Cycling retailer centralizes omnichannel experience

As omnichannel retailing becomes mission-critical, Performance Bicycle is making bold moves to merge its physical and digital experiences.



A company that operates 106 locations across 21 states, Performance Bicycle struggled to manage siloed data and operations — not an easy task in today’s omnichannel, always-on world. Armed with a platform from Aptos, Performance Bicycle now has a centralized commerce architecture that integrates every part of the enterprise — a move that fosters a seamless customer experience no matter where, when or how customers shop.



For example, the solution enables associates to create orders — including bike customizations — in-store, and have them fulfilled to the customer’s specifications. The platform also centralizes enterprise inventory so associates can fulfill catalog and e-commerce orders at store-level. Currently 87 stores enables shoppers to place online orders.



The new integrated operation also enables Performance Bicycle to pull store-level merchandise for online orders to avoid out-of-stocks. This process also provides a more efficient and profitable method to clear end-of-season products from stores, a company statement said.



“We’ve completely revamped our merchandise fulfillment while improving the customer experience for omnichannel success,” said Mike Starkey, senior VP of information systems at Performance Bicycle. “The singular commerce platform gives our customers the ability to purchase and view items in multiple channels, and choose how they want to receive those items, while giving us the visibility for efficient and profitable inventory management.”



Since implementing the platform, Performance Bicycle has seen daily comparative store sales improvements between 3% and more than 10%, while simultaneously achieving a 96.5% reduction in call center volume, the statement said.