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EQUIVA is a leading provider of all things equestrian: From riding clothing to horse feed and nutrition, they live the motto: “We love, we care, we ride.” With over 80 EQUIVA stores in Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg, as well as the www.equiva.com eCommerce, the company is on a mission to make equestrian sport an unforgettable experience for customers and their horses.
In April 2023, the company started the digital transformation process by replacing a paper loyalty card for sticker points with a mobile app that creates emotional bonds and wins members’ hearts.
Here's how they used Open Loyalty to go digital with their loyalty program, gamify the member experience, and increase the share of wallets.
EQUIVA uses their mobile loyalty program to provide exceptional customer experience and become a single source for equestrian products.
In just three months, the team:
Loyalty program members show:
"The open API-first approach supported by the Open Loyalty model helped us to transform extremely fast. In less than four months, we switched from a paper card with sticker points that only worked in brick-and-mortar to an app that works omni-channel. We were able to implement features like push notifications, actions, rebates, and coupons into the loyalty app. These features make people download the app and help us grow the program member base."
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director. EQUIVA GmbH
EQUIVA had clearly defined loyalty goals which is the main reason behind the fast and successful implementation of the program.
Most of the competitors in the equestrian industry have a frequent buyer program where customers have to spend a minimum amount of money to receive a certain percentage discount for future purchases. These programs provide discounts but lack any emotional connection with program members.
EQUIVA uses their mobile loyalty program to provide exceptional customer experience and become a single source for equestrian products.
"We wanted to create an emotional relationship with all our customers. We decided to move from competition-like tiers, e.g. bronze, silver, gold and instead refer to our customers as friends, best friends, and ultimately soulmates."
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director. EQUIVA GmbH
As a provider of all things equestrian, they wanted to ensure that people who buy feed & care don’t have a reason to go anywhere else when they want the best for their horses.
EQUIVA had a notable number of customers who were satisfied with the traditional program and would like their old card back. However, the old system could not track customer points. While it had all customer data, the points were marked with physical stickers on cards.
"The sales people need to be convinced about the change. If they don’t believe in it, they won't be able to sell it. They need to perceive it as a chance and understand that joining the program is simple and makes their job a lot easier."
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director. EQUIVA GmbH
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Before they went digital with the loyalty program, the customer data was stored in four separate systems: cash register, legacy customer database, newsletter system, and eCommerce store. To introduce the new program, the team had to merge it all into one customer data platform with robust APIs.
"If you work with an API-first system like Open Loyalty, you need robust API infrastructure :) We used Lobster to switch from the legacy data ETL (extract, transform, load) technology to real time APIs."
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director. EQUIVA GmbH
The CRM team is learning to use the full potential that Open Loyalty offers to move customers higher and higher up in the program and increase the share of wallet. They’re testing and learning the use of features we might find suitable for our program, e.g. push notifications, coupons, and campaigns.
In order to transform from paper cards into a new digital discount program, EQUIVA designed and implemented the EQUIVA Friends mobile app. Open Loyalty is the technology that provides the loyalty mechanics in the program and integrates with the existing tech stack. Here’s exactly how Open Loyalty enabled the transformation.
"The open API-first approach supported by the Open Loyalty model helped us to transform extremely fast. In less than four months, we switched from a paper card with sticker points that only worked in brick-and-mortar to an app that works omni-channel. We were able to implement features like push notifications, actions, rebates, and coupons into the loyalty app. These features make people download the app and help us grow the program member base."
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director. EQUIVA GmbH
"When planning the digital transformation we needed to support our “we love, we care, we ride” claim quickly. We didn’t want to build the technology ourselves. Instead, we partnered up with professionals who do it for us so that we can transform very fast. We used Open Loyalty pre-build modules, applied the loyalty mechanics via API to our tech stack and focused fully on the customer experience."
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director. EQUIVA GmbH
To take part in the EQUIVA Friends program, customers download an app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
The EQUIVA Friends program offers up to 10% discount on every purchase. The discount amount depends on the membership tier and the product group members are about to purchase.
In addition, members receive additional exclusive Friends discounts and a birthday surprise for themselves and their horse.
The Friends discount also applies to goods that have already been reduced.
For every euro spent at an EQUIVA store or at the online shop, members receive two Hearts. The more Hearts they collect, the higher they rise in the bonus tiers and the more they can save.
There are three different Friends discount levels:
There’s a unique pathway for horse owners (top spending customers). After spending 50 euros on food, you earn the “Chefkoch” badge. As a reward, you get 400 hearts and immediately become a Best Friend.
"We realized that people don’t usually buy a 25 kg bag of food as a gift. They most likely own a horse. And, as a horse owner, you become a Best Friend right away."
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director. EQUIVA GmbH
Currently, the CRM team at EQUIVA is actively testing new mechanics to drive key strategic goals, which include enhancing the brand and increasing the share of the wallet. With Open Loyalty as their technology partner, they are well-positioned to implement remarkable initiatives.
Let me conclude this case study with the one thing Fritze likes most about working with Open Loyalty:
"It's a combination: a rock-solid feature base and a cross-functional team that demonstrated 110% dedication to our joint success."
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director, EQUIVA GmbH
