Clarks, a 200-year-old global shoe retailer, needed an IT infrastructure rehaul given a monolithic commerce platform. It made a successful digital transformation with the help of MACH Alliance.
Clarks, a 200-year-old shoe retailer founded in Somerset, England, boasts an archive of more than 22,000 styles that began with a slipper made from sheepskin offcuts. That first product reflected its core values: innovation, craftsmanship and conscientiousness.
But, while footwear innovation kept moving forward, the retailer’s technology infrastructure wasn’t innovating at the same pace. By 2022 the brand was at risk of a compete operational shut down within a year if it failed to transition from its monolithic commerce platform which was in its final days of its lifecycle.
Making a change
Clarks wasn’t alone in its tech quandary — 41% of large organizations are still utilizing a legacy IT infrastructure at the time, according to a MACH Alliance survey of global IT decision makers.
The company realized it needed to undergo a total digital transformation, stepping away from the monolithic architecture to more agile technology stacks to meet the expectations of today’s consumer.
Clarks completely overhauled both its digital and in-store commerce platforms in just a year and a half, providing new levels of consistency and customer personalization.
What MACH Alliance brings to the table
It did all that with the help of the MACH Alliance, a non-for-profit industry association founded in 2020 to help retailers as they navigate a modern and complex technology landscape.
Born from a grassroots movement of technologists and early adopters of MACH technology, the alliance has evolved into a guiding force for retailers and other enterprise organizations, setting standards, certifying breakthrough technologies and leading retail brands toward transformative, open, best-of-breed technology.
For retailers seeking future-proof, composable and open technology stacks, the alliance offers expert education, standards and best practices.
The transformative return-on-investment is robust. By embracing MACH, Clarks witnessed increases in customer conversions (17%), site speed (28%), add-to-basket rate (79%), start-checkout rate (47%) and gross margin.
How it all began
In 2022 Clarks’ e-commerce platform and store point of sale were over two decades old and full out of extended support.
“We knew we wanted to implement headless solutions, so that was a start. We looked at all suitable products which “played” with Commercetools [an in-house solution in play], which led us to the MACH Alliance,” Meriel Neighbor, Clarks’ head of global digital product, delivery and transformation, said in an email interview.
The next step was the selection of products against business requirements.
The tech transformation kicked off in July 2022 with a “gold build (completion)” date of June 30, 2023.
“We commenced development in Jan. 2023 and launched our first store in the U.S. on Aug. 2, 2023, so just seven months!” said Neighbor.
Big change brings big wins
Clarks now offers customers the option of using Apple Pay and Google Pay and has added full omni capability, full gift card omni capability and exchanges in the U.S. as well as returns (also available in the U.K.).
“Through the products we had selected and implemented, we also incorporated loads of additional features we had not had before, such as video content and product placement, full translations, single-click checkout [verus seven clicks previously],” said Neighbor.
“The platforms and products enabled a huge change themselves in our customer experience as well as for us as a business. Real-time inventory, for example, and data for reporting in real time, both we did not have previously — so huge changes.”
Tips and advice
Undertaking such an intense tech development project requires lots of agility, according to Neighbor, as well as the ability to choose partners well and conduct complete due diligence before choosing partners.
“From a development perspective, do checkout first,” she said.” From a business perspective, take the business on the full journey. Backfill if necessary so you have dedicated resources. Business change as a function is vitally important.”
Yet such transformations rely on more than just the technical details, according to Holly Hall, managing director with the MACH Alliance.
“Technology is advancing at an unbelievable rate, and every retailer has dreams of implementing the latest advancements into their operations,” Hall said in an email interview. “To truly embrace composability and transition away from limited legacy systems, retailers must learn to be incremental in their approach. This requires executives and key decision-makers to shift their mindsets and understand how restructuring and changing the fundamental role technology has in their businesses will impact their brands for the better.”
Retailers should invest in their brand’s overall digital strategy rather than specific vendors, technologies, and applications, which may change as often as the retailer’s needs change, she said.
Delivering engaging retail experiences
The rewards of a modern and composable tech architecture are many, according to Hall.
“Technology is the engine that powers the magic. By moving toward modern and composable technology architectures, many retail brands have enhanced their e-commerce capabilities and improved their omnichannel customer engagement,” she said.
For Clarks, the massive digital transformation, in-store and online, meant overhauling over 400 content pages on its new website and pulling in new video elements and even language translation.
“When retailers embrace a MACH approach, incorporating advanced customer personalization or leveraging AI becomes much easier for brands to both attain and maintain,” said Hall. “With an eye toward future technology advancements, brands that invest in their technology infrastructure and utilize MACH technologies are better prepared for omnichannel, personalized, and engaging retail experiences.”
