How BUT doubled its campaign ROI with omnichannel messaging 

Since the 1970s, French retailer BUT has made quality home furnishings accessible to everyone. With over 330 stores across France, 80% of the population is never more than 20 minutes away from a store.  

A few years ago, the retailer digitized its product catalog to extend the same convenience and availability to online shoppers. BUT’s team began looking for creating innovative, user-friendly ways to help customers to find the best home furnishings online. 

Keeping customers engaged through multiple channels 

BUT partnered with Sinch to implement a unified messaging strategy built on three primary channels — WhatsApp, RCS, and Rich SMS.  

The strategy was designed to reach customers on their favorite messaging platforms and make it easier for them to choose the right products. 

WhatsApp: Simplifying the holiday shopping experience 

During the 2023 holiday season, BUT integrated their product catalog directly to WhatsApp’s shopping cart functionality. 

Customers could browse products, create shopping lists, and build their cart directly in WhatsApp. When they were ready to check out, they were seamlessly transferred to BUT’s site to complete the purchase.  

“We could simplify the purchasing journey of our customers, thus offering a more fluid and personalized customer experience,” said Sonia Dahech, BUT’s Omnichannel, Traffic, and Data Director. 

RCS and Rich SMS: Clarifying promotions with visual content 

For three years, BUT promoted its “100% Refunded” rebate offer via Rich SMS. Each time, though, the campaign received less customer engagement than expected.   

The offer details confused customers, and Rich SMS’s 160-character limit made it difficult to fully explain how the offer worked.  

BUT collaborated with Sinch to test the campaign on a channel that had served them well already: RCS. 

“RCS has been an integral part of our CRM strategy since May 2023, with more than 26 campaigns already sent,” said Sonia. 

The switch to RCS allowed BUT to present the same offer — this time with animated visuals, a more detailed offer overview, and a call-to-action button directing customers to view eligible products. 

Because some customers didn’t have RCS messaging enabled, BUT created a complimentary Rich SMS campaign as a fallback. 

The campaign included a link to an interactive scratchcard experience on BUT’s site. The scratchcard revealed the rebate offer and highlighted eligible products. 

Delivering measurable results through omnichannel messaging 

BUT’s strategy of delivering rich, interactive content across WhatsApp, RCS, and Rich Messaging led to: 

1. Higher click-through rates and sales 

The channels’ interactive features led to a boost in customer engagement. For instance, one RCS campaign reached a remarkable 13.3% click rate, which was well above the industry average. It also generated €61,000 in additional turnover — triple the previous year’s results. 

2. Increased customer acquisition 

These immersive campaigns made it easier for customers to create shopping lists, explore products, and redeem promotions. The WhatsApp campaign in particular expanded BUT’s customer base by 123%.  

“This customer-oriented strategy has fostered a better understanding of our offers and has helped to strengthen the trust and loyalty of our customers towards our brand,” Sonia said. 

3. Simplified shopping experiences 

During the holidays, the WhatsApp campaign allowed customers to transfer their shopping cart to BUT’s site for easy checkout. It generated a start rate of 74% and a scenario completion rate of 44%. 

Building on multi-channel success 

“Relying on Sinch’s advice, we managed to differentiate ourselves with innovative Rich SMS, RCS, and WhatsApp campaigns,” Sonia said. “We doubled our ROI compared to traditional campaigns.” 

BUT isn’t stopping here. They’re working closely with Sinch to improve campaigns for key shopping events like French Days, VAT-free shopping, and Black Friday.