Bath Depot centralizes omnichannel product information management
A Canadian home improvement retailer is creating a single system of record for all product information.
Bath Depot, which started in 2008 as a retailer of bathroom and kitchen renovation products and has since expanded to become a manufacturer and distributor as well, saw a 400% increase in online transactions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To support an enhanced digital shopping experience with these online sales volumes, the company decided to enrich its product content with more accurate and detailed product information, as well as offer more personalized shopping and a range of shipping options.
Bath Depot decided to centralize and improve its product information using the Akeneo product information management (PIM) platform. By doing so, Bath Depot was able to create a more seamless and accurate product catalog, allowing customers to more easily find products with detailed descriptions and specifications.
To help support the implementation of its new PIM system, Bath Depot partnered with global digital agency Valtech to help integrate its catalog of around 5,000 products into the Akeneo platform.
Before the Akeneo implementation, Bath Depot had 300 product combinations for bundles, with a complicated structure spread between its Adobe Commerce platform and its ERP system. However, working with Akeneo and Valtech, the retailer simplified and optimized its product combinations into 243 bundle products, each composed of an average of 15 simple products, resulting in more than 3,500 bundle product combinations.
Bath Depot is now able to offer in-store demos and stock availability for every product across every channel, so customers can test products in-store before making a purchase online. The company can also offer an expanded range of shipping options, including ship-to-store, in-store pick-up, and curbside pick-up. If a desired product is unavailable online, customers can use the store locator feature, which automatically finds the nearest store to their device with the item in stock.
In addition, Bath Depot utilizes the Akeneo PIM solution to automatically localize country, language, and pricing information for its products. By automating this previously manual process, Bath Depot is now able to provide a seamless shopping experience for customers regardless of their location or language preference, and can launch products and expand into new markets faster.
Other benefits of implementing a new PIM platform include a reduction of inconsistencies in product data and streamlining of internal workflows, resulting in increased operational efficiency and decreased time and resource requirements.
Looking ahead, Bath Depot plans to integrate print solutions, launch new product lines, open two new stores, and expand its presence on marketplaces like Home Depot, Wayfair, and Amazon.
“Before, we were so manual with Excel, emails, ERP extracts, and lots of manual work to load content into the point of service or in Sharepoint,” said Marc Nadeau, president and founder, Bath Depot. “With our new setup, even when we lost some crucial teammates, operations continued to roll.”
Bath Depot operates more than 40 retail locations across Canada and an online store.
[Read more: Create reliable customer experiences in an unreliable world]