New digital tools and tactics are positioning retailers to further improve their e-Commerce shopping experiences. Customization capabilities, for example, are designed to help retailers ramp up customer engagement, overall time on-site and, ultimately, boost customer loyalty.
PUMA has seen the tangible impact of customization after rolling out its “Powered By Fans” uniforms for Arsenal Football Club. Although these uniforms reportedly were already designed with Arsenal fans in mind, PUMA developed a new online shopping experience that allows supporters to create and purchase custom jerseys.
The customization experience was developed using Fluid Configure technology, which empowers consumers to design, create, visualize and purchase products developed by them, for them. PUMA developed and integrated Arsenal’s customizable jersey program into its Demandware e-Commerce platform in less than three months.
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“PUMA had been considering adding customization to our digital experience for more than a year, and the launch of the 2015/2016 Arsenal kit presented itself as a perfect opportunity to debut this offering to our fans and customers,” said Tom Davis, PUMA’s Global Head of E-Commerce. “The easy part for PUMA was working with Fluid and the Demandware Commerce platform to make this product offering come to life. The hardest part was aligning all of the internal resources and teams to be able to execute the back end operations…making this come to life in 90 days was a true team effort.”
Since PUMA launched its custom jersey tool on June 15, 2015, in the U.S. and UK, the brand has seen a surge in consumer interest and conversions. In fact, customized jerseys now account for more than 50% of all orders.
“This initial success reinforces the trend towards customization within the e-Commerce space,” noted Kent Deverell, CEO & Co-Founder of Fluid, Inc. “We know that customers today value co-creation and collaboration with brands, both important aspects of great customization experiences today. And customization is just one way for them to include fans more in the process of engaging with the PUMA brand, in turn hopefully driving engagement and elevating customer loyalty.”