With significant return on investment, shoe retailer Clarks updates its digital and in-store platforms.
Founded in Somerset, England, 200 years ago, Clarks is a shoe company with an extensive collection of over 22,000 types, starting with a slipper fashioned from leftover sheepskin. Innovation, craftsmanship, and conscientiousness were its guiding principles, and they were all evident in that initial product.
However, the retailer’s technological infrastructure wasn’t developing as quickly as the footwear industry. The brand was in danger of going out of business in 2022 if it didn’t move away from its monolithic commerce platform, which was nearing the end of its lifetime.
Changing
According to a MACH Alliance poll of international IT decision makers, 41% of big firms at the time were still using a legacy IT infrastructure; therefore, Clarks wasn’t alone in its technological predicament.
In order to fulfill the demands of today’s consumers, the corporation recognized that it needed to completely adapt digitally, moving away from monolithic architecture and toward more flexible technology stacks.
In under a year and a half, Clarks totally redesigned its in-store and digital commerce systems, offering unprecedented levels of consumer customization and consistency.
What the MACH Alliance contributes
The MACH Alliance, a non-profit trade group established in 2020 to support merchants in navigating a contemporary and intricate technological environment, helped it do all of that.
The alliance, which began as a grassroots movement of technologists and early MACH technology adopters, has grown into a leading authority for retailers and other enterprise organizations, establishing benchmarks, approving innovative technologies, and guiding retail brands toward best-of-breed, open, and transformative technology.
The alliance provides professional training, standards, and best practices for retailers looking for open, modular, and future-proof IT stacks.
There is a strong transformational return on investment. Clarks saw improvements in customer conversions (17%), site speed (28%), add-to-basket rate (79%), start-checkout rate (47%), and gross profit after using MACH.
The beginning of it all
By 2022, Clarks’ store point of sale and e-commerce infrastructure were more than 20 years old and completely out of extended service.
“That was the first step since we knew we wanted to use headless solutions. The MACH Alliance was the result of our examination of all appropriate solutions that “played” with Commercetools, an internal solution in use, according to an email conversation with Meriel Neighbor, head of global digital product, delivery, and transformation at Clarks.
The selection of items in accordance with company requirements came next.
With a “gold build (completion)” date of June 30, 2023, the technological revolution began in July 2022.
“We commenced development in Jan. 2023 and launched our first store in the U.S. on Aug. 2, 2023, so just seven months!” Neighbor said.
Huge gains come from huge changes.
Along with full omni capacity, complete gift card omni capabilities, exchanges in the U.S., and refunds (also accessible in the U.K.), Clarks now gives consumers the choice to use Apple Pay and Google Pay.
“Through the products we had selected and implemented, we also incorporated loads of additional features we had not had before, such as video content and product placement, full translations, and single-click checkout [verus seven clicks previously],” Neighbor said.
“The platforms and products made it possible for us as a company and for our customers to have a significant transformation. For instance, real-time inventory and data for real-time reporting are two things we did not have before, so there have been significant changes.
Advice and pointers
Neighbor says it takes a lot of agility to undertake such a demanding tech development project, in addition to the capacity to carefully select partners and carry out thorough due diligence before selecting partners.
“From a development perspective, do checkout first,” she stated.Take the company on the entire journey from a business standpoint. If needed, backfill to ensure you have resources set aside. The purpose of business transformation is crucial.
However, according to Holly Hall, general director of the MACH Alliance, such changes depend on more than simply the technological aspects.
“Technology is advancing at an unbelievable rate, and every retailer has dreams of implementing the latest advancements into their operations,” Hall said in a telephone interview. “Retailers need to learn to be gradual in their approach if they want to fully embrace composability and move away from constrained old systems. This necessitates that CEOs and important decision-makers change their perspectives and comprehend how reorganizing and altering the core function of technology in their companies would improve their brands.”
Instead of investing in certain suppliers, technologies, and applications—which could alter as frequently as the retailer’s demands do—retailers should focus on their brand’s entire digital strategy, she said.
Providing captivating shopping experiences
According to Hall, there are several benefits to having a contemporary and modular tech architecture.
“The magic is propelled by technology.” Many retail businesses have improved their omnichannel consumer engagement and e-commerce capabilities by shifting to contemporary and modular IT architectures,” she added.
Clarks’ extensive digital makeover, both online and in-store, required them to redesign more than 400 content pages on their new website, add new video components, and even translate their material into other languages.
“When retailers embrace a MACH approach, incorporating advanced customer personalization or leveraging AI becomes much easier for brands to both attain and maintain,” Hall stated. “With an eye toward future technology advancements, brands that invest in their technology infrastructure and utilize MACH technologies are better prepared for omnichannel, personalized, and engaging retail experiences.”