PROJECT | MAPLIN ELECTRONICS

Rewiring the motherboard

Maplin Electronics is a retailer of electronic goods and electrical hobbyist products. Established in 1972 as a three-person mail order business, over the years Maplin grew to become a 2,500-strong multichannel retail chain, with over 200 stores across the UK and Ireland.

In 2012, Maplin embarked on a new digital strategy to align its commerce website and systems to provide an omni-channel experience. It did this by completely overhauling all the existing stores, widening the product range and establishing a clear online message that gave a single view of the brand and experience to the customer.

Objectives & Strategy

• Double the range of products sold online from 15,000 to 30,000 SKUs (stock keeping unit)
• Provide flexible omni-channel touch-points including desktop website, mobile website, mobile apps, call centre
• Deliver a new e-commerce platform enabling stability for future growth in international markets
• Provide Maplin Electronic’s customers with a flexible set of store fulfilment options when checking out, including Reserve & Collect and Pay & Collect, but also providing same-day delivery slots
• Integration to over 20 different merchandising and back- office systems to improve sales and site operations respectively
• Deliver to market within 6 months prior to peak Christmas trading

Unique solution

We delivered a new solution on the SAP Hybris platform that included all relevant commerce features, channel touch-points and back-end integrations, as well as a brand new front-end design for both desktop and mobile specific channels. The site was launched within 8 months with integration of over 30 systems and 100+ APIs.

Following the launch in November 2013, Maplin saw its strongest growth in seven years, with the new platform driving 20% growth and accounting for 10% of total sales. By 2016, the retailer had started to show signs of struggle, with like-for-like sales dropping 1.1%, however in their annual report they made sure to highlight the strong performance of its online arm, which accounted for 13.2 per cent of sales that year.

In February 2018, Maplin Electronics became one of a number of well-known, UK high-street retailers to collapse due to the perfect storm created by changing customer behaviour, increased business costs and weak pound.

Project Details

• eCommerce consultancy
• eCommerce platform selection
• Creative direction
• UX design for desktop and mobile
• Technical delivery and system integration
• Project delivery and live support
• Platform: SAP Hybris

RESULTS