Transforming Wickes Kitchens through IoT: A Case Study

• Analytics & Modeling - Big Data Analytics
• Analytics & Modeling - Data-as-a-Service

• Procurement
• Sales & Marketing

In 2015, Wickes, a supplier of building materials, was facing a significant challenge. The brand was primarily trade-focused and was struggling to transition into an accessible, family-friendly home improvement retailer. The company wanted to convert prospects into customers and increase its market share in the kitchen retail sector. The process of planning a new kitchen was often stressful and expensive for customers, leading to a high drop-out rate. Wickes needed a solution that would help them navigate this process and remove barriers to purchase. The company also needed a way to track customer activity across the journey, report on lead progress and conversions, and understand customer data and marketing performance in real-time.

Wickes is a UK-based home improvement retailer and garden centre, with more than 230 stores throughout the country. The company supplies both the trade and public with a range of products for home improvement projects. In 2015, Wickes was primarily a trade-focused supplier of building materials. The company wanted to transform its brand into an accessible, family-friendly home improvement retailer. Wickes aimed to increase its market share in the kitchen retail sector and convert more prospects into customers. The company also wanted to improve the customer journey for planning a new kitchen, making it less stressful and more affordable.

To address these challenges, Wickes implemented a comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) and customer loyalty marketing strategy. The company created a 17-stage CRM journey to help customers navigate the process of planning a new kitchen. This journey was supported by an email programme that provided personalized guidance and advice at each stage, ensuring customers did not drop out along the way. The email templates were refreshed with dynamic content, resulting in open rates of 60%, well above the industry average. Wickes also established a dedicated data analytics team to evaluate every aspect of the company's marketing activity. This team tracked customer activity across the journey, reported on lead progress and conversions, and provided real-time insights into customer data and marketing performance. This enabled Wickes to respond and optimize quickly, continuously improving the reach of its nurture marketing.

• The implementation of the CRM and customer loyalty marketing strategy transformed Wickes from a trade-focused supplier to a leading home improvement retailer. The 17-stage CRM journey and the supportive email programme significantly improved the customer experience, making the process of planning a new kitchen less stressful and more manageable. The real-time insights provided by the data analytics team allowed Wickes to respond and optimize quickly, leading to continuous improvements in the reach of its nurture marketing. As a result, Wickes became the number one kitchen retailer in the UK, demonstrating the effectiveness of its new approach.

• 27% increase in ROI
• 10% growth in sales YOY
• Doubled kitchen sales in 3 years without increasing store presence