Kicks’ Omni-Channel Success
The Nordic region's leading cosmetics chain, Kicks, aims to reach customers through all channels. The physical store works together with the online store, iPad and mobile app to make the buying process go as smoothly as possible.
Omni-channel is all about creating a seamless purchasing experience as consumers move between physical stores, online stores and mobile apps. Kicks has approx. 250 stores in Sweden, Norway and Finland, and paved the way for successful Omni-channel collaboration prior to the cosmetics chain's launch of its online store four years ago.
"When we launched the website, we had already thought about what we wanted. A vision was in place of how we wanted things to be going forward, and that's really important," says Jenny Vesterlund.
How Kicks works with Omni-channel
A Common Vision
The common vision made it possible to bring along the whole organisation.
"It is very important to bring the physical stores along with you too. We have around a thousand salespeople; that's quite a lot of people."
At all the physical Kicks stores in Sweden and Norway, an iPad is used both to display reviews and ratings of products online and to order items on the internet if the store has run out.
"Then the customer can pay at the checkout and decide for themselves whether they want to have the item sent to their home or pick it up from one of our stores," says Jenny Vesterlund.
Mobile phones play an important role
The mobile channel is important too. Kicks' mobile app includes a scanning function. For example, if you run out of shower gel, you can scan the bar-code on your empty bottle, log into the app and smoothly complete your purchase.
"You have the option of saving your bank card details so you don't need to enter any card numbers. Then you go through checkout in three clicks and you can have your shower gel in your hand the next day."
Arne Andersson, e-commerce expert at PostNord, believes that the driving force behind Omni-channel is the consumer's exacting demands when it comes to comfort and accessibility.
"The buying experience at Kicks is an example of this. It is streamlined, and, as a customer, I can choose whether I want to collect something from a store, a pick-up point or have it delivered to my mail box."
What challenges are connected to starting to use Omni-channel?
"Often it's the warehousing issue. Should you have a separate e-commerce warehouse or a hybrid warehouse combined with your ordinary central warehouse? This is very closely connected to business systems and how these are linked to the stock system, the ordering system and the checkout system in the stores. The checkout system is important because it often functions like a hub when it comes to managing this flexibility of choice," says Arne Andersson.
Facts
How Kicks' channels work together
- Physical stores: Approx. 250 stores in Sweden, Norway and Finland
- Online stores: In Sweden and Norway.
- Mobile app: Kicks has a mobile app that allows the consumer to scan the barcode on an empty product's packaging and then easily order a new product.
- iPad: In every physical store in Sweden and Norway there is at least one iPad on which it is possible to view a product's ingredients, ratings and reviews, as well as order it online if the store has run out.
- Delivery options: PostNord manages flows to e-commerce customers in Sweden. "Consumers can decide for themselves whether they want to collect their package from one of Kicks' physical stores, from a PostNord pick-up point or have it sent to their home address."