Ecommerce Consultant and Growth Strategist for small businesses
07592 629885 | Dominic Smith - Ecommerce Consultant
The Original Factory Shop is a UK-based discount retail chain that offers a wide range of products, including clothing, home goods, electronics, beauty products, and groceries, all at discounted prices. The company is known for providing high-quality products from well-known brands at a fraction of the regular retail price.
The Original Factory Shop focuses on value-for-money shopping and offers customers significant savings, often by selling surplus stock, end-of-line items, or discounted goods from leading brands. The store is designed to cater to customers looking for bargains in both everyday essentials and luxury items.
In addition to their physical stores, The Original Factory Shop has an ecommerce platform, allowing customers to shop online for home delivery or click-and-collect services from one of their physical locations.
Founded in 1969, the brand has a strong presence across the UK, particularly in smaller towns and suburban areas. They focus on creating a convenient, value-oriented shopping experience for families and individuals seeking quality products at affordable prices.
Despite a strong brand presence in physical retail, TOFS struggled with weak commercial focus and underperformance in their online channels. The ecommerce team, which was relatively junior, was mainly focused on maintaining existing operations rather than driving new sales or expanding the digital customer base. Upon reviewing the overall business performance, I identified a critical gap in their customer relationship management (CRM) strategy. Notably, TOFS had no structured CRM program to engage with existing customers or nurture long-term loyalty in the digital space. This presented an opportunity to implement a more targeted and personalized approach to increase online conversions and improve customer retention.
Despite the flat traffic and limited growth expectations for the year, the launch of the CRM program had a significant positive impact on TOFS’ ecommerce performance. By focusing on customer retention, personalization, and improving the overall customer experience, we were able to drive measurable results in a short period of time.
Within the first few months, sales from the newly implemented CRM channel began to show steady growth. The engagement and open rates for the targeted email campaigns were higher than expected, indicating that the personalized messaging and offers were resonating with customers. Repeat purchases saw an uplift, and more customers started to engage with the brand through additional touchpoints like loyalty rewards and product recommendations.
By the end of the year, the second-order sales had increased by a remarkable 25% YOY, demonstrating that the CRM program was successfully driving customer retention and repeat business. The targeted efforts helped TOFS move beyond the challenge of flat traffic, with increased revenue from returning customers and a more engaged customer base overall.
Moreover, the focus on segmentation and tailored messaging not only helped improve customer lifetime value (CLV) but also ensured that TOFS was creating a more sustainable and scalable ecommerce strategy for the future. This shift toward a more strategic and data-driven approach to email marketing, customer engagement, and CRM provided TOFS with the tools to continue nurturing existing customers, attract new ones, and ultimately increase online sales and revenue.
The successful implementation of a basic yet effective CRM program at The Original Factory Shop proved that even with flat traffic and limited growth expectations, a focus on customer retention, personalized marketing, and segmentation can drive significant improvements in ecommerce performance. By leveraging the power of CRM and digital marketing strategies, TOFS was able to increase second-order sales by 25% YOY, boost customer engagement, and set a strong foundation for future ecommerce growth. This case highlights the importance of optimizing your CRM strategy to improve conversion rates, drive repeat purchases, and ultimately foster long-term customer loyalty in the competitive ecommerce landscape.
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