In this client testimonial, Ryan Vaughan, the digital operations manager, and Tom Baker, the digital marketing manager, both from Globe-Trotter, share their experience of working with SmartPixels on their product personalization experience.
The article covers the benefits of investing in real-time 3D technology, the impact it had on their e-commerce website, and how it has revolutionized their product personalization. Ryan and Tom also discuss why they chose to work with SmartPixels, the advantages of using its technology in-store and online, and what they enjoy the most about the project.
Throughout the article, they highlight the level of detail achieved through the 3D renderings, and how it has impacted their conversion rate for their product personalization offer.
My name is Ryan Vaughan, I am a digital operations manager also known as the resident geek here at Globe-Trotter.
My name is Tom Baker, I am the digital marketing manager here at Globe-Trotter and it’s been a journey and working with SmartPixels has been a real pleasure.
Ryan: Not many brands have a factory connected so close to home. So, the ability to customize and offer 3D product customization online was paramount to the new journey that we were having online with Globe-Trotter. Since we were bought out not so long ago, this was always going to be a major part of our operations moving forward to move the bespoke service that is so well put together both in the UK and Japan and to bring that online.
Tom: A Globe-Trotter suitcase takes more than ten days and hundreds of processes to come together. To capture that in a still image or even sort of a product video is almost impossible. We can’t talk about every feature in the same sentence alone in the same paragraph. So working with SmartPixels really allowed us to highlight each individual element whilst making that available for all sorts of placements across our digital marketing and offline marketing as well.
We use the content and exports from SmartPixels and their 3D configurator throughout the business for new product development, bespoke, custom luggage, and even for the smallest changes to personalization. But we use it across our website at product level, collection level, we use it on our newsletters, social media, paid media, the full works and it’s complemented our existing lifestyle imagery and sort of studio pictures and still life just perfectly.
Ryan: In the old world, when we were working with Globe-Trotter online, we had very few personalization methods, other than initialling so when we brought on SmartPixels, the ability to customize a full suitcase was completely new to us.
We have tried and failed in many kinds of low-fi methods, but in working with SmartPixels, we could really bring the quality of the customization process online.
The take-up online has been very good, the feedback has been very good, and it’s enough to enable us to invest further and provide more options in the future.
Ryan: The store team, it’s not just online that use SmartPixels. The sales team in the stores also use an iPad and the SmartPixels configuration tool online. So it’s not just e-commerce sales that we’re seeing.
We’re also seeing direct point of sale in stores in Burlington and in our stores in Japan. And it’s very simple to pass the configurator information through the POS system so that we can process it in the back end just as well as we do on the e-commerce front end.
Tom: The decision wasn’t a quick one. We looked at what other brands were doing on this front, and we found very few were doing this within the luxury luggage and bags industry.
SmartPixels, their client base is purely enviable. The level of customer service to the client’s success is fantastic. But ultimately, they were able to capture 125 years of Globe-Trotter’s craftsmanship, history, and heritage better than we could have ever imagined.
The level of detail we’ve been able to achieve on the renders is second to none. Hence why we’ve opted to replace our packshots across specific products with the renders from SmartPixels.
On that as well, the service offered was only the beginning. The opportunity to really mould our relationship with SmartPixels to what we need is fantastic and very excited for some of the new releases and new features that we’ll be launching in the coming months and weeks.
Both in-store and online, we receive really positive feedback from our customers. A lot of it is just regarding, you know, the actual visualization of what they want when it comes to personalization and custom luggage from the vulcanised fiberboards to each individual corner to the hardware, to the lining, everything is customizable and to try and explain that, visualize that without this sort of technology, it’s impossible. And goes without saying that it has had a real positive impact on our conversion rate for this offering.
Tom: What I am really enjoying the most is just that opportunity. Doesn’t matter what we’re launching, or where we’re launching it, we can create assets at the same level as we would be spending for lifestyle photoshoots, for anything, and just the freedom from whether we are just looking at 2D angles or 3D visuals, that’s just so exciting. It’s, you know, we’re creating campaigns within 24 hours and launching the next day just with this. That’s just really the most exciting thing.
We can create any possible situation with SmartPixels, we can place it on a studio background, we can place it in real life, and create in situ experiences at the touch of a button.
Ryan: Personally, it’s lovely to see the products come to life. Now that the initial phase has been completed, I’m more interested in the other areas that the configurator can work with.
So not just selling to customers, but also how we present our products for a 3D base on social channels without having to deal with more and more photoshoots and how we build configured products to sell as core online, not just custom but physical collections that we can design and launch within weeks instead of months as it traditionally would be.
Tom: The future with SmartPixels is very exciting. We are exploring ways of how we can really utilize this technology for our paid placements.
We have historically relied on large photoshoots, capturing still and videos, but now we are exploring using solely configurator-generated imagery and videos. So that’s really exciting.
As well it’s learning from the experience of customers over the last 12 months specifically as to what they want, what are they asking for, and what do we not currently offer. And every time we’ve raised this with SmartPixels, they’ve come back saying, “We can do that”. Just when do you need it by?
Ryan: I see the future with SmartPixels as much more than just a configurator for customers online. And there are so many avenues to explore, so many exciting demos that we’ve seen that will help us not just for selling configured products, but for promoting core, for operationally launching… The sky’s the limit, really.”
In conclusion, SmartPixels has revolutionized Globe-Trotter’s online experience by providing cutting-edge 3D technology that has transformed product personalization.
The impact of this technology to offer a personal touch is evident in the improved customer engagement and conversion rates, as well as the increased efficiency in the production process and customer satisfaction. Ryan and Tom’s experience highlights the importance of investing in innovative technologies that not only enhance the customer experience but also drive business growth.
By partnering with SmartPixels, Globe-Trotter has positioned itself as a leader in the luxury travel goods market, providing customers with a unique and personalized shopping experience.
Get in touch with the team to explore how SmartPixels can help your brand!
