Imerco x Raptor
How Imerco is mastering Omnichannel through data-driven segmentation
Imerco is Denmark’s largest chain of home and kitchenware stores, with more than 165 physical stores and a popular online shop.
In 2023, they won the Danish E-commerce Award for Best Omnichannel Business, and by the end of the same year they achieved a record-breaking turnover of 1,6 billion Danish kroner across the organization.
While data activation and personalization has always been a part of Imerco’s DNA, their personalization efforts really took flight in 2022. Today they’re employing almost all of Raptor’s product portfolio in their award-winning omnichannel setup.
To stay on top as Denmark’s best omnichannel experience, they’re using Raptor’s Customer Data Platform (CDP) to connect their channels. Their main focus is to create even more relevant and personal communication with their visitors and members – while also catering to the interests of the many brands that are exclusively sold at Imerco.
Here’s a glimpse into how they’re doing it:
Connecting online and offline
At Imerco, 70% of purchases happen in their physical stores and 30% happen online. If you ask Mads Bøgh Larsen, Head of E-commerce, they don’t mind too much where the customer chooses to shop. All that matters is that they shop with Imerco. That’s why connecting the spheres has been a major point on the agenda.
Imerco’s customer club has 1,7 million members who have exclusive access to sales and discounts. Because of that premise, a large percentage of Imerco shoppers are members, and they are able to recognize shoppers in stores at a very high rate. For a marketing manager, that gives you priceless tools:
“By recognizing people’s movements both online and offline, you get a much better idea of how you can differentiate your communication. Whether they buy things for themselves or presents for someone else, you gain a better understanding of what messages would be relevant”
It’s no secret that many retailers struggle to motivate shopkeepers to drive memberships in stores, and the offline and online spheres often look as each other as opponents. Imerco, however, has changed that dynamic:
By enabling digital order types like “click & collect”, shopkeepers are able to offer a much wider selection of products in stores. It also has the positive side-effect that each day starts out with a bunch of orders to pack. Shopkeepers also gain knowledge about current trends in shopping patterns online, helping them decorate and merchandise the shop appropriately.
This way, the stores are now on board, helping Imerco drive the omnichannel agenda forward. That’s important given that a customer who shops both online and offline shop up to 3 times more frequently than customers who only use one channel. And it gives Imerco much more detailed purchase data and first-party data, helping them personalize their marketing efforts – for example through segments.
A Royal segment
Imerco uses Raptor’s Customer Data Platform (CDP), and one of their main goals is to target their existing customers with more relevant communication. When they were planning a Royal Copenhagen campaign where customers could save 25%, this was the perfect time to get personal.
Here, Imerco decided to build a number of segments consisting of shoppers of the popular porcelain brand Royal Copenhagen. These included a high-end segment, an Easter segment, a set collector segment, and a segment interested in leftover stock.
These segments were then targeted with relevant communication: High-end items, collector’s sets, and Easter news based on the interests of each segment.
High-end items
Collector's sets
Easter news
Previous collections
Overall, the segments performed way above index compared to the benchmark, including lower Cost Per Click (CPC) and higher Click Rates. In particular, the audience of customers who buy high-end products saw a click rate with an index of 338.
“Segmentation works, even when the campaign is already strong. Relevant segments and personalized campaigns help us gain even more conversions”
The best part is that these segments can now be reused to “cut up” other target groups in future campaigns – without wasting hours of labor for the marketing team.
3 times higher matchrate
After the implementation of Raptor’s CDP, Imerco has achieved a 3 times better matchrate.
This allows them to identify much more precise look-a-like audiences in META and Google compared to their previous solution.
This is because Raptor’s CDP is able to identify a much broader range of data sources. These sources can then be recognized and targeted on META and Google, leading to more precise and effective audience segmentation and targeting.
The future is personal
If you ask Mads Bøgh, the future at Imerco is going to be even more personalized than it is today. They’re especially hoping to activate their offline and online customer data in paid ads – and get even closer to the decision process. In particular, the plan is to retarget existing customers with relevant promotions and campaigns.
“We want to target our customers with the messages that make the most sense depending on how close they are to a purchase. When are they the most motivated to buy an air fryer or a new knife set? Staying top of mind is really important to us”
For Imerco, segmentation in the CDP is going to be the centerpiece in all their marketing efforts – from paid media to their e-mail marketing and retail media campaigns. Right now, they’re already experimenting with Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and Single Customer View to understand customer behavior even better.
The best part is that these segments can now be reused to “cut up” other target groups in future campaigns – without wasting hours of labor for the marketing team.
“Raptor’s CDP is insanely user-friendly. While other CDPs are very complex and hard to use for the average marketer, Raptor’s CDP took no time to implement, is easy to navigate, and outperforms every test we’ve made”
Key Take-Aways
Imerco is Denmark’s best omnichannel business – and it’s not hard to see why. While they’re already a household name in the world of home and kitchenware, Imerco continues to go above and beyond to create relevant and personal experiences on their site. From recognizing each member that steps into a store to targeting them with messages tailored to their interest, Imerco knows omnichannel:
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