About Bel&Bo
A Belgian family business
Up to 600 employees
96 shops
Bel&Bo, a leading name in the Belgian fashion industry, offers a versatile collection that perfectly matches today's fashion trends. Known for their affordable and quality clothing, Bel & Bo caters to the entire family with an assortment that is both stylish and practical. Their commitment to customer satisfaction and continually updating their offerings makes Bel & Bo a favorite destination for fashion-conscious shoppers who value quality and comfort.
Bel & Bo's goal
Fashion company Bel&Bo needed a new, omnichannel website, including a customized webshop with a fresh look and feel, so their customers could browse, shop, and convert faster. PHPro, a long-time trusted partner of Bel&Bo, was tasked with replacing the outdated Magento 1 webshop with a modern Magento 2 platform, where Bel&Bo customers could shop to their heart's content.
Analysis & Renewal: The start of the project
The E-commerce Manager, who joined Bel&Bo in 2020, noted, "The existing webshop of the family business was still built on Magento 1 and was therefore in urgent need of renewal." For this reason, Bel&Bo decided to use this moment to streamline the needs of various departments, including Marketing, Logistics, Customer Service, and IT, and consolidate them into a comprehensive audit document. From this internal audit, an SOW (Statement of Work) was created. After several workshops with our team, this document was translated into a detailed analysis. This analysis was then converted into multiple tickets and an extensive roadmap.
The transition to PWA
At the same time, the web design was given a refresh with the help of sister company Sidekick, and the User Experience (UX) was thoroughly reviewed. Bel&Bo now has a website that is both visually appealing and functional on mobile and desktop, thanks to the transition to Magento 2. To stay up-to-date with the latest trends, Bel&Bo chose not to go with a traditional Magento webshop, but instead opted for a PWA, also known as a Progressive Web App. A PWA is a website that behaves like an app, enhancing the user experience. And a happy user is great for your sales!
Since 70% of Bel&Bo's customers visit and convert on the website via mobile, this was the ideal framework to implement. Bel&Bo explains: “Another reason for choosing PWA was the 'early adopter' factor. Bel&Bo wants to be future-proof, and PWA has been garnering interest for years. You can also see this in the current releases from Adobe, where PWA is receiving significant focus. As early adopters, we hope to stay a step ahead of the competition, and we notice that with the current platform, we are much more responsive and agile in our approach."
In addition to leveraging the latest technologies, Bel&Bo also wanted to place a strong focus on their omnichannel strategy. The goal was simple: Bel&Bo wanted a revamped, omnichannel website with a webshop that radiated a fresh look and feel with a focus on mobile-first. "To achieve this, we also made the necessary adjustments in the ERP system to support the omnichannel story. Additionally, all 95 stores switched to a new cash register system, allowing us to better align all processes within Bel&Bo," they add.
Fresh look
To achieve the fresh look for their new webshop, PHPro also enlisted the help of their sister company Sidekick. An experienced UX/UI designer took charge of the graphic design and created a new style for the optimized website. Building upon the existing brand guidelines, they added a modern touch to bring the design up to date. The recognizable stripes of Bel&Bo, as well as the logo, were kept intact. The vibrant colors characteristic of the brand were preserved and paired with complementary shades.
In the footer and navigation, the brand’s signature colors are featured, and the iconic Bel&Bo stripes ensure easy recognition while scrolling. This cohesive approach created a visually appealing and highly functional website that stays true to Bel&Bo’s identity while offering an updated and engaging user experience.
Omnichannel
Anyone who knows Bel&Bo is likely familiar with one of its 95 physical stores. It was, therefore, crucial to create a clear link between the physical stores and the webshop. For this reason, the stock in the stores can be checked in real time on the webshop. Thanks to this omnichannel approach, we’ve seen that online visitors are more easily directed to the physical stores, creating a beautiful synergy between the two!
