terStal
A future-proof e-commerce platform with an up-to-date digital brand style
TerStal is a clothing store with over 200 physical stores throughout the Netherlands. They offer fashionable clothing for the entire family for an affordable price. The current Magento 1 shop did not support the ambitions of terStal. Because of this, Youwe was approached to create a new e-commerce platform, but also refresh their branding and create designs for a new Magento 2 (now known as Adobe Commerce) online shop.
Before we started building the new Magento (now known as Adobe Commerce) shop, intensive workshops were held to understand both the technical and design needs of terStal. The goal was to develop a stable and future-proof e-commerce platform with an up-to-date digital brand style, and that is exactly what we did.
With a successful digital strategy, not only the solution itself is important, but also the design, the customer journey, and the entire marketing roadmap/strategy.
Our solution
Workshops & strategy
We started the project with a couple of workshops and strategy sessions to get a better understanding of the needs and wishes of terStal, but also to have a clear understanding of their IT architecture. The results of the workshops gave us a scope of the project and with that, we defined the must-haves and could haves according to the MoSCoW-method. This gave us a clear roadmap and understanding of the to-dos to start the project right.
Together with Youwe's strategy team and the terStal team, we facilitated strategy and design workshops. For the design part of the workshop, we mapped out the brand DNA of terStal. The outcome of the workshops gave everyone from key stakeholders to existing and potential customers an authentic sense of the brand. The output was used to start the branding and design phase which can be referred to by the in-house team when creating any form of communication or strategy. The brand DNA consists of three main pillars:
- Positioning - What gives the brand its right of existence?
- Purpose - Who is the brand for and what does it claim?
- Personality - What is the brand like?
An up-to-date brand style
During the workshop, four design principles were defined. These design principles are the foundation of the new branding and visual languages of terStal. TerStal has a large customer base that is accustomed to their visual language, so the new style needed to be recognizable yet updated and fresh. Our first goal was to bring focus to the branding to make it more cohesive. Our second goal was to modernize the visual language.
The goals were achieved by updating terStal’s color palette. We freshened up existing colors and added a second and third palette to make it more flexible. Besides this, the typography was updated to better suit the web. What we did was introduce a new typographic system that maintains the same character while being more suited to the web instead of print. Along with the updated photography they were working on, we created a cohesive visual language that we captured in a design system. The new visual language was documented in detail to ensure that cohesiveness can be guaranteed in the future.
New designs
Starting from a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) point of view, designs were created for the Magento 2 shop. Besides the store components like product detail pages or list pages, these include:
- Flexible systems with all the parts needed to set up branded and powerful homepages or campaigns
- A custom store locator that easily lets visitors find the nearest terStal store
- A custom cart and checkout that integrates with terStal’s loyalty system
E-commerce
It was pretty clear for terStal that they wanted a Magento 2 platform, it was the main reason they contacted Youwe. Their current Magento 1 platform didn’t fit their ambitions anymore, and the Magento 1 system was end-of-life.
In the requirements workshops, we defined what was currently there in the Magento 1 shop and decided on the MVP together. During the workshop, it became very clear for most user stories what needed to be done. The project started off at full throttle to make sure the new shop was live before the new season which was a hard deadline. Due to the efforts on both sides, we made it in time.
The Magento 2 shop was built and integrated with the following systems:
- Cow Hills, as a POS
- Buckaroo, payment partner
- Vemt, Customer loyalty platform
- PFA, the ERP of terStal
Payment made easy
The checkout has also been improved in close collaboration with Buckaroo. The goal was as few steps as possible, to make it as easy as possible for the consumer. For example, during the checkout, the customer's most chosen payment method appears first.
The importance of data
You cannot have a great e-commerce platform without the tracking being 100% correct and labeled trustworthy by all involved parties. Therefore, we sat down with terStal’s team to determine what tracking needed to be transferred from their Magento 1 setup to the new Magento 2 setup. Additionally, we added new demands and wishes to the tracking for the Magento 2 shop. An entirely new Google Tag Manager container was brought into life which is much more straightforward and clearer.
To make this all possible, we created a Data Measurement Plan to make sure we had everything in place to have all terStal KPIs measured throughout the website. This plan included instructions for Youwe’s development team to alter the setup for Enhanced Ecommerce. The implementation was thoroughly checked by terStal as well as Youwe to make sure we both found the tracking 100% trustworthy. This also included a check for tracking pixels for Google Ads and Facebook, among others.
The new tracking capabilities give terStal the opportunity to start optimizing the new website and continuously improve the customer experience and with this the sales coming in.
The results
The Magento 2 shop is live (August 2021), but the project will not finish as we also defined phase 2 during the initial workshop sessions. Phase 2 is all about optimizing the new Magento 2 shop. For now, terStal has a clear vision of its digital strategy and they have the brand style to match its digital ambitions. Also, with the new online shop terStal is ready for the future.
We have started to further expand the Magento shop functionalities. From 'next day' to 'same day' delivery, among other things. TerStal also offers more sustainable shipping options. Think of electric means of transport from the couriers or CO2 neutral delivery. “We are looking for partners with the same standards and values. For us, sustainability is not something we propagate, but rather a given,” says Dominique Gloudemans, e-commerce manager at terStal.“We are always actively working to make all steps in the supply chain more sustainable where possible.”
The company is full of ambitions for the future. The primary focus for the coming period is increasing brand awareness among families. “We see that we are strongest in areas where we originally come from. So, we will mainly focus on realizing offline and online growth in the west of the Netherlands, by adding stores in this area and being more visible with our marketing campaigns. With satisfied customers as the ultimate goal.” Youwe and terStal will continue to work together to realize this goal. There are endless e-commerce opportunities for terStal. Together we are working on a strategic level to continue the development of terStal’s e-commerce journey.
