Sportsman’s Warehouse is a leading omnichannel specialty outdoor sporting goods retailer operating in 32 states in the U.S. and online at sportsmans.com. They are focused on meeting the needs of the seasoned outdoor veteran, the first-time participant, and everyone in between, on a mission to provide outstanding gear and exceptional service to inspire outdoor memories.
The Problem: Journey Interruptions Negatively Impact Customer Experience and Bottom Line
Sportsman’s Warehouse faced a challenge whereby a significant portion of their website visitors were exposed to journey interruptions, specifically ad injections. This problem negatively affected their customer experience and bottom line KPIs. Unwanted ads and redirects were disrupting the customer journey on their website, leading to shoppers clicking on competing ads or becoming frustrated with the overall experience. This not only resulted in lost revenue but was also tarnishing the reputation of Sportsman’s Warehouse.
Furthermore, they found that approximately 1.5-2% of Sportsman’s Warehouse website traffic consisted of customers using shopping browser extensions. Though they can help drive more traffic, they can also interrupt the customer journey with unwanted pop-ups, frustrate customers with broken coupons, or pull them away with competing offers. Ultimately, these extensions had varying impacts on the Sportsmans.com user experience and conversion rates.
The Solution: Regain Control of the Customer Journey by Preventing Customer Hijacking and Managing Browser Affiliate Extensions
Sean McClaugherty, Vice President of eCommerce at Sportsman’s Warehouse, recognized the importance of implementing Namogoo as a vital component of their tech stack to combat journey interruptions.
“What I learned about the percentage of our customers exposed to these ads, the frequency, and impact it had on our customers’ shopping experience was eye opening. The data revealed the reality of what was happening to our website visitors, the types of ads and redirects interfering with the site experience, and the sites to which they were being diverted.”
The key revelation was that hijacked visitors, once injected ads were blocked, converted at a much higher rate compared to other visitors. This is because the most engaged eCommerce shoppers are also the ones who tend to download free software such as browser extensions and mobile apps that contain hidden tools and services with the goal of stealing traffic.
Sean and his team conducted multiple A/B tests to assess the impact of these extensions on their KPIs. They discovered that blocking certain extensions from popping up resulted in improved KPIs such as conversion rate and cart abandonment. However, other extensions had a positive impact on KPIs when they popped up. Based on the test results, they were able to make informed decisions on whether to block or keep specific extensions.
The Business Impact: Boosting CVR and Revenue while Preserving Customer Journey Continuity
After their eCommerce team implemented Namogoo’s Customer Journey Hijacking prevention solution, they were able to yield significant improvements in key metrics and KPIs. They also observed interesting shifts in behavior between the control group and the monitored group.
Notably, the group not exposed to unwanted ads experienced an 18% increase in transactions, while the control group still seeing the ads faced a 24% decline.
Overall, the consistent and impressive results demonstrated the effectiveness of the solution in combating Customer Journey Hijacking with uplifts in conversion rate of 4.7% in 2022, resulting in a remarkable ROI of approximately 136 times.
Moreover, by understanding which extensions were popular and how they influenced customer behavior, Sean and his team gained control over cart abandonment, bounce rate, and conversion rate.
“Namogoo’s extension attribution dashboard further enhanced our ability to optimize the affiliate budget and make informed decisions about affiliate partnerships. The ability to effectively manage these shopping browser extensions with Namogoo’s assistance provided valuable insights into the impact on the customer journey and our overall business performance.”
Conclusion: Increase Conversion Rates and Revenue
By leveraging these insights, Sportsman’s Warehouse could optimize their affiliate funnel, attribute traffic sources, and interaction rates, ultimately making smarter marketing decisions.
Overall, with the implementation of Namogoo’s solution, they were able to successfully mitigate the challenges posed by Customer Journey Hijacking and shopping browser extensions that were interrupting the site experience for their visitors. They improved conversion rates and ensured a seamless customer experience, thereby driving revenue growth and solidifying their position as a premier outfitter in the outdoor sporting goods industry.
