Case study – Top Office x Alma
How did Top Office standardized its customer and seller experience on all client segments (B2C and B2B) and growned its sales by integrating a payment by installments solution.
Alma’s integration took 3 weeks after the final decision making (online and in stores). Clients and sellers’ feedbacks are very positives. They were surprised by the solution simplicity. Over our launching period, we used to assist our clients in the sales area in order to offer this payment facility, we are now thinking of integrating the solution directly in checkout because of its simplicity. We are also going to fully integrate it in our future omnichannel collection system.
Top Office’s key figures
A turnover greater than 100 000 000€
Supply across 37 shops all over France
Welcoming more than 130k visitors per month on top-office.com
Employing 400 employees
The context
Top Office is one of the leader in the office supplies and equipments industry. At the forefront of innovation in terms of supply, they have been precursors in many subjects such as online selling (website created in 2003), the implementation of one of the first office Drives (2012), the provision of 3D printers and 3D scanners (2013 and 2014).
Zooming on the payment by installments
A solution was already available in some stores, but barely used, because of its complexity of use for sellers and clients. It was only available for private clients while 60% of Top Office’s customers are professionals.
The website top-office.com did not offer any payment by installments solution.
The challenge
Top Office was looking forward to galvanize its online and in stores sales while standardizing its client experience for the whole clientele: professionals and individual clients.
Matthieu Willems was therefore looking for a payment by installments solution, omnichannel, available for all types of clients.
Efficiency and simplicity of use were important requirements to foster adoption, and for the solution not to slow down checkouts’ flows. With one goal: increasing the average basket.
To deploy the solution in all 38 stores, it was essential to find a solution easily deployable and which can adapt to a distribution model with directly-operated stores as well as franchised stores.
Top Office chose Alma as it was responding to all this requirements, thanks to its two solutions Alma online for e-commerce and Alma in store, for physical shops.
What was set up
Top Office implemented the omnichannel Alma solution.
Regarding the online solution, Top Office used the Magento connection supplied by Alma in order to integrate the solution in checkout. In order to liven the solution up, a dedicated imagery has been added to the different offers on the website homepage.
Top Office highlighted the payment by installments on its homepage
Even more than highlighting the solution on its homepage, a dedicated web page has been created, describing Alma’s conditions and steps of use.
Concerning the physical solution, Top Office uses « Alma in store »: a payment link is sent to the client by sms in order for him to fill its card details directly on its smartphone. It takes less than a minute to pay.
The results
The payment by installments solution is now proposed to all clients, professionals such as individuals, online and in store.
Only 2 weeks after implementation, more than half of stores have made their first payment with Alma.
Teams are unanimous, the shopping experience is surprising for its simplicity. The clients have the same opinion.
This service proposition, initially imagined for sales area in order not to slow down checkouts’ flows, is now considered to be used directly in checkout because of its simplicity: the payment is made very quickly.
On the website, Top Office has recorded its first payments by installments since the first day of implementation. Animating this new payment offer played a crucial role and adding a dedicated web page and highlighting the solution allowed to maximize its discovery by the public.
Although the implementation is new, it is interesting to share some first figures:
Top Office’s E-commerce baskets with Alma are quite spread: between 170€ and 1000€, with an average of 381€.
In store, the range is similar, with a greater average reaching 456€.
The objective to go upmarket by offering this service is today in tune with our projections
written by
Jonathan Trepo-Lantelme
Chief Revenue Officer
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