With more than 45,000 stock keeping units (SKUs), and a goal to grow their business by moving their entire product catalogue online, the leadership team at Kmart did not expect their digital transformation to be an easy one. 

The company’s inventory includes products ranging from pet food to winter boots, and 80 per cent of their products are designed and developed in-house. They also have a large volume of on-trend apparel products with a short lifecycle – requiring fast speed to market to maximise sales.

As one of the most recognised brands in Australia and our country’s largest container importer, Kmart faced growing competition from online and international retailers and could see consumer behaviour shifting fast. 

So the company set out to expand its digital footprint and improve its customer experience beyond brick and mortar stores. 

Kmart initially began by deploying a product information management (PIM) solution designed for general merchandise. However, with limited functionality it took staff an average 10 days to complete a single SKU, with one-third of the team dedicated to data checks and governance.

The end result was also a less than impressive experience for shoppers: products lacked quality information which made it difficult to make an informed purchasing decision.  

The original iteration of Kmart’s online store included just 6 per cent of their entire product range. With a frustrating lack of speed and scalability, it seemed near impossible to pursue other key company goals, such as expanding beyond B2C to pursue more B2B customers. 

Eventually, the team decided to search for a new PIM solution. One, they hoped, that could support a rapid transformation and deliver the wow-worthy customer experience they aspired to. 

Pivoting to Product 360 

“We’re reaching two and a half million customers every week with our online channels, which is approximately the same number of people that come through our doors in Kmart Australia. When we told the business that, it was non-negotiable—we had to get our entire product range online, and we had to do it as quickly as possible.”

Emma Toop, Online Strategic Initiatives Manager at Kmart Australia

Kmart reached out to Informatica for a solution. As a global leader in enterprise data management, Informatica was able to assist with Product 360: a powerful PIM solution designed to make generating, editing and loading comprehensive product information and high quality images fast and easy. 

Coupled with Informatica Data Quality, Kmart could also integrate with vendors and external agencies to automatically receive and validate product data and other digital content. 

In mere months with Informatica’s support, Kmart was able to:

• move 45,000 SKUs online
• introduce new products 4x faster
• quadruple online sales
• move beyond B2C to pursue B2bB
• increase team productivity by 33%
• significantly improve product data quality

Since the transition, Kmart has grown its business by 60% – empowered by Product 360’s features such as rich product content, automated data checks, reduced manual intervention, faster speed to market, and more. 

“We chose Informatica because of the cultural fit as much as the technology,” says Toop. “They are best in class at what they do, and they were completely willing to partner with us. They took on our problems as their problems and found the right solutions.” 

“We used Informatica MDM Product 360 to digitalize our entire product range because products are what we care about and love, so we needed to showcase them to the world.” 

Your digital presence matters more than ever

The events of the past few months have shown how crucial it is to have a competitive online presence. Brick and mortar stores no longer simply compete with others in their local shopping centre – their competition exists everywhere. 

This means online retailers must deliver something exceptional. They must appreciate that potential customers do not have the luxury of touching, smelling or trying on products – and compensate with powerful visual representations and clear product content. 

They must make it easy to search, find and checkout. And they must be agile and swift; because there are no guarantees that what works today will work tomorrow. 

For those who take on the challenge with excitement and determination, the sky is truly the limit. 

To help you get started, Informatica is offering a free eBook on how to leverage product information to attract and convert customers.