Monsoon Accessorize case study

Monsoon Accessorize is a major high street retailer with over 300 stores in the UK and more than 1,000 internationally. Under its two main brands – clothing retailer Monsoon and fashion accessories name Accessorize – the firm turns over around £1 billion annually. Having begun life all the way back in 1973 when market stall trader Peter Simon opened the first shop in London’s Beauchamp Place, the firm has risen to become one of the most recognizable names on the high street today.

A mobile challenge

Monsoon Accessorize has 1,400 stores worldwide, an online channel (desktop, smartphone and tablet) which ships to 130 countries, and numerous local language sites. The firm’s twin objectives were to grow internationally and at home in what is a highly competitive retail market.

To do this, it was necessary to focus on the customer experience through personalization, mobility and a more joined up experience between online and offline channels, according to Monsoon Head of IT and eCommerce, John Bovill. Mobile was an especially critical area, with around half of the firm’s site visitors now coming from a portable device.

It wanted a trusted payment partner to help it do this by offering internet point of presence via tablets in stores. Armed with these devices, staff would be able to help customers with store-assisted sales, or buy online from the Monsoon Accessorize site. In so doing the aim was to cut queue times and maximize sales but also provide a personalized experience. For the high street giant the key was to provide a seamless, consistent multi channel experience for the customer. It had to be simple to implement and use, highly scalable and cost effective, with the emphasis on simplicity and convenience for the customer.

Why Worldpay Total Mobile?

As a customer of many years, Monsoon Accessorize chose Worldpay as a trusted, best-in-class payments provider with a proven track record of delivering. “Relationship and scale are key to creating a joined up journey for our customers,” says Bovill. “But the overriding principle in any strong partnership is hunger to innovate and solid relationships.”

The high street retailer chose Worldpay Total Mobile to help in its mission to drive cross-channel conversions and maximize in-store sales, whilst improving customer engagement and the entire shopping experience.

Worldpay Total Mobile allows retailers to accept payments away from the till via a tablet or smartphone paired with a chip and PIN keypad. It’s simple to set up and PCI compliant to deliver the level of security big name retailers expect. Managers can also benefit from real-time transaction data which provides insight into performance across the store. And consolidated reporting enables a single view of transactions across payment channels.

Cutting queues, driving sales

Worldpay Total Mobile has helped Monsoon Accessorize cut queues, drive sales, and empower staff to assist customers and improve the shopping experience. Shoppers can buy direct from a store assistant or order online for home delivery or click and collect, increasing sales and offering maximum choice to the consumer.

“And the staff genuinely love it – it’s been evangelistic how much they’ve wanted it.” says Bovill.

As a result of the implementation, Monsoon Accessorize has seen the volume of click and collect sales via in-store tablets increase the online average by around 50%. This has helped drive revenue as customers typically buy additional items when they come back in to collect.

The Average Transaction Value of items made via the tablets is now more than double that of ordinary Point of Sale sales. Thanks to Worldpay Total Mobile, the majority of Monsoon Accessorize’s transactions are now made from a mobile device.

The platform which has now been rolled out to the majority of Monsoon stores in the UK has increased sales by an average of 4% - although in some outlets this figure is far higher.

A mobile future

Monsoon Accessorize is keen to continue the journey from fixed POS to in-store internet point of presence and all the benefits this new multi-channel way of doing business entails. “Given the fantastic results we’ve already seen, Worldpay Total Mobile is the only choice for the firm as it looks to roll-out these capabilities to all of its stores.” continues Bovill.

Monsoon will also be switching on new functionality later in the year designed to enable a single view of the customer – providing priceless information to improve marketing and customer service efforts as the journey to personalized, omni-channel retailing continues.

Beyond that, Monsoon has one eye on developing a mobile self-service platform for customers in store with its trusted partner Worldpay. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing the partnership go from strength to strength.

Monsoon and Worldpay

How Worldpay acts as the strategic payments partner for Monsoon.