The Athlete’s Foot (TAF) opened its doors in Australia in 1981. Now an integral part of Accent Group, the company has impressively grown to include over 130 locally-owned and operated stores in Australia and New Zealand.
TAF is a specialty athletic and lifestyle footwear retail chain, stocking over 50 well-known brands, including Nike, Adidas, Asics, Saucony, Skechers, and more.
The Athlete’s Foot creates memorable in-store experiences, ensuring customers leave stores with the right fit product. To successfully translate to the online world, TAF needed an end-to-end digital transformation.
The company would need to prove the success of this transformation and meet the expectations of over 130 franchisees.
In 2017, TAF engaged global commerce innovator, eWave, from industry recommendations to step up its omnichannel strategy.
The Athlete’s Foot needed to bridge the digital-physical divide. To do this, the company envisioned the decentralisation of inventory to make every pair of shoes available in the country, also available online. The solution also needed the flexibility to support unique franchise-led business requirements while reinforcing the brand’s reputation as the “experts in fit”.
An omnichannel business model with stores as distribution channels would allow TAF to exceed evolving customer needs and continue scaling its operations. This approach would enable innovative and engaging experiences for customers, and improve results for its franchisees.
eWave worked through critical business challenges with TAF’s leadership team. For example, franchisees were concerned that digital channels might cannibalise store sales, and they were hesitant about receiving returns for stock not sold within their stores or honouring gift cards bought in another franchisee’s store.
One by one, eWave developed win-win solutions for each obstacle. The team made franchisees part of the transformation journey and illustrated the benefits of becoming digital leaders in their industry.
eWave leveraged learnings from its previous work with Accent Group and Platypus and tailored a robust solution to meet the specific needs of TAF and its franchisees.
Among a slew of transformative digital processes, eWave delivered:
The implementation of virtual shoe fitting technology, MyFit 3D Virtual, to mirror the outstanding in-store experience.
The migration from a warehouse-only model to a decentralised inventory system to pick and deliver orders from stores via Fluent Commerce Order Management System.
Consolidation of inventory data that enables greater online stock availability for customers.
Online appointment booking for in-store MyFit visits.
Digital loyalty functionality to support the Fit Rewards program.
The Athlete’s Foot customers now enjoy outstanding omnichannel experiences while the company, and its franchisees, are equipped to scale even further.
Revenue increase of 85%
Transaction increase of 84%
80% of online appointment bookings converted into an in-store sale
Schedule a 30 min discovery session.
