A performance athletics brand unlike any other, Under Armour’s purpose is to empower those who strive for more. They demand performance for their own house, too.
In partnership with Merkle, Under Armour has developed a global ecommerce operation – a headless Salesforce Commerce Cloud build that is one of the most performant ecommerce sites on the web – supported by ongoing commercial optimization and a loyalty program launched in the US, and soon to be rolled out globally.
Services
Experience & Commerce, Engagement & Loyalty, Consulting & Transformation, Analytics & Data Platforms
Industry
Retail & Consumer Goods
Market
US
Tech Partners
Salesforce
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1M
loyalty sign-ups in the first year
-
3X
higher loyalty conversion rate
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10%
improvement in mobile conversion
-
-
1M
loyalty sign-ups in the first year
-
3X
higher loyalty conversion rate
-
10%
improvement in mobile conversion
-
The challenge
Back in 2017, Under Armour wanted to move from a homebuilt commerce platform to Salesforce Commerce Cloud to help organize operations under one roof and scale more rapidly. The transition would not be simple or straightforward: it was clear that extensive planning and resources would be required.
In addition, Under Armour wanted to improve customer experience with faster load times. This slowed and stifled the online customer experience. Under Armour had to optimize not only their backend, but their frontend experience as well.
Finally, Under Armour sought to develop a loyalty program that encouraged user feedback, greater engagement, and base of dedicated customers. The program would extend beyond the website and meet the customer at various points of their athlete journey.
The approach
Global Commerce with a Performance Focus
Merkle helped Under Armour implement Salesforce Commerce Cloud seamlessly. The move was so successful, that we have worked across the global footprint, migrating regional sites across the global footprint to Salesforce. Today, the ecosystem spans 35 global storefronts across three global regions.
In 2023, Under Armour set an ambitious goal: consistently hit sub-three second page load times, often challenging for commerce sites given the dynamic nature of much of the content. Merkle helped move the SFCC implementation to a headless front end. The result is a fit-for-purpose frontend and an exceptionally fast page load time.
UA Rewards
Launched in the US in August 2023, Under Armour’s UA Rewards program is built on Merkle’s LoyaltyPlus platform. Connected to UA.com, the UA App, and Under Armour’s MapMyRun App, the program allows members to collect points on purchases, provide user feedback, and enter exclusive sweepstakes, along with other great perks.
The outcome
Ongoing Optimization
A yearslong partnership on website performance has ensured the site stays current with ongoing UX optimization and A/B testing, user research, and other enhancements.
Now in year four, the program consistently outperforms plan, delivering enhancements across feature design, UX and interaction model, content, and personalization.
During its rollout, the UA rewards program quickly exceeded targets for signups and continues, hitting over 1M enrolments in year one. Following the success of the US rollout, additional markets will be rolled out in coming months.
Looking ahead
The marathon isn’t over. Merkle and Under Armour’s partnership continues to drive commerce lift, build athlete loyalty across global markets, and grow the web commerce platform and global loyalty program. Who knows where we’ll go next?
