Company

 

FTD is a leader in the floral industry with one of the largest florist networks in the world. In addition, the Company supports locally-owned retail florists and members of its florist network with technology, marketing and digital services. FTD operates two of the leading online floral websites in the world – FTD.com and Proflowers.com.

 

Objective

 

FTD was looking for a sophisticated yet economical digital promotions solution that would help drive conversions and shopper engagement. In addition, FTD sought a solution that was agile, user-friendly, and customizable to suit their unique business needs.

Challenge

Like any B2C organization, one of FTD’s development roadmaps for their latest fiscal year was to drive conversions while improving page speed performance. Originally, the company planned to extend its existing CMS system to create a mobile-friendly promotional content bar. However, FTD soon realized that building an internal solution meant wasted time and
added complexities.

 

At this point, FTD’s Chief of Staff recommended Thrive Commerce based on his positive experience with the digital promotions solution provider as the CTO of his previous company. It turns out, Thrive Commerce’s easy-to-launch and unique Promotions Suite that enables promotional content management across all stages in the user journey—from acquisition to check out—was just what FTD needed.

Solution

Thrive Commerce’s Smart Bar delivered personalized offers and was an instant hit with FTD shoppers. “Smart Bar’s dynamic feature focuses on driving engagement and conversion and completely aligns with our goals. Moreover, we’re always seeking to drive conversions without driving unneeded promotional dollars, and Thrive Commerce was the perfect fit,” states Ema Ode VP, eCommerce Technology at FTD.

 

After Smart Bar’s success, FTD promptly launched Thrive’s Smart Pages and Smart Button. While Smart Pages helps organize promotions for high-intent searches, Smart Button reduces cart abandonment and increases upsell. “As we continued to launch Smart Pages and Smart Button iteratively, the insights from the Smart Bar campaign reporting, built by the Thrive Commerce team, helped us greatly refine our campaign strategies. By the time we hit our first peak sales period, we were fully launched on the site and could quickly pivot our promotional strategies to shoppers’ demands,” adds Ema.

Process

It all started with a Proof of Value (POV) A/B Test. By displaying the Thrive Smart Bar to a percentage of traffic, FTD was able to quickly validate the immediate conversion
benefits of Smart Bar promotional content. “We had Smart Bar live on Proflowers.com within a couple of weeks, as we built the feature flags to allow us to A/B test the solution,”
explains Ema. “In addition, the product and tech team at Thrive Commerce also went the extra mile and enhanced the capabilities within their platform based on feedback from the POV test.”

 

Moreover, Thrive Commerce’s reporting analytics feature was also a game-changer for FTD. It offered more significant insights into which promotions customers are responding to and ultimately drove more traffic with Smart Pages while minimizing fallout with Smart Button.

“By the time we hit our first peak sales period, we were fully launched on the site and could quickly pivot our promotional strategies to shoppers’ demands,” adds Ema.

 

Results

 

With Thrive Commerce, FTD noticed tangible business benefits within months of implementation. Some advantages of partnering with Thrive Commerce were as follows.

After a short proof of concept with Thrive Commerce – FTD benefited from an immediate AOV, Conversion Rate & Revenue per Visitor improvement resulting in a +20X annualized return on top line revenue.

“From POV to actual product launch, the onboarding support provided by Thrive Commerce’s Customer Success Manager was exceptional. She provided insights into how other customers have leveraged the platform, modifying learnings to tailor recommendations to our unique needs,” states Ema.

Real-time Changes

With Thrive Commerce at the back end, any update or site changes reflected almost immediately within minutes of making the tweak. Such flexibility empowered FTD to pivot quickly. Moreover, the Company was also able to schedule posts for maximum efficiency during peak season and cut-offs.

Quick Response

The Thrive Commerce team was always proactive and responded quickly to emails and queries, which helped deliver prompt resolution and solutions.

Roadmap Alignment

One of the best advantages of Thrive Commerce’s promotions platform is their continuous innovation that is completely aligned with FTD’s shopper engagement and personalization goals.

 

Future

 

FTD will continue using Smart Bar and Smart Pages for improved sales and promotion. The company also plans to further drive seasonal, sales, and everyday campaigns through unique, personalized solutions. For example, “Our decision to buy vs. build a solution paid off greatly with Thrive Commerce’s versatile promotions suite. In the end, we improved site experience and conversions, all while saving valuable time, resources, and finances,” ends Ema.