sehen!wutscher with 100% more turnover

sehen!wutscher: Austria’s number one for eyewear

Founded in 1966 by expert optician Fritz Wutscher, the family-run business sehen!wutscher has grown exponentially over the years and is now Austria's largest traditional opticians, with 90 branches across the country and over 600 employees. The online store also offers a large, wide-ranging selection of spectacles, shades, and contact lenses. Familiar brand names such as Ray-Ban and Gucci feature alongside Austrian eyewear labels such as Andy Wolf and Gloryfy.

The challenge

sehen!wutscher’s objective was to become Austria’s most state-of-the-art optician. The business was looking to boost sales, its conversion rate, and customer satisfaction. To achieve this, it needed fast, innovative, and futureproof technology for its online store. New functionality was required – functionality that would make it easy for customers to navigate their way through the website, book appointments, and try on products. None of this could be achieved with the outdated Magento system, so sehen!wutscher decided to migrate to Shopware 6. The business explained that it chose Shopware 6 because of the system’s cutting-edge, innovative technology that serves as a basis for the store. sehen!wutscher was also impressed by the way the system allowed straightforward, flexible integration of service providers.

Shopware 6: The futureproof store system

Thanks to the advanced technology and flexibility of Shopware 6, sehen!wutscher was able to expand the functionality of the new store. Customers can now try on eyewear virtually and configure their chosen products in the checkout. They can also locate the different branches, discover which services they offer, and book appointments online. And there’s a sehen!wutscher magazine, where customers can read more about eyewear.

In the backend, working on the CMS is now easier and quicker. Shopware 6 integration has also helped the business to maximize its sales potential by merging offline and online worlds. For example, vouchers that the customers buy online can be redeemed in the online store or in a high-street branch. Similarly, vouchers purchased offline can also be used in the online store. Centralization of user data is allowing the business to create a better shopping experience for its customers. sehen!wutscher is able predict when a customer will need new spectacles, for example, or when it is time for varifocals. All of these new integrations and functions have increased customer satisfaction with the store.

Shopware PWA: More flexibility, endless design possibilities

In addition to Shopware 6, sehen!wutscher decided to implement the Shopware PWA. The Shopware PWA frontend framework offers the business an API-based frontend, decoupled from the backend. This separation meant that the business was able to modify the design and the content of the frontend without touching the basic infrastructure. The flexibility this afforded opened up unlimited design possibilities, enabling the business to create unique customer experiences – a key factor in today’s ecommerce market.

“We wanted to take a major step forward with the store relaunch and invest in a new technology. The usability of the PWA is exceptional. Our customers feel as if they’re using a shopping app.”

The rewards

sehen!wutscher is now reaping the rewards of all the hard work. Sales are double what they were with the Magento store. Conversion rates have also risen, while returns have fallen dramatically. Appointment bookings have also increased rapidly since integration.

And as if all that wasn’t enough, sehen!wutscher has been voted number one optician once again – the seventh time in succession that it has been named “service champion”. The online store and Shopware Silver Partner Mountain Media also won the “Best Store Austria” category in the Shop Usability Awards 2022. The jury was impressed by sehen!wutscher’s intuitive design and the newly integrated features (Virtual Try-On and Eyewear Configurator) that improve the user experience.

Fritz Wutscher Jr., optician and member of the executive board, is proud of what has been achieved: “Our relaunch has created a futureproof online store that stands out from the crowd and has been well received by our customers.”

Looking ahead

Thanks to Shopware 6, there is more in store for sehen!wutscher. The business is planning to add a click & collect service. The team is also continuing to work on the business’s online presence with the aim of providing customers an even better experience. For sehen!wutscher, this is just the beginning of a new start.