Retail Technology Show 2024: AllSaints rings the retail technology changes to improve digital experience

AllSaints replatformed off its legacy technology to Salesforce e-commerce cloud and introduced a new app for Android and Apple users to improve its customers’ digital experience. James Reid, Chief Innovation Officer, shared the retailer’s journey on the opening day of Retail Technology Show (RTS) 2024.

“When I joined AllSaints, just as Covid lockdowns were impacting the retail sector, I inherited a technology stack that didn’t have the capabilities I wanted,” explained Reid, during the Theatre A conference stream, covering the Future of Commerce, at London Olympia on 24th April.   

“The checkout was nine pages long, not the single page I wanted, which meant a relatively poor conversion rate, which was only alleviated by our strong customer base wanting to shop,” he added.

He set about making changes in October 2022. A single basket is now accessible everywhere from online, mobile, to the new app.

Customers can switch seamlessly regardless of their access point. The positive results of the new digital platform and wholesale services introduced at AllSaints were soon apparent:

• 15,000 monthly increase in the user base numbers.  

• 10,000 more visitors per week.  

• Initially, the conversion rate went up by seven times after the launch. It’s latterly settled back to 3x better than it was before. Spend is still way up in April 2024, and additionally the prospects for the company’s further growth are looking much better despite the present cost-of-living pressures.

The new app, which involved refreshing the old Apple iOS functionality and introducing an Android version, has been a big hit, helped by AllSaints constantly looking at what customers want and how they use it.

As Reid said: “The customer is the boss. We made the app better by listening to them.”

10% of all e-commerce sales at AllSaints now come via the new app and the figure is still rising.”

“Further developments are underway, such as integrating it more with an in-store experience and developing its exclusive, experience elements. For example, by getting a new size delivered to a changing room without having to leave it simply by pressing a request button.    

“Our new app provides early access to product and marketing experiences that aren’t replicated anywhere else,” said Reid.

This might mean inviting users to the two runways shows that the AllSaints clothing brand does per year, or inviting them to meet their Atelier workshop staff in trendy Shoreditch area of the UK capital city.

“We also tell the story of our product designs much better by emphasising where, how, and why we made it,” added Reid. “In future, I would like to add some more information about green miles, as we develop the offering still further.”   

During a question and answer section at the conference session, Reid responded to an audience member’s query about the cost-of-living crisis by explaining that discounts had been a part of their market approach, “especially during the Covid-19 pandemic when it took off”.

But the brand is trying to ween customers off that now. “It’s not easy,” added Reid, alluding to the present tough economic climate.

But a better digital experience, future improved integration with in-store experience, and targeted, personalised exclusivity should all help to negate the need for discounting in future.

The brand is better placed to navigate the present tough times than it was before, and set fair for the digital and physical future.