How to make expectation transfer work in retail

For many retailers, the expectations customers bring to their experiences are often set during their experiences with competitors. For example, customers know that buying from Amazon will be quick, easy and convenient and as such, they are now trained to expect all online purchases from all retailers to be quick, easy and convenient – and where possible these experiences should include the same journey features as other experiences, such as delivery tracking.

This is called expectation transfer and when handled correctly it can create a marketplace where NPS-boosting CX standards are set and adhered to. However, in the rush for everybody to meet the same expectations in the same ways, expectation transfer can see experiences become homogenized, particularly when those CX standards are being set by a small group of market leaders.

When global sports and outdoor brand Thule Group stepped into direct to consumer (DTC) sales it turned to Sitecore to make its digital CX a competitive differentiator, while ensuring brand consistency across 80 markets. The results were outstanding: Thule saw a 47 percent  year-on-year increase in revenue across 13 direct to consumer (DTC) markets and 35 percent improvement in conversion rates.

In this interview, CX Network speaks to Zachary Dugas (pictured below), the group’s global product owner of content management systems (CMS) and SaaS, to find out how the retailer followed the crowd without becoming lost in that crowd.

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CX Network: Why did Thule choose to enhance the digital experiences it offered customers?

Zachary Dugas: Thule has a global reach, operating in 80 markets and 20 languages. Historically, we only sold our products via retailers and distributors, but we have started to include DTC sales in response to new purchasing patterns. As such, we grew our DTC channels and online presence, but it meant we needed a completely new approach to marketing.

At the time, we were operating out of multiple, disparate sites across our markets. This resulted in a disjointed customer journey and lack of insight into the content our customers were interacting with and the channels they were engaging with us through. At the same time, we were also coming up against large online retailers like Amazon, who set the standard for the experiences offered to customers.

We wanted to position ourselves as a digital-first business and provide a customer experience which matches and even exceeds that of the big retailers. This meant overhauling our previous strategy, creating new ways for us to engage with our customers and also future proof our approach.

CX Network: What were the main elements of the project?

Zachary Dugas: There were two key elements: establishing a robust backend architecture was the first critical step. This then acted as the foundation which led the way to transforming our front-end operations.

We were facing several challenges that were necessary to overcome on this digital journey. Managing multiple disparate sites and technologies caused internal silos and a disconnected view of our customer data, for example. As a result, we lacked the insight needed to provide a best-in-class experience for our customers which, in this crowded market, can be a real competitive differentiator. That’s why we turned to Sitecore for assistance. Through its mix of composable solutions – we use Sitecore Experience Platform XP, and Sitecore Commerce – we could consolidate all our sites into a single, unified platform, get a holistic view of business performance and make use of the multiple integrations to provide a tech stack tailored to our specific needs. Not only did this improve the customer insights we were able to gather, but vastly simplified content and product management across our numerous markets. Through this, we were able to unify our brand messaging and provide a consistent experience for our customers.

With this robust platform as the springboard, we could then address our user experience and design. We relaunched our website last year, now including 13 DTC markets, which we aim to grow down the line with an optimized e-commerce experience supported through a sleek design and intuitive navigation.

Making use of Sitecore Send’s AI-driven product recommendations and abandoned cart reminders, as well as Sitecore Personalize data management solutions, we have been able to level-up our customer offering and can now aim to provide an experience truly personalized to the individual.

It has also meant we have got a future-ready foundation to support our ambitious roadmap of product launches.

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CX Network: How would you describe the online purchasing experience your customers had before this project was initiated?

Zachary Dugas: Before working with Sitecore on this project, Thule had a very basic purchasing experience. With the disconnect between our sites and lack of visibility we had into our customer data, the result was a disjointed customer experience. We were missing opportunities to engage with our customers and establish relationships with them, which leads to long-term loyalty.

We know today, customers are looking for far more: seamless, omnichannel experiences are becoming the standard, with customers coming to expect content personalized and tailored to their preferences.

CX Network: What results have you seen since the project was initiated?

Zachary Dugas: In the first instance, we saw an increase in organic ecommerce traffic, supported by bringing our website into one and unifying our messaging. This has driven brand recognition. At the same time, simplifying our website has streamlined the checkout process, improving order and delivery accuracy, resulting in fewer calls to our customer service. Paired with optimized search and content management, we’ve seen a growth in the average order, number of orders per year and number of items in each cart.

The numbers speak for themselves – through Thule’s website refresh, we’ve had a 47 percent revenue hike across our thirteen direct to consumer markets compared to the previous year. Providing more personalized experiences, supported by AI-driven product recommendations and more efficient content management, we’ve also been able to increase conversation rates by 35 percent, and raise engagement-per-session by 10 percent.

Ultimately, adopting a composable solution has helped us to build the digital foundations to remain truly agile to changing customer needs and future-proof our operations. Now, Thule is in the best position to continually evolve its business, grow and create new market categories and Sitecore is vital to this.

CX Network: Having now completed the project, what is your advice for other brands that want to enhance a digital or ecommerce experience?

Zachary Dugas: Customer needs are constantly evolving and, like any successful business, you must be on top of these and able to adapt and react to changing market needs. Against this backdrop, we developed a consumer engagement strategy that guides everything we do. It’s all about educating customers, building trust and being authentic. We call it touch, tell, sell, and care, and it is aligned to the stages of the sales funnel.

Touch is all about creating awareness of the brand and inspiring customers. Care is focused on turning customers into brand fans. Tell comprises educating customers about products and helping them find the exact product they need. Sell is our strategy for enabling fast and seamless commerce.

Working with Sitecore has helped us to execute these ambitions and assist in paving the way to being a modern, resilient business. Having the right digital backbone is the first critical step businesses need to consider when it comes to providing a connected, omnichannel strategy. Even more critically, you need to ensure you have the flexibility to adapt this digital backbone, building a solution tailored to the specific needs of the business. This way you’ll always be one step ahead of your customers.

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