Another great example of the omnichannel strategy is that physical gift cards can easily be used in the online webshop, allowing customers to shop anytime and anywhere with ease. Additionally, we’ve integrated a feature that enables users to receive notifications when an item is back in stock.
The webshop also acts as a central point for managing other platforms, such as generating feeds for Facebook and Instagram.
6.12
Meer omzet
11
Minder retouren
20
Meer AOV
13
Hogere conversie
Results of the revamped webshop?!
The customers were also fans of the new webshop, and this was clearly reflected in the numbers!
Thanks to the new Magento PWA shop, revenue increased by no less than 38% (comparing 2022 to 2019, accounting for COVID). The new webshop also provides better product information and images, contributing to an 11% reduction in returns.
The average order value increased by 20%, while the number of purchases per customer remained about the same. The conversion rate, in turn, rose by 13%.
Google Analytics also shows similar findings in user behavior:
- +6.12% website users, with a 21.16% increase in the share of new users.
- The average session duration increased by 8.94%.
- The bounce rate decreased by 15.48%.
Implemented features
Flowbox
Folder
Freshworks
Channable
Integratie met DPD
Mollie PSP
Google Invisible reCaptcha
Email- and address validators
Store locator & -delivery
Shop the look
MageFan blog
Amasty multiple coupons
Amasty special promotions
Mageplaza free gift
Ulmod XML sitemap splitter
Collaboration
Collaboration with Belgian PHPro
Bel&Bo has been working with PHPro for years, including for their Magento 1 webshop. When transitioning to a new solution, Bel&Bo once again chose the Belgian PHPro. Although they submitted their SOW (Statement of Work) to multiple parties, the preference remained with PHPro due to their Belgian roots and the satisfaction with the ongoing collaboration.
Intensive E-commerce Project
The new project progressed smoothly but was intensive. "An e-commerce project like this means working intensively together for a year, with occasional differences of opinion," says Mike. "But we resolved everything smoothly and created a beautiful story. The roadmap remains well-filled."
Unique Bel&Bo Days
Bel&Bo, together with PHPro, organized several "Bel&Bo Days." During these sessions, the PHPro team got a behind-the-scenes look. The automated system, which transports clothing to stores and processes web orders, made a strong impression. "Their amazed faces when they saw our wall with 5000 slots for web orders were priceless," Mike laughs.
Switch to Adobe Commerce Cloud
For Bel&Bo, the transition from Magento 1 to Magento 2 also meant a shift from Open Source to Adobe Commerce Cloud. "It was a logical step," says Mike. "In addition to the extra features, we're also strong advocates of the entire Cloud concept. The biggest advantage we see is the automatic server scaling. At Bel&Bo, we send out a lot of newsletters, which means the server can experience very high peaks during those times. Thanks to the auto-scaling functionality, our webshop remains consistently accessible, and we don't have to worry about it. Moreover, the additional Commerce functionalities also provide more convenience for us and our customers."
For these newsletters, Bel&Bo relies on another sister company of PHPro, namely IDA. Together with PHPro, IDA ensured a seamless integration between Adobe Campaign and the Adobe Commerce Cloud webshop, making it easy to send out abandoned cart emails, newsletters, and reminder emails to customers.
Customer Experience as the Red Thread
"Through this process, I've really learned how important it is to take your time and think everything through," Mike reflects. "There are always multiple parties involved in an e-commerce project, and you want to involve all of them in the process and definitely avoid making hasty decisions. One thing I would definitely advise anyone embarking on a similar journey is: 'Always think from the perspective of the customer!' We often think from our own industry’s standpoint, but ultimately, the customer must always be at the center. Our site has a certain simplicity, precisely because that's what our customers want. So, we didn’t just sit down with salespeople, district managers, and warehouse staff—we also conducted surveys and steering groups with our customers. The challenge in this process is also bringing together all the opinions, because fifty opinions mean fifty different stories. But in the end, I feel we’ve done well, and we can be proud of our webshop 2.0!"
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