Mobile Ecosystem Strategy

Leading Australian hardware retailer

The client is making major investments in its digital footprint, with several apps and websites under development, but had not developed an overarching vision and plan for its ecosystem to guide investment and integration opportunities.

Phase 1: The 2024 Vision

Based on emerging trends, customer research and new and innovative retail technology, three interwoven stories were developed to show how a customer might:

• shop for products in augmented reality using recommended project kits to reinvent their living room;

• take their virtual project space in store and draw on the expertise of digitally-enabled team members;

• engage with a marketplace of tradespeople to support trickier jobs and make commercial customers’ end-to-end job management easier; and

• continue the conversation after the project is complete with personalised communications.

Drawing inspiration from comparable retailers like Home Depot, the vision drew on key elements of the target state architecture, such as journey-based CRM and personalisation engine, a new CDP and PIM and a new cross-channel commerce engine.

Phase 2: Customer-led feature prioritisation

Once the vision was set, we began prioritising the key elements within each asset to develop a set of B2C and B2B feature roadmaps.

A combination of qualitative concept testing and quantitative Kano studies gave us a clearly prioritised roadmap along the customer journey.

These roadmaps allowed us to identify the Minimum Loveable Product, i.e. the apps that would have the most positive brand impact in the market.

Phase 3: Developing the Ecosystem Roadmap and Business Case

Synthesising the existing research from over 40 pieces of B2B and B2C research, involving well over 4,000 customers, we were able to understand the role of various channels in the customer journey.

A large-scale Channel Preference study identified where in the customer journey customers the most valuable opportunities existed to innovate and connect the channels with the help of an app.

Finally, bringing together these customer preference insights, the ongoing agile development planning and business priorities, we could develop an integrated ecosystem roadmap.

This roadmap has driven a set of priorities and horizons for the business to focus on to achieve the original vision for a truly connected ecosystem by 2024.