Sheike is optimising its online presence while zeroing in on CDP in a bid to “cut through” the digital noise.
Speaking with Ragtrader, head of e-commerce and marketing Holly Murphy said the digital arena has become quite noisy in recent years, particularly during the pandemic.
Throughout the lockdown period, Murphy said there was an expected shift from Sheike’s offline customers towards online. What’s interesting, she continued, was how these converted customers continue to shop online.
Across in store and online, Sheike has grown its customer base by more than 20% in the past year.
This has accelerated investment across both channels, with the brand revamping its website and considering store-to-door options as well as improving click-and-collect.
"We are continuously working to understand our customer to support prospecting across both digital and offline," Murphy said.
"We have identified core audiences we want to reach and focus on product innovation, channel mix and the right communication strategy to gain those new customers.
"We are also heavily invested in the overall experience for our customer from first time purchase to post purchase care."
According to Murphy, the launch of Sheike online was designed to deliver an elevated online experience for the brand's customers.
Part of this investment included automating its site merchandising and digitising its return process.
“We've made it a lot easier for them to be able to shop with us or return with us," Murphy said. "We've created an omni-channel customer.”
The drive for these initiatives are buoyed by CDP, which Murphy puts down as a key area for Sheike’s omni-channel future.
The goal is to personalise the brand for the customer, which Murphy considers a “big thing” for the brand.
“It's something that we've dipped our toe in for the last year-and-a-half,” she said. “I see it being a key opportunity for Sheike, and for the online team in particular, over the next year."
Sheike has also shifted its investment in digital advertising, with new social channels, affiliate marketing partnerships and a 40% increase in paid performance spend.
“We've seen some success across our traditional channel mix, like search and social, where we've increased investment," Murphy explained. “But, our growing priority for us would probably be around third-party partners or affiliates and email."
Sheike also currently works with publishers across loyalty, coupon and cash back space.
"Cash back and loyalty publishers work really well for us as we have seen a strong customer cross over and opportunities to drive exposure to the customer we want to have," Murphy said.
"We find publishers help support the growth in brand awareness, driving quality traffic to both online and instore.
“We'll be really focused on working with publishers across the tech space, content, and then also the loyalty space.
“For us, omni-channel is a focus and strategy that we're working on for the next 12 to 18 months.”
Sheike has also invested in its affiliate program since partnering with Rakuten over a year ago.
According to Murphy, its affiliate program has seen double-digit growth "with a keen focus on acquisition."
"We are being more strategic on when and where we approach our customers in the digital space to how do we take them through the consideration and shopping journey.
"We are optimising our affiliate program by ensuring we are work closely with our publishers during key promotional periods to drive exposure for Sheike.
"We’ve seen a great response to our creative strategy across all channels and have worked to optimise content across key touchpoints."
According to Murphy, new social channels have also been onboarded such as TikTok.
"For us, we see TikTok as a great awareness platform and typical metrics we will focus on will be reach, engagement, and it will support our overall channel mix," Murphy said.
"At this point, we are focusing on content strategy and how we approach this in a real and authentic way. But most importantly, we've really optimised our existing channels.
"It's seeing great results for the business. Double figures in terms of your key metrics: traffic, conversion.
“And we're driving high quality in terms of average order value as well, from this whole revamp strategy for digital."