OneDigital managing director Nicole Sheffield reveals the process for building Wesfarmers' digital powerhouse. Read more industry insights on game-changing technology ventures in Ragtrader's free Fashion Technology Report: 2023.
In September 2021, Wesfarmers’ managing director Rob Scott invested $100 million into a new digital data ecosystem. But, when Nicole Sheffield joined the group two months later as the new MD for data and digital, she saw this was more than just another version of data pooling.
“I looked at the shared data assets that we had and said, Rob, this really needs to be a digital pureplay business, because it runs very different to retail,” Sheffield says. “And he agreed.”
Today, OneDigital incorporates Wesfarmers’ brands including Catch, Target, Kmart, and Bunnings through its subscription program OnePass and its shared data asset OneData. It also includes a partnership with streaming service Disney+.
Over time, Sheffield indicates that Officeworks and the pharmacies under Wesfarmers’ newly acquired group Australian Pharmaceutical Industries - namely Priceline and Soul Pattinson - will form part of OneDigital in the future.
Speaking on OnePass, Sheffield says it was much more than a rebranding from its original Club Catch, saying it now sits on an entirely different platform.
Under the subscription program, customers sign up for $4 per month, with immediate access to free delivery.
Sheffield says it was about building a complete event-based program that was able to build an application programming interface (API) into the digital programs of all Wesfarmers businesses.
“So it was a massive undertaking,” she says. “We couldn't have just plugged Club Catch into Bunnings, for example, or into Kmart; we actually needed to rebuild it based on what those other organisations were presenting to customers and build something that would actually work.
“At one point, we had 11 squads building, just to try and get it right. You're not just thinking about Kmart and Target, you're thinking about your entire business through a new lens.
“So I've got someone using my guest checkout, someone that's actually getting our newsletters and is a Kmart member, and now I've also got a OnePass member.
“And that OnePass member - when they join, I need them to link to Kmart, so that I have consent to be able to send them marketing materials and product recommenders and all that great stuff that helps them buy better with us.”
Sheffield says that the Australian household is at the centre of its new digital division. As Wesfarmers’ retail subsidiaries cover a wide range of product categories, the overall aim is to be the one space to access all consumer needs.
“That means that there are moments in time where she/he/they want ink or toner, and Officeworks is there to service that need. And there are times they're doing a big project, and they need to go to Bunnings. And there are other times where they just want to check out some fashion at Kmart or some new toys in Target.
“Over time, Priceline will be a big part of what we want to do.
“To have a view on that customer lifetime value - not just from the one transaction, but from the customer - is really important.”
Sheffield adds that its OnePass program will not disrupt the loyalty programs that currently operate within some of Wesfarmers’ retail subsidiaries, including Flybuys and Priceline’s Sister Club. In fact, her team plans to link Flybuys with the OnePass program, where members can gain points as well as access to in-store promotional activity.
“Flybuys with OnePass can be really powerful together,” Sheffield says. “That’s our plan. And obviously, when Priceline and API join, we'll absolutely have similar ambitions.”
Alongside OnePass is OneData, which Sheffield says holds transaction and behavioural data that comes from each division across Wesfarmers.
She says that one of the biggest challenges in digital is conversion, adding that it has over 210 million interactions a month but only 1.5 million transactions.
“And why is that? People do a lot of searching,” Sheffield explains. “A lot of people do the searching online, and then they go in store to actually make a purchase. That's a really good thing, but it's very hard for us to attribute that behaviour.
“But through having a shared data asset that has also browsing data, transaction data, behavioural data, all of these layers of data helps us understand the customer journeys a lot better and improve how we're servicing the opportunities to that customer.”
In the end, though, Sheffield says that its data is all about the consumer - “it’s about human beings.”
“At the heart of our decisions remains our customer,” she says. “That was true for Wesfarmers when it formed in 1914, and in 2023 that has not changed.
“The more data you have, the more you know them, and the more you can deliver products and services that are most relevant to them.
“While our technology becomes more sophisticated and intuitive, we cannot lose sight of what our customers want and empower our teams and partners to work together to create products and services that meet their needs.”