73% lower cost per conversion: RENO’s Omnichannel Win

Strategic innovation for modern retail

The relaunch of RENO’s online store marks an important milestone in the digital and omnichannel strategies of Kienast Schuhhandels GmbH (RENO’s parent company). Taking place at the same time as the renovation and rebrand of its 250+ retail stores, it perfectly complements the efforts for creating an effective omnichannel experience, whilst significantly expanding digital performance and reach.

One of the project goals was to meet customers increasing demand of online offerings, whilst supporting brand awareness objectives. In just 4 months, RENO went live with a flexible, hybrid platform that combines the advantages of modern technologies such as Next.js with stability of proven systems like Shopware. This allowed for a gradual modernization, whilst minimizing risk in timing, budget and security for to not disrupt RENO’s operations in the meantime.

With this digital transformation, the parent company Kienast Schuhhandels GmbH has strengthened its market position further, as one of the three largest shoe retail companies in Germany. It hosts an impressive 450 stores, over 490 wholesale locations and sells over 8 million pairs of shoes annually. This project has been a successful move in achieving the project goals.

The challenge: Fast go-live, seamless experience

Faced with growing digital demand and brand awareness goals, RENO needed to launch a high-performance ecommerce solution under tight time constraints. The new online shop was intended to serve not just as a transactional channel, but as a strategic hub for content, customer engagement, and sales. Strategic decisions had to be made and executed quickly: which existing features from the current store (kilagoo.com) could be reused in the new store, and what needed to be rebuilt for speed, scale, and cross-channel integration.

The solution: Hybrid, headless, and agile

To meet these challenges and provide RENO with a quicker time-to-market, the project team from RENO and their partner brandung, opted for a hybrid architecture approach. By integrating Next.js and Storyblok with Shopware, a proof of concept (POC) was developed within two weeks, serving as the foundation for the technical setup.

The existing infrastructure was utilized for additional sales channels, and the Storyblok modules were adapted to fit the commerce processes. The API-first architecture of Shopware enabled rapid scalability and cross-channel data utilization.

The technical implementation included:

• Use of existing commerce processes such as checkout, payment and accounts within the framework

• Integration with the existing frontend (Storyblok), which remained as the lead content system

• Flexible implementation of core user journeys in the frontend

Shopware’s role in delivering excellence and efficiency

From the very beginning, it was clear that Shopware 6 would be our platform of choice. Already in use for the existing kilagoo.com online store, proven structures and valuable synergies could be carried over. Navina Heesan, Head of E-Commerce commented on the choice: “Shopware 6 stood out with its ideal combination of flexibility, rapid implementation, and modern headless architecture.”

Seamless API integration, effortless connectivity with Storyblok, and the ability to build a powerful frontend using Next.js made it the perfect fit.

“What truly set it apart for RENO was the ability to reuse existing processes such as checkout, payment, and customer accounts for better efficiency, saving both time and costs whilst accelerating project execution. The result: a future-proof ecommerce solution that delivers both technological excellence and economic efficiency.” – Navina Heesan

The Results: A unified brand experience across channels

The relaunch of the RENO online shop, based on Shopware and combined with modern technologies such as Next.js and Storyblok, delivered measurable success on multiple levels:

• Cost per conversion was reduced by an impressive 77%
• Cost per lead dropped by 66%
• Over 6,000 products sold since the campaign launch
• Over 5,000 new newsletter subscribers
• Conversion value reached over €500,000
• Online campaigns drove 60,000 store visits in 8 months
• Cost per store visit decreased by 91%

These results confirm the success of the new hybrid online presence and highlight the strategic importance of the project for RENO’s omnichannel approach. Highlights of the go-live include:

• Modern, High-Performance Frontend in RENO Corporate Design: By combining Next.js and Storyblok, a fast, responsive, and visually contemporary design was implemented to fully aligned with RENO’s corporate design.

• Strong User Guidance and Optimized User Journey: The new information and navigation structure supports intuitive user guidance and reduces bounce rates through clearly designed entry points into the purchase process.

• Cross-Channel Content and Commerce Strategy: The API-first architecture allows content and products to be flexibly distributed across various sales channels

• Future-Proof and Maintainable Platform: The separation of content (Storyblok) and commerce (Shopware 6), along with clean integration, ensures long-term flexibility for further development and campaign execution.

• Robust Ecommerce and Conversion Tracking: The implementation of a validated tracking setup enabled data-driven campaign management and optimization of the customer journey.

• Efficient SEA and Social Media Campaigns: Thanks to the solid technical foundation and clean structures (sitemap, URLs, category structure), targeted campaigns could be launched, driving revenue growth even under high competitive pressure.

What’s Next

With a scalable architecture and agile methodology in place, RENO is now positioned for the future. It can now iterate, grow, and adapt its digital and physical presence with the market changes. The success of this project sets the foundation for further transformation across marketing, CRM, content, and commerce.