Crocs

Crocs is experiencing rapid global growth; since inception in 2002, the company has sold more than 200 million pairs of shoes in more than 90 countries. Crocs’ retail footprint covers more than 350 stores worldwide, with approximately half of those in North America and the other half primarily in Europe and Asia.

The company has built key performance metrics into every aspect of its performance, from detailed sales trend analysis to labor planning and utilization. However, the company realized it had a data gap when it came to traffic counting. Without visibility to traffic patterns, Crocs was missing a vital piece of the puzzle. In 2011 the company sought to remedy the situation and engaged a third-party provider to deliver people-counting equipment and services.

Crocs tested a low-cost, manual counter solution that proved unreliable and inefficient.

Using the lessons learned from its previous implementation, Crocs undertook a thorough vendor evaluation process to select a new traffic counting provider. Three primary factors drove Crocs’ decision to select the ShopperTrak solution:

1) Global reach

ShopperTrak’s global footprint represented a huge advantage for Crocs. With an established network covering Crocs’ core markets, ShopperTrak was uniquely able to serve as a single-source provider. Crocs was able to tap into a consistent delivery model across geographies with the convenience of centralized account management.

Landblom explained, “They took us soup to nuts; we didn’t have to hire an outside vendor to do installation. We knew we were getting an all-inclusive solution.”

2) Cost effectiveness

Simply stated, the ShopperTrak solution offered greater value than other options. With proven success based on over 50,000 managed service installations, Crocs was assured of a rapid deployment plan to get up and running quickly with no hidden costs.

3) Ease of integration

ShopperTrak’s traffic counting solution was implemented in conjunction with upgrades to the company’s IT infrastructure. A big selling point was the ease of integration with Crocs’ existing sales and labor systems, Kronos and Manthan. Consolidating access to key performance data across different retail functions gave Crocs unprecedented visibility into specific factors that drive success.

The ShopperTrak managed services account went live in November 2012, just in time to start recording traffic flow for the busy holiday season. The rollout went very well. According to Landblom, “ShopperTrak offered great ease of implementation and made us feel very comfortable. No one in our group had done this before, so they provided the expertise and had the process nailed down.”

More than 170 stores were brought online in just six weeks, and the vast majority of U.S. stores are now fully up and running. The global implementation will begin in early 2013 and is expected to be completed in the first half of the year.

With the U.S. rollout in its early stages and the global implementation still to come, Crocs is eager to reap the benefits of the automated, robust ShopperTrak solution. In particular, the company plans to integrate the traffic data into its labor matrices, which will help to adjust personnel resources more effectively.

Additionally, Crocs plans to share the data with field offices to promote better understanding of traffic and conversion trends. “This data will be key in aligning perspectives about when our busy periods are,” said Landblom. “As a metrics-based company, we intend to take full advantage of ShopperTrak’s robust data feed.” Because it combines readily with other data points, the ShopperTrak data will be used on a daily and weekly basis, not to mention valuable year-over-year analysis.

Extending the Value

Beginning in 2013, Crocs and ShopperTrak will also work in partnership to pilot a Bluetooth counting service to test in-store movement and layout. With the inherent mobility offered by Bluetooth, Crocs will use the service to evaluate the effectiveness of visual merchandising and perform detailed store comparisons. “With other vendors, we would have had to buy extra equipment,” said Landblom. “With ShopperTrak, we get built-in flexibility at a more reasonable price point.”

Johnson Controls is a global diversified technology and multi-industrial leader serving a wide range of customers in more than 150 countries. Our 120,000 employees create intelligent buildings, efficient energy solutions, integrated infrastructure and next generation transportation systems that work seamlessly together to deliver on the promise of smart cities and communities. Our commitment to sustainability dates back to our roots in 1885, with the invention of the first electric room thermostat.

For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow @johnsoncontrols on Twitter.

Sensormatic Solutions is a global leader in enabling smart and connected shopper engagement. By combining critical insights into retail inventory, shopper traffic and loss prevention, Sensormatic Solutions powers operational excellence at scale and helps create unique shopping experiences. Our solutions deliver real-time visibility and predictive analytics for accurate decision-making across the enterprise, enabling retailers to confidently move into the future. With more than 1.5 million data collection devices in the retail marketplace, we capture 40 billion shopper visits and track and protect billions of items each year. Our retail portfolio features the premier Sensormatic^®, ShopperTrak^® and TrueVUE™ brands.

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