This luxury department store wanted to combine access to its Private Sale products and seasonal catalogues online through a single-cart checkout. But the core capabilities to make this transition were missing from the brand’s commerce platform:
Success Story Retail
Luxury Department Store Increases Big-ticket Online Sales With New Customer Experience (Cx)Apexon implements Apple Pay checkout solution to simplify customer purchases and speed fulfillment 
Our customer is an American luxury brand that sits
at the apex of everything in fashion and luxury.
The retailer of high-end apparel depends on its ability to provide a highly personal and exclusive shopping experience to its premium-paying customers. While its stores are well-known for these experiences, particularly its “Private Sales” for preferred customers, its eCommerce platform fell short in that regard. This company engaged Apexon to help assess its platform and look for opportunities to deliver the same high-end brand experience its customers had in its stores. Specifically, the retailer wanted to implement Apple Pay on its PDP, Mini-Cart and Cart pages.
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An iconic American luxury brand
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Founded in New York City
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Known for personal, high-end shopping experiences
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Over a dozen store in Japan in addition to more than 35 stores in the home country US
the Results
Key Outcomes
35% INCREASE IN PRIVATE SALE CATEGORY WITHIN
2 WEEKS OF LAUNCH
2 WEEKS OF LAUNCH
SEAMLESS TRANSITION
FROM THE STORES
TO ECOMMERCE
FROM THE STORES
TO ECOMMERCE
REDUCED
DELIVERY TIMELINES
DELIVERY TIMELINES
REDUCTION IN OVERALL
SUPPORT COST BY 40%
SUPPORT COST BY 40%
The challenge
LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO SIMPLIFY CUSTOMER CHECKOUT PROCESS
There were no accessibility controls in place to segregate preferred customers
The eCommerce site lacked integrations to host an exclusive Private Sale like the brand’s physical stores
No personalized shopping services could be offered to a select group of the audience
Implementation of delivery schedules and geographical events required IT intervention, delaying the entire process
The overall support process faced inefficiencies with unmet SLAs
Any capacity upgrade had to be addressed with additional platform development
Disrupted customer journey led to increased support costs
Business teams were dependent on tech to manage their campaigns, sales, and promotions
The Solution
INTEGRATING APPLE PAY CHECKOUT ELEVATES THE OVERALL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Apexon created a multi-touchpoint customer experience for the client that allowed for access validation at every step of the purchase process. The Apexon team created a capability within the platform that enabled easy segmentation and recognition of premium buyers so that the client could automatically personalize their offerings. The Apexon team also leveraged its technical expertise and program management experience to establish a PMO. This ensured all stakeholders were aligned with project goals.
The solution included several key highlights:
An exclusive Private Sale feature that mimicked the store experience with selective access for premium customers
Integrated Apple Pay checkout with the PDP, Mini-Cart and the Cart pages
A seamless omni-channel user experience across desktop, tablet and phone by enhancing the responsive features of the platform
Streamlined checkout process for the purchase of both exclusive and seasonal products through a single cart
Same-day delivery for the high-ticket customers based on time, day, product, address, and segment
Training of the business team to independently manage delivery scheduling and event availability without any added IT support
A click-and-change process for any location updates within the delivery system
Recommendation and implementation of enhancements to improve the user experience, minimize clicks, and optimize checkout
Improvement of overall performance of the site by implementing parallel asynchronous processing and eliminating redundant database requests
Enhanced user profile management, ‘favorite’ product management, and international checkout flow
Coaching the client merchandising team to leverage the latest platform features, and enable greater control over static content, marketing campaigns, and promotions
Outcomes
With the integrated Apple Pay checkout solution now in place, the client was able to gate its exclusive status and offerings, thus retaining its personalized approach for high-end clients. Specific outcomes include:
Increased conversion resulting in a 35% increase in the revenue generated through online Private Sales within two weeks of launch
Precipitated sales directly from PDP resulting in increased sales compared to single product orders involving the shopping cart
The business team independently managed the first sale post launch with no involvement of IT team
Reduced the entire checkout process to a single-click operation for users of Apple devices, improving overall conversion rate and leading to more substantial impulse-driven sales
Increased margins and conversion rates on mobile order placement for iPhone and iPad users
Provided the business a competitive edge in the eCommerce domain which is increasingly prioritizing a mobile-first user experience
Improved the brand’s user-centric image and boosted trust in its business ethos geared towards leveraging the latest developments in technology to optimize user experience
Reduced delivery timelines during the holiday season with same-day options
Delivered an average of 5+ new features per month, with no rollbacks for over 12 months
Reduced overall support cost by 40%