How Blue Illusion is enhancing shopper experience with omnichannel tools
Learn how Brauz helped Blue Illusion connect its in-store and online shopping experience to meet customers’ needs.
Founded in 1998, Blue Illusion is a successful family-owned and operated women’s fashion brand with over 90 boutiques across Australia and New Zealand, including 15 concessions in David Jones, and a growing online business.
In a highly competitive industry, Blue Illusion differentiates itself through its unique product mix, which spans apparel, accessories and homewares, and its focus on fit, design and inclusive sizing.
The brand is also known for its commitment to customer service, with complimentary styling sessions and in-store fashion events.
“We try to provide a full outfitting and accessorising experience every time someone shops with us,” Dean Wiener, Blue Illusion’s head of omnichannel, said.
Until recently, however, that experience was only available in-store, a missed opportunity, given that customers increasingly expect their shopping journeys to be seamless across channels.
“It’s really important to us that we’re able to reflect the great experience that customers have in-store online,” Wiener said.
After replatforming its website in 2023, Blue Illusion felt it was the right time to level up its omnichannel offering. It turned to Brauz, a retail technology platform known for tailoring its solutions to individual business needs rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.
Filling the omnichannel gap
Before Brauz, Blue Illusion’s omnichannel capabilities were limited. For example, customers couldn’t check online to see if a particular item was in stock at their local store. As a result, they often contacted the customer service team, which was time-consuming and costly for the business to manage.
“That’s an essential need for our customers,” Wiener said, noting that a large portion of them are 55 and above, and while some are comfortable shopping online, others are not. Many customers still use the website as a catalog.
“They’re doing their research online, and then trying it on and shopping in-store, so we wanted to make that as easy as possible for them,” he said.
Another issue for the brand was the lack of visibility for in-store events. Blue Illusion has long held runways to mark the launch of new collections, but it didn’t have a way for customers to sign up, so store staff never knew how many people were planning to attend.
It also couldn’t track the impact of events on product sales or customer loyalty, hampering its ability to make data-driven decisions.
For Blue Illusion, the challenge was clear: it needed to embrace digital technology to remain relevant in a modern retail landscape, while keeping new features simple to avoid alienating existing customers.
A seamless customer experience across channels
Working with Brauz, Blue Illusion rolled out three new omnichannel features in quick succession: find in-store, event bookings and reserve in-store.
The find in-store feature enables customers to check online if a particular item is in stock at their local store, providing a more seamless shopping experience across channels and freeing up the customer service team.
The event bookings feature makes it easy for customers to sign up for in-store events online, giving stores real-time visibility of attendance, so they can better manage their capacity and resources. It also enables the business to track the success of each event, so it can understand how and where to improve over time.
Finally, the reserve in-store feature allows online shoppers to select items they’d like to try on in-store before purchasing. They can choose a time and location that suits them, and their items will be waiting in a fitting room when they arrive.
This feature not only gives customers the confidence of knowing that the items they’d like to try on will be available in-store, but it also enables store teams to provide a more personalised customer service experience, including styling suggestions and product recommendations.
As Wiener noted, each feature solves a particular problem for Blue Illusion.
We all have very different omnichannel challenges that we’re facing, and Brauz listened to what we were actually trying to achieve.Dean Wiener, head of omnichannel, Blue Illusion
A rapid rollout and strong support
Blue Illusion launched the find in-store feature at the end of 2023, less than two months after first discussing it with Brauz. The next feature to launch was the event booking system in March 2024. Even though it was a fully customised solution, it was up and running without issue within five weeks. Lastly, the brand launched reserve in-store in August 2024, less than three months after sign-off.
The rapid rollout impressed Wiener, who has been working in omnichannel retail for over 20 years and understands just how difficult these projects can be.
“Omnichannel operations are one of the most complicated things to do, so it’s quite impressive,” he said.
Crucially, Brauz’s portal is designed to be very user-friendly, so training store staff was not an issue.
“Store teams are lean and they’re busy, so we needed to make sure that whatever they’re seeing on the screen is simple and easy to use,” he said. “All of Brauz’s functionality is one or two clicks.”
For Wiener, the implementation process also showcased Brauz’s biggest strength as a tech partner.
“They truly understand that for us to deliver great outcomes for our customers, we need solutions that fit our business specifically. They will go out of their way to build features and products for us that are specific to our needs and our customers’ needs,” he said.
OVER 3000 RESERVATIONS IN ONE YEAR
30%conversion rate from reservations
Blue Illusion’s omnichannel expansion has been well-received by customers over the past year, with the reserve in-store feature proving to be particularly popular. It has been used over 3000 times across nearly every store since launch.
“The feedback from customers has been extremely positive,” Wiener said. “We see this specifically in the conversion rate we see from reservations, which is consistently well over 30 per cent. I believe this shows how a seamless customer journey between online and stores can offer both the customer and retail teams a positive and joyful experience.”
Beyond the overall conversion rate, another significant metric for Blue Illusion is the number and type of products purchased in each transaction. This goes back to the brand’s key point of difference, which is the unique mix of apparel, accessories and homewares it provides.
“We really want to fully outfit the customer,” Wiener said.
This metric has also improved since the brand implemented reserve in-store.
“Just because someone has only reserved one item doesn’t mean they’re only going to walk out with one item,” he noted. “The better prepared staff are to serve a customer in terms of what they think would suit, the better chance they have of converting on a greater number of items in their basket.”
Choosing the right tech partner
With a growing disconnect between its in-store experience and online, Blue Illusion knew it needed to improve its omnichannel offering. However, any new features it launched had to be simple and easy to use for customers.
According to Wiener, Brauz was “the logical choice” due to its technical and operational expertise and the high level of support it offers clients.
In less than a year, Blue Illusion implemented three new omnichannel features, including find in-store, event bookings and reserve in-store. They have all been well-received by customers and driven positive business outcomes.
Based on his experience, Wiener said he wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Brauz as a tech partner. He also shared some advice for other brands embarking on an omnichannel project with Brauz.
Have a very clear intent for what experience you are trying to give your customer, and be able to communicate that with the team at Brauz. Knowing those things will allow them to build the best possible product for your business and customersDean Wiener, head of omnichannel, Blue Illusion
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