“The Emplifi integration is really seamless; the platforms save us a lot of time and it's very efficient. For us to have a dedicated spot within Emplifi to view and publish customer reviews and associated content makes it really easy for us to have the most up-to-date displays on our website. I love it.” – Tiffany Mass, Social Media Specialist, Sun & Ski Sports
Sportswear and equipment retailer Sun & Ski Sports provides customers with quality merchandise and top-notch customer service, both through its eCommerce site and in-person stores nationwide. To drive on-site conversion and engagement by spotlighting authentic stories from its dedicated customers, Sun & Ski chose Emplifi.
Accelerating the rollout of a holistic, user-friendly interface
Emplifi-powered user-generated content coupled with our Ratings & Reviews solutions gives the retailer’s team a way to quickly display social-focused customer content live without toggling between platforms.
"We were striving to get excellent customer service and a seamless, user-friendly interface, and we got both from Emplifi." — Tiffany Mass
Sun & Ski Sports now features interactive UGC displays sitewide, including product pages, virtual contests, and a homepage gallery.
"Previously, when we tried to use a different UGC solution, it took many months just to get started and it just wasn’t working right. We were lagging on our goals. Emplifi was the opposite. With Emplifi we were able to get up and running with the platform so quickly." — Tiffany Mass
Emplifi's gallery badge feature allows Sun & Ski Sports site visitors to shop directly from social media posts shared by existing passionate customers. In less than 6 months, Emplifi-powered UGC has boosted the brand's eCommerce success, yielding a 26% higher average order value and 97% more time spent on site.
"It was a no-brainer to work with a partner that was not only reliable and trusted in the space, but had an experience that was user-friendly. A lot of the features that were provided matched up to our look and feel, to our brand guidelines. We could put in whatever verbiage we wanted to match our brand voice. It’s really easy to plug and play." — Tiffany Mass
Review syndication and Community Q&A to amplify the customer voice
Sun & Ski Sports takes social proof and purchase confidence a step further by combining visual UGC with textual feedback from its customers through Emplifi's full suite of assets. Combining Emplifi's retailer Review Syndication tool with native collection, the Sun & Ski Sports team saw a 71% increase in reviews year-over-year, amassing over 110,000 reviews in just one quarter.
“Emplifi was providing a lot of content from our customers and other customers through syndication. Adding UGC onto the site and all the social connections are adding another level of content that is performing really well for us.” — James Raiford, Digital Site Manager
The brand also values Emplifi's Community Q&A alongside product page UGC as an avenue to consistently improve customer service and tweak brand content to match its customers’ needs. Staff and community responses yielded 928 Community Q&A answers in one quarter.
“Customer Q&A is outstanding. We always try to get those questions answered within 24 hours. It’s awesome because it’s a way for us to directly connect with our customers. It also gives us an opportunity to see repeating trends to add or enhance our product content going forward.” — James Raiford
Sun & Ski Sports is now able to harness vast amounts of genuine content from its enthusiastic community, both visual and text-based, to ultimately power an eCommerce site that shoppers enjoy exploring.
ABOUT SUN & SKI SPORTS
Since 1980, Sun & Ski Sports has been inspiring adventure. Sun & Ski Sports is a specialty outdoor retailer inspiring you to let adventure into your life confidently through exceptional customer service, first-hand expertise, and competitively priced brands ready to perform for any journey – to be where you live and play. Their trademark experience has placed the company at the top of specialty outdoor retailers in America. Sun & Ski Sports has grown to include 31 stores in 12 states across the country, yet still manages to provide that small store feel with big store competitive pricing. They specialize in equipment, apparel, footwear and accessories to enhance their customer’s active lifestyles and year-round activities including ski, snowboard, bike, run, swim, and more.
