Country Road is evolving its new app over the next 12 months in a bid to target multi-channel shoppers, while also preparing to transition its eCommerce platform to a headless model across the same timeline.
The new app, launched in late 2022, has a roadmap of new features ahead, including the unifying all of its customers receipts in one place, from both in-store and online; further personalisation through product recommendations and push notifcations; a native wishlist that can be filled through browsing on the app or by scanning in-store; and realtime order tracking and Click & Collect notifications.
Currently, the app includes a digital loyalty card, where customers can view rewards balance, offers and loyalty information, and can scan at point of sale in lieu of a physical card. It also offers a barcode scanner to learn pricing and details of each product in store, and a 'Find in Store' button for every product page, which includes checking for sizing and preferences and the option to contact the team at a store to place that item on hold.
"Our roadmap for the Country Road mobile app has been driven by the desire to add tangible, functional value for our customer—irrespective of where they choose to make their purchase," Country Road Group customer lead Paul Conti said in a conversation with Ragtrader.
Conti added that nearly all of its customers are multi-channel shoppers, utilising various mediums across online, in-store and through advertising and social media.
“The beauty of the mobile app is that we're constantly reevaluating that features list, and the prioritisation of the features that we're building out,” Conti said. “We expect the app in 12 months time to look very different from what it looks like today."
In the longer term, Conti said the team is working on integrating the mobile app with the service customers recieve in store.
The app is expected to complement Country Road's store portfolio in Australia, which includes 83 stores, 46 David Jones concessions and three outlets.
Speaking on the transition of its eCommerce to a headless model, Conti said Country Road is investing in improving the efficiency of the online experience, so that it can respond to customers faster, and test, learn and change things quickly.
Conti said the revised website will complement the online marketplaces it has partnered with, including The Iconic a year ago, Qantas Marketplace in January 2023, and soon with Myer online in July 2023.
Conti explained that both of its main channels are important to Country Road, even as consumers shift from online back to in-store following the pandemic.
“We're finding online is normalising somewhere between 25-30% of our total brand sales, which is largely what we expected,” Conti said. “But I think what remains true is that our online channel is incredibly important to us.
“Even if top line sales decline for a period and then go up for another period, it's a sales channel and a research and engagement channel for our customers, and that's why it remains important irrespective of where the final sale is coming from.
“And equally, our store network is incredibly important to us, both as our strongest sales channel and a place to experience the brand and its values in a tactile way.”
Conti added that stores act as an ‘always on’ billboard for the brand.
“In fact, we've done a little bit of analysis where we've looked at catchment areas where we've opened a new store, trying to quantify what the online cannibalisation of sales would be. But we've found the opposite to be true.
"Online sales go up, generally, when we open a new store in a certain area because people come into the store, they experience the brand and then go and shop online. Or they shop in the store, and then they go on to become a multi-channel shopper later.
“So we will continue to invest in our stores."
Conti said Country Road will invest more in its store network this year than they ever had in the brand's history. This includes both opening new stores and refurbishing a "very significant portion" of its store portfolio over the next one to five years.
More on Country Road will be shared in Ragtrader’s next print edition for March/April, covering the technology space in Australian fashion. Subscribe here.