Kinderkraft is a manufacturer of children's accessories - car seats, prams, bikes and more. The brand's mission is to provide the highest possible quality products with all safety standards and an affordable price.

Kinderkraft has been on the market for more than 10 years, offering its products in 75 countries worldwide. It has also been selling online for several years, and in 2021 decided to migrate to Magento 2 Open Source to provide users with an even better shopping experience. 

Scope of work

We took over the project from another agency that was implementing an e-commerce platform based on Magento 1 at the client. We prepared the entire migration structure, infrastructure and maintenance activities. In the next stage, we prepared the Magento 2 architecture and started implementation work. 

We decided to choose Magento 2.3+ open source. There were several challenges with the choice - including a lack of optimisation, a complex frontend or a large number of css, js scripts loaded at launch, which negatively impacted Google Page Speed results. In response to these challenges, we decided to choose the best frontend for the Magento system (Hyvä theme) and implement a one-step checkout on Vue.

Why did we use Hyvä Theme?

Hyva Theme is a template built from scratch for Magento. It differs from a native template in that JavaScript scripts only load where needed and the CSS file only contains the declarations that the site actually uses. What impact does this have on the shop? First and foremost, much faster page loading and improved performance indicators. 

Hyva guarantees less complexity, reducing the technology stack in favour of better performance. At the same time, it ensures that costs are kept in line and the experience is similar to that offered by headless solutions. 

Results 

• Excellent results in Page Speed Insights and page load speed and performance
• Elimination of unnecessary code that slows down page loading times
• Hyvä is a server-side rendering solution, allowing the implementation of a fast frontend, without the limitations of headless and the high development and maintenance costs of 2 headless applications (Magento Application and Frontend Application)
• User experience similar to the headless solution
• Frontend rendered at 90-100pct in Google Page Speed Insight 
• Possibility to implement PWA workers (not headless)

Functionality in Kinderkraft

• Implementation of a dedicated UX design
• Enhanced product card
• Enhanced SEO
• Launch of 6 websites for 6 markets 
• Simplified checkout
• Blog
• Return, complaint and warranty registration forms
• Adaptation of the offer and e-commerce to the legal and usage requirements of foreign markets
• New Klarna payment method on all markets → simplified shopping experience for customers

One-step checkout

A maximally simplified purchasing path is a major convenience for customers. By using one-step checkout, the user has all the order information collected in one window - he or she can verify the order, enter the shipping address, select the payment method and also the shipping method - without having to switch between windows and "click through". Checkout is often considered the icing on the cake of the entire shopping process. Stretched out and unintuitive, it can be an effective deterrent to purchase, so it is worth adopting solutions that make the process of finalzsing an order take little time. This not only affects user satisfaction, but also increases conversion and reduces the risk of cart abandonment at this stage.

Cross-border sales 

The brand has been selling its products in international markets for more than a decade. In the last year, it has invested heavily in cross-border online sales - with an eye to maintaining the highest standard of customer service in each of the available countries. Cross-border was therefore a natural step for the brand's global growth - including in digital.

Business needs vs. cross-border

• Migrating to a new shop platform (Magento 2 Open Source) to meet business requirements and sales targets in the online sector,
• Providing online shoppers with an excellent shopping experience in line with the omnichannel concept
• Bringing sales in foreign markets into line with legal requirements there
• Increasing sales in the e-commerce sector
• Ensuring the highest quality of customer service in each of the available markets
• Building a multilingual support team

Cross-border goals

• Parenting sector leader in Europe and worldwide
• Customer-oriented approach 
• Build an international team 
• Launch global online sales 
• Innovate and stay ahead of trends 
• Providing the same shopping experience in each of the available markets 
• Ensuring the highest quality of products and services offered 
• Tailoring the sales offer and shop page to each market

Tailoring offers and promotions to each market

One of the key elements of a good cross-border strategy is an individual approach to each market. Kinderkraft attaches great importance to tailoring the offer to the needs and characteristics of the country in question. It also tailors promotions to best fit into the sales calendar of the specific market.

Innovation

The brand was one of the first to introduce a 'buy now, pay later' sales model to the UK market using Klarna. This is another step to maximize convenience and customer shopping experience.

Customer care

For the brand, the safety of the youngest users is a priority. Kinderkraft guarantees free participation in the SAFE CAR SEAT PROGRAM, which gives you the opportunity to exchange your car seat for a new one. Car seats fitted in cars involved in an accident or road traffic collision suffer micro-damage, which makes further safe use impossible. This is why the brand allows customers injured in an accident to easily replace their car seat in three steps.

Customer service at the highest level

The Kinderkraft brand insists on excellent customer service regardless of country or market. One element of this strategy is to employ a customer success team with specific language skills (language skills must be proven by a diploma or certificate) to provide customers with service in their native language.

Customers also have the option of contacting the support department via social media - so that they can choose the way that is most convenient for them. 

• Customer support available 7 days a week in all countries
• Excellent product knowledge of support staff
• Customer-oriented approach
• Communication in 6 languages 
• Accessibility on Facebook and Instagram - the ability to contact the brand in the most convenient way for the customer 
• Average time to process a complaint is 12 hours
• No cost for complaint services (door-2-door service, cost of goods and items)
• The brand takes responsibility for all complaints
• One support person handles one claim from start to finish - knows the case well and knows how to help the customer
• Fast shipping - in 24 hours

Free delivery and return costs

Products can easily be returned within 100 days at the brand's expense. All you have to do is fill in the return form, then the courier will pick up the products to be returned. The whole procedure without leaving your home! Replacement of goods also at the expense of the brand.

The customer has the opportunity to compare the products at home and, once selected, the courier takes away the equipment that does not meet the customer's expectations.

0 zł - cost of delivery for each market, regardless of the amount of the order

0 zł - return cost

100 days - return period

10 years - warranty

Summary

The Kinderkraft brand has managed to improve its sales platform and align it with the brand's global plans. Online cross-border sales are already taking place in six European markets, and a further nine language versions of the website are in the pipeline.

The shop's website fulfils not only a sales function, but also an informative one - with an extensive blog section containing advice on using the products, but also on caring for children or travelling with an infant.

Despite the increasing number of foreign markets, it has been possible to maintain the highest possible standard of service - in the country's native language. The brand's pro-customer attitude also manifests itself in an easier purchase path, free orders, returns and exchanges, as well as a flexible - well - time to return the product. 

“Thanks to our partnership with Strix, we were able to meet our branding and sales targets. We want to continue to develop online shops in foreign markets - we have plans for nine more markets - without losing sight of what is most important, namely customer satisfaction." Adrian Kononiuk, E-commerce Senior Specialist at Kinderkraft