-paying customers. While its stores are well-known for these experiences, particularly its “Private Sales” for preferred customers, its eCommerce platform fell short in that regard. This company engaged Apexon to help assess its platform and look for opportunities to deliver the same high-end brand experience its customers had in its stores. Specifically, the retailer wanted to implement Apple Pay on its PDP, Mini-Cart and Cart pages.

  • American luxury brand

    An iconic American luxury brand

  • Founded in New York City

    Founded in New York City

  • Known for personal, high-end shopping experiences

    Known for personal, high-end shopping experiences

  • Now Barneys at SAKS

    Over a dozen store in Japan in addition to more than 35 stores in the home country US

The customer journey

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018-19

2014
  • Salesforce Commerce Cloud Support
  • Personalization based on customer segmentation

2015
  • Re-platform current sites from Demandware to Oracle Commerce 11.1
  • Integrations with Serenade (OMS), PIM system, new middleware

2016
  • Completed Oracle Commerce re-platforming
  • Site enhancements and site support

2017
  • Implementation of ThyRegistry
  • Site enhancements and site support

2018-19

the Results

Key Outcomes

35% INCREASE IN PRIVATE SALE CATEGORY WITHIN 2 WEEKS OF LAUNCH
35% INCREASE IN PRIVATE SALE CATEGORY WITHIN
2 WEEKS OF LAUNCH

SEAMLESS TRANSITION FROM THE STORES TO ECOMMERCE
SEAMLESS TRANSITION
FROM THE STORES
TO ECOMMERCE

REDUCED DELIVERY TIMELINES
REDUCED
DELIVERY TIMELINES

REDUCTION IN OVERALL SUPPORT COST BY 40%
REDUCTION IN OVERALL
SUPPORT COST BY 40%

The challenge

LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO SIMPLIFY CUSTOMER CHECKOUT PROCESS

This luxury department store wanted to combine access to its Private Sale products and seasonal catalogues online through a single-cart checkout. But the core capabilities to make this transition were missing from the brand’s commerce platform:

accessibility controls to segregate preferred customers

There were no accessibility controls in place to segregate preferred customers

eCommerce site integration with brand’s physical stores

The eCommerce site lacked integrations to host an exclusive Private Sale like the brand’s physical stores

personalized shopping services

No personalized shopping services could be offered to a select group of the audience

Implementation of delivery schedules and geographical events

Implementation of delivery schedules and geographical events required IT intervention, delaying the entire process

overall support process

The overall support process faced inefficiencies with unmet SLAs

capacity upgrade

Any capacity upgrade had to be addressed with additional platform development

customer journey

Disrupted customer journey led to increased support costs

manage campaigns, sales, and promotions

Business teams were dependent on tech to manage their campaigns, sales, and promotions

The Solution

INTEGRATING APPLE PAY CHECKOUT ELEVATES THE OVERALL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Apexon created a multi-touchpoint customer experience for the client that allowed for access validation at every step of the purchase process. The Apexon team created a capability within the platform that enabled easy segmentation and recognition of premium buyers so that the client could automatically personalize their offerings. The Apexon team also leveraged its technical expertise and program management experience to establish a PMO. This ensured all stakeholders were aligned with project goals.

The solution included several key highlights:

An exclusive Private Sale feature

An exclusive Private Sale feature that mimicked the store experience with selective access for premium customers

Integrated Apple Pay checkout

Integrated Apple Pay checkout with the PDP, Mini-Cart and the Cart pages

A seamless omni-channel user experience

A seamless omni-channel user experience across desktop, tablet and phone by enhancing the responsive features of the platform

Streamlined checkout process

Streamlined checkout process for the purchase of both exclusive and seasonal products through a single cart

Same-day delivery for the high-ticket customers

Same-day delivery for the high-ticket customers based on time, day, product, address, and segment

Independently manage delivery scheduling

Training of the business team to independently manage delivery scheduling and event availability without any added IT support

A click-and-change process

A click-and-change process for any location updates within the delivery system

Recommendation and implementation of enhancements

Recommendation and implementation of enhancements to improve the user experience, minimize clicks, and optimize checkout

implementing parallel asynchronous processing

Improvement of overall performance of the site by implementing parallel asynchronous processing and eliminating redundant database requests

Enhanced user profile management

Enhanced user profile management, ‘favorite’ product management, and international checkout flow

Coaching the client merchandising team

Coaching the client merchandising team to leverage the latest platform features, and enable greater control over static content, marketing campaigns, and promotions

Outcomes

With the integrated Apple Pay checkout solution now in place, the client was able to gate its exclusive status and offerings, thus retaining its personalized approach for high-end clients. Specific outcomes include:

Increased conversion resulting in a 35%

Increased conversion resulting in a 35% increase in the revenue generated through online Private Sales within two weeks of launch

Precipitated sales directly from PDP

Precipitated sales directly from PDP resulting in increased sales compared to single product orders involving the shopping cart

independently managed the first sale post launch

The business team independently managed the first sale post launch with no involvement of IT team

Reduced the entire checkout process to a single-click operation

Reduced the entire checkout process to a single-click operation for users of Apple devices, improving overall conversion rate and leading to more substantial impulse-driven sales

Increased margins and conversion rates

Increased margins and conversion rates on mobile order placement for iPhone and iPad users

Provided the business a competitive edge

Provided the business a competitive edge in the eCommerce domain which is increasingly prioritizing a mobile-first user experience

Improved the brand’s user-centric image

Improved the brand’s user-centric image and boosted trust in its business ethos geared towards leveraging the latest developments in technology to optimize user experience

Reduced delivery timelines

Reduced delivery timelines during the holiday season with same-day options

Delivered an average of 5+ new features per month

Delivered an average of 5+ new features per month, with no rollbacks for over 12 months

Reduced overall support cost by 40%

Reduced overall support cost by 40%