Humanoid

Powerful fashion for customers with high standards

Humanoid was founded in the early 80s – when punk and new wave were spreading all over the world – influences which can still be seen in the creations of the Dutch fashion company. However, Humanoid is not only characterised by its independent and individual look. The company also takes pride in its handcraft, attention to detail and its use of high-quality materials. Designs and patterns are made in its studio and the collections are mainly produced in Europe.

The collections are available at the official flagship store in Arnhem, but the online shop is also an important sales channel. The online shop can be found at shophumanoid.com. It was relaunched at the beginning of last year, which promised Humanoid improvements on several levels. What was most bothersome in the old online shop was that even the smallest changes required IT knowledge. This should change thanks to Shopware.

Strengthening the brand and increasing user-friendliness

Opting for Shopware as an eCommerce solution wasn’t difficult. The main purpose of the migration was to improve usability. In addition, Humanoid wanted to exploit the possibilities of Shopware’s Shopping Worlds feature and ultimately improve its storytelling and branding.

Other reasons for choosing Shopware:

• Available in multiple languages (FR, DE, NL, GB, ES)

• Frontend flexibility

• 100% responsive

• Open API, plugin system

• Possibility of local promotions and different prices per shop

• Product streams

Customised solutions from Shopware partner Sition

For the implementation, Humanoid turned towards Shopware partner agency Sition. “In the Netherlands, Sition is a leading partner for Shopware implementations with positive customer feedback,” says Maikel van den Dungen, CFO/COO at Humanoid. As part of the project, Sition has also created and implemented a specific “Shop the Look” feature. It is connected to the Cloud4Fashion PIM system which transmits product data and images.

That means that the product management is not done by Shopware but by fashion partners since they support the entire process of clothing production. The platform is in turn connected to Cloud4Fashion, which synchronises product information, inventories and customer data with Shopware.

Relaunch after six months

After the six-month implementation phase, the new Humanoid online shop was ready to go. Customers can find 1,500 products divided into 42 categories. The collections are sold worldwide – via eleven subshops each for the B2B and B2C sector. By the way: Humanoid offers special product versions for business customers. Thanks to assigned attributes, these are only displayed in the shops designated for this.

Many additional features and simplified processes

Humanoid has opted for Enterprise Edition with Diamond Subscription. With Enterprise Search included in the scope of services, the existing search functionality was significantly expanded and accelerated. Another integrated accelerator is B2B Suite, which adds a powerful B2B framework. Numerous plugins provide additional features, e.g., Advanced Promotion Suite premium plugin for special promotions.

Some features have been implemented independently of the above. These include, for example, automatic refunds and chargebacks from the ERP system.

In the end, switching to Shopware in general has made things, such as managing orders, much easier. Even the automatic display and hiding of products in the frontend has proven to be very practical.

Storytelling creates an emotional shopping experience with visual highlights

Another crucial factor for Humanoid was storytelling: “We chose Shopware because we want to focus more on storytelling, and this platform is great for this,” says Maikel van den Dungen. He especially praises the “visually appealing features and possibilities”. These will be used even more in the future.

Positive figures since the relaunch

“Since the launch of the new website at the end of last year, conversion and traffic have increased,” says Maikel. To be more specific, the conversion rate increased by 1.8% in 2018 and again by 1.9% in the following year. The number of users increased by 21% compared to the previous year (measured from December 2018 to March 2019). The organic range has also increased: It recorded an increase of 5.9% compared to 2018. Last but not least, the shopping cart value has increased as well: It has grown from 250 EUR to 280 EUR, which could also be related to special offers.

Conclusion and a look into the future

The relaunch was a complete success. The cooperation with all those involved went very well, according to Maikel. Above all, the Shopware system was praised for the availability of multiple languages, the improved user-friendliness and the manifold possibilities for branding. Shopware has met all expectations.

For the future, the company also plans to use Customer Streams in order to increase customer interest even more. In addition, the possibilities for Storytelling will be used more extensively – for example, with videos on the homepage and the product pages. Other goals: Reduce returns and improve the user experience and shopping experience in general. The latter could be achieved, for example, by offering more shipping options.