Canadian Retailer - Store 2014 - 62

2014 ERA AWARDS TECHNOLOGY
AWARD WINNER

AWARD SPONSOR

ROOTS COMES AROUND WITH
ROOTS 360

Technology allows iconic Canadian brand to connect with its
customers like never before
CUSTOMERS who shop at Roots love the brand.

But after so many years, the iconic Canadian
retailer wanted to find a way to encourage more
frequent engagement with its current customers.
What they discovered after examining their business was a need to create a seamless shopping
experience. Customers, the retailer observed,
want to purchase the product they want, even if
it's not sitting in the shelves of their local store.
After eight weeks of designing and another
eight weeks of training staff, Roots launched
Roots 360, a technology initiative that has helped
the company revitalize its service and standards.
Today, customers can access an online and
mobile experience that allows them to access
inventory located at any Roots distribution or
any of the store's 100-plus locations. Customer
service has been made faster, with the store
committing to-and delivering-on a promise to
provide answers to customer questions within
four hours through any contact point. And on
top of these system changes, Roots ventured
into new markets, including Venice Beach,
CA, with the deployment of new Destination
Shops-boutique locations that act as physical
showrooms before customers buy online.
Big Results

Roots 360 has delivered big results. The retailer has seen more sales overall, more products sold at full price and higher customer
satisfaction, according to post-purchase surveys. One of the first big tests of the new way
of managing inventory and connecting with
customers came with the store's CyberWeekend Sale. With the new system in place, Roots
saw a 160 per cent increase in online sales, an
83 per cent increase in online conversion and a
59 per cent increase in items pre-ordered compared to the previous year.
James Connell, Vice-President of E-commerce
and Marketing, says the Roots 360 initiative
generated high scores for the company in every
metric that counts-sales and customer service

62 |

and satisfaction. "The satisfaction scores for the customers who
have participated in the program are fantastic, and shipping timelines are incredibly fast," he says. "We have been able to reduce
markdown activity on specific styles by offering them for purchase online while never moving them from the store shelves."

Technology helping to revitalize service standards.
Managing Change

360 demanded a massive restructuring of how Roots manages its products, sells online and responds to customers. Such
a massive change across the enterprise is "incredibly challenging," says Connell.
Never underestimate the difficulty of adopting technology
across distance," he advises retailers. In instances when change
creates the perception that the online corporate store competes
with the local store, he says the retailer must work to counteract
the local store's self-interest. "Counteract the natural response
of looking after the local store's self-interest over the best interest of the company," he says.
Roots 360 was largely a technology initiative, but as Connell
explains, technology is empty without a human component.
"There is tremendous value in addressing individual customers
in a personal way through social or other means, rather than
addressing a demographic group, customer segment or strata."
Customers want fast service but they also want a person to
pick up the phone when they call.
"In a world of mass communication, a real person connecting
with another, even through electronic means, is invaluable,"
says Connell.

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Canadian Retailer - Store 2014

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