How Courir steps up sales with innovative mobile messaging

With over 350 stores, Courir is the go-to spot for sneaker lovers throughout Europe. The French retailer has helped transform sneakers from athletic wear to fashion staples over its 40-year history.

Standing out in the retail industry is a challenge — even for a leading retailer like Courir.

Chloé Herbaut, Courir’s Customer Loyalty Manager, knows that staying ahead means constantly finding creative ways to connect with customers.

Teaming up with Sinch for mobile messaging expertise

Courir found a winning strategy in mobile messaging with Sinch. For more than eight years, Courir has trusted Sinch to help them navigate the ever-evolving world of mobile marketing.

“Sinch brings us many creative and innovative activation ideas to engage our customers,” Chloé said. “This collaboration helps us continually optimize our campaigns for better engagement and conversions.”

Sinch and Courir’s partnership started with SMS campaigns in 2017. They continued to innovate and explore over the years with other messaging channels like Rich SMS and Facebook Messenger.

Leveraging WhatsApp to boost holiday engagement

In 2022, Sinch recommended that Courir use WhatsApp to create a conversational experience for their holiday campaign.

Customers who opted into Courir’s WhatsApp community received exclusive deals and content. They could even interact with a chatbot to help them select the perfect gift for loved ones or a treat for themselves.

The WhatsApp holiday campaign drew so much interest that it generated a 66% opt-in rate and a 91% participation rate.

“We wanted to offer customers a different experience on this channel,” Chloé said. “We are creating intimate relationships with them by giving them first access to news and promotions.”

Courir worked with Sinch to launch several new WhatsApp campaigns in 2023, including another holiday campaign. By the end of the year, Courir’s WhatsApp subscriber list garnered five times more opt-ins than the previous year.

Leveling up the customer experience with RCS

Next, Sinch recognized an opportunity to boost Courir’s customer engagement with Rich Communication Services (RCS). This next-generation messaging technology puts Courir a step ahead with sender verification, rich media, and conversational messaging.

Courir launched its first RCS campaign during the 2023 holiday season — one of the most competitive times of the year for customers’ attention.

The RCS message featured a GIF with animated text to highlight Courir’s holiday sale and a button leading to the sale page. They A/B tested the interactive RCS message against a Rich SMS message, which included a static link preview of the sale page.

The RCS campaign was the clear winner with:

· 137% return on investment (ROI), compared to the RCS message’s 94% ROI.

· 70% read rate, a metric that’s not available for Rich SMS.

“With RCS, we have more metrics to analyze than with standard SMS or Rich SMS,” Chloé said. “The results were very promising, and they sparked ideas for further tests and optimization opportunities.”

Building on Courir’s successful messaging strategy

What’s next for Courir’s messaging strategy? For starters, Chloé is eager to test RCS on a wider audience with the release of iOS 18, which brings RCS to iPhone users.

She is also looking forward to integrating Google Wallet with RCS so customers can access information about their Courir loyalty cards, like available points and offers, within their messaging apps.

“The beauty of working with Sinch is that we’re already trying new things,” Chloé said. “It’s a two-way partnership where they share new ideas, and we share results so they can continue to optimize.”