Netalico Exercises its Talents to Improve Fitness Company's eCommerce Strategy

When the pandemic hit, revenues dropped in many retail sectors, but one area saw soaring profits: the home fitness and workout industry. According to NPD retail data, health and fitness equipment revenues more than doubled to $2.3 billion between March and October 2020. Stationary bike sales tripled and treadmill sales increased 135%.

Fitness app downloads also accelerated at a rapid pace as consumers pivoted from gyms to homes for their workouts and classes. January to November 2020 saw a 47% jump in downloads — about 2.5 billion global downloads of health and fitness apps.

When the pandemic hit, revenues dropped in many retail sectors, but one area saw soaring profits: the home fitness and workout industry. According to NPD retail data, health and fitness equipment revenues more than doubled to $2.3 billion between March and October 2020. Stationary bike sales tripled and treadmill sales increased 135%.

One company that’s seen tremendous growth since its 2011 launch is Crossrope. It started with a goal to elevate home fitness and infuse it with more fun through a reinvented jump rope and workout app. Its products include weighted ropes with durable braided steel construction, high-performance handles, and a patented fast clip system.

Crossrope's mission is to support anyone in pursuit of their fitness goals on their own terms. However, the team felt its current eCommerce approach wasn’t working as well as they’d hoped.

The Crossrope team was worried about the possibility of BigCommerce limiting its long-term goals. The company was struggling to find good developers on BigCommerce and felt the checkout experience left much to be desired.

In early 2020, after much research and thought, the team decided to transition to Shopify. They believed this platform offered a better user experience and more room for growth. But then the COVID-19 pandemic hit — just as Crossrope and Netalico had begun working on the replatform and custom front-end development process.

On one hand, the immediate global shutdown created unexpected challenges as everyone needed to work from home. But Crossrope saw a silver lining amidst the turmoil — the company, like others in the fitness space, began to see a huge increase in demand for alternative at-home fitness solutions. People couldn’t continue their workouts at closed gyms, so they began searching for other options.

At Netalico, we realized we’d need to quickly develop and implement a solution that would support Crossrope’s explosive sales growth. Originally, we’d planned to recreate their existing site on Shopify but after our performance audit, we determined the best solution included building a new website. Why? Because we could ensure it prioritized customer experiences and offered an optimized backend performance.

Because Crossrope’s customers live in the US, Canada, and Europe, we developed a custom solution designed to improve and support product geotargeting. With this approach, customers only see the products available in their location. The geotargeting also ensures the prices reflected are accurate, too.

Netalico and Crossrope agreed the company would benefit best by integrating Global-e’s platform into Crossrope’s Shopify webstore. Now the company provides a seamless localized shopping experience to customers in 200 locations across the globe. The platform supports more than 25 languages and sets prices according to local currency—over 100+ currencies.

Crossrope launched its new Shopify Plus website and platform on May 6, 2020. Immediately, the company saw impressive results:

Navigating the Challenges of eCommerce Growth

The journey of Crossrope through the pandemic highlights a crucial aspect of eCommerce: adaptability. With the sudden surge in demand for home fitness solutions, it became imperative for Crossrope to not just keep up, but to excel in delivering a seamless customer experience. This required quick thinking and agile development from Netalico.

The Role of Netalico in Crossrope's Success

At Netalico, we pride ourselves on being more than just a service provider. We see ourselves as partners in our clients' growth. For Crossrope, this meant diving deep into their needs, understanding their customer base, and delivering a solution that could handle their expanding market.

Our team conducted a thorough performance audit to identify areas for improvement. We realized that simply migrating to Shopify wouldn’t be enough. To truly harness the potential of the platform, we needed to rebuild the site from the ground up. This allowed us to implement best practices in UX/UI design, optimize the backend for performance, and ensure that the site could handle high traffic volumes.

Enhancing Customer Experience

One of the key aspects of our solution was geotargeting. By developing a system that displayed products based on the customer's location, we ensured that users had a personalized shopping experience. This not only improved customer satisfaction but also increased conversion rates as customers saw products relevant to them with accurate pricing.

Seamless Global Reach

Integrating Global-e’s platform was another pivotal decision. By offering localized shopping experiences in over 200 locations worldwide, Crossrope could cater to a global audience without the complexities typically associated with international sales. Supporting more than 25 languages and 100+ currencies, Global-e enabled Crossrope to expand its reach while maintaining a consistent brand experience.

The Importance of Adaptability

The pandemic has shown us that adaptability is crucial in eCommerce. Companies that can quickly pivot and adjust their strategies in response to changing market conditions are the ones that thrive. Crossrope's success during a time of global uncertainty is a testament to the power of flexibility and the importance of having a reliable partner like Netalico.

Looking Forward

As we move forward, the lessons learned from the Crossrope project continue to guide our approach to eCommerce solutions. We understand that each client is unique, and so are their challenges. By staying committed to delivering customized solutions, we help our clients navigate the complexities of the digital marketplace.

Conclusion

The home fitness boom during the pandemic provided a unique opportunity for Crossrope to grow and adapt. Through strategic planning, agile development, and a commitment to customer satisfaction, Crossrope was able to navigate the challenges and come out stronger. At Netalico, we're proud to have been a part of this journey, and we look forward to helping other businesses achieve similar success.

If you're ready to take your eCommerce site to the next level, contact us at clients@netalico.com.