Studio Retail: Launching an app to drive a personalised experience

On the 23rd September 2019, Studio.co.uk announced the launch of its first mobile shopping app, Studio WOW.

With more than two million customers shopping with the brand every year, shoppers will have access to tens of thousands of products on the iOS and Android apps, covering a range of categories including homeware, clothing, gifts and electricals.

Studio WOW has many features shoppers have come to expect, but with the convenient credit element of a banking app, allowing them to take advantage of the flexible payment options made available by Studio.

With 75% of all transactions online and some 70-80% of those on mobile, the launch of the app is the next natural step in the retailer’s digital transformation.

Studio has “invested to capitalise on the shift in consumer behaviour in recent years.” says Studio Retail Marketing Director, Chris Chalmers. “We have come a long way from our traditional catalogue heritage and have  listened closely to what customers want and that is to have great value Studio products at their fingertips and to manage their account easily.”

“We identified that having an app was the missing piece in our digital puzzle in our ambition to be the UK’s best known digital value retailer.”

With strong growth posted for the first half of the year, investments in digital have certainly been paying off. As part of its digital strategy, Studio selected Poq, a Software-as-a-Service app platform to partner with to build their retail apps.

“We decided to partner with Poq, because of their unrivalled experience in retail. We wanted our customers to have the best experience on our app and by working with a platform we can offer shoppers an engaging experience, through inspiration-led in-app stories and look-books, along with the ability to add and edit their wish lists on-the-go.”

Chris Chalmers, Marketing Director, Studio Retail Ltd

Chalmers states that creating a highly personalised shopping experience is what sets the Studio WOW app apart from others.

“Through AI-enabled technology shoppers will have a more personalised view on their app, through search and capitalising on micro-trends they will always be shown the right products at the right time, every time.”

Poq CEO & Co-Founder, Oyvind Henriksen, commented, “It’s great to see retailers like Studio that truly listen and adapt to consumer demands, for a more personalised and convenient shopping experience.” He continued, “Their decision to launch an app is a great example of how omnichannel retailers can adapt and innovate to create a stronger business and provide a better customer experience.”

The roll-out of these digital-first strategies and with improvements to the customers’ shopping experience should underpin the retailer’s continued growth.

The Studio WOW app has an average star rating of 5 on the Apple App Store.