ROSE Bikes: A Longstanding Partner of Unzer

ROSE Bikes started out as a small workshop for bicycles in the Northwest German city of Bocholt back in 1907. The company's passion for cycling and spirit of innovation were then passed on from one generation to the next.

01/14/2021

3 min

Expert contact

ROSE Bikes is today an online-first omnichannel enterprise with international operations. Unzer is part of this success story, as it has been processing the service provider transactions since ROSE Bikes went live with its Spryker online shop in May 2018. So what makes Unzer's partner company so successful? What sets it apart from other bicycle businesses? What do ROSE Bikes pay particular attention to when linking their brick and mortar business with their online shop? Allow us to present the company together with Daniela Pröhl from ROSE Bikes.

What is the secret to success at ROSE Bikes?

“The customer is always at the heart of what we do. This is not just something we say. In fact, we ask ourselves the question "what would the customer want at this point?" throughout the entire customer journey – regardless of whether online or in brick and mortar shops. To this end, we combine the two worlds in such a way that customers get the advice and service they need at any of the touchpoints when looking to purchase a bicycle and always feel as though they are in good hands. We also ensure a seamless link between the touchpoints, as well as the online shop and POS here. With this approach, a customer's favourites are already defined in an online profile during the consultation. Once they have reached their final decision, customers then only need to click on "order now" from home. A smooth checkout process, in which customers are offered a selection of payment types and can choose the best option for them personally, is obviously also a key part of this. With Unzer, we can offer Paypal, all credit cards, SOFORT transfers, iDeal and instalment purchases by easyCredit. We also offer card payments and instalment purchases in our brick and mortar shops. This seamless link, which we offer during consultations, is therefore also extremely important to us when it comes to payment."

What specific approach do you adopt in terms of service?

"At ROSE Bikes, we believe that good service comprises multiple levels. When looking to purchase a product that requires in-depth consultation, such as a bicycle, it is particularly important for customers to be able to access the service at any time. In addition to the familiar option of physically going to a shop and getting professional advice, we also offer online options such as video consultations – a type of live chat with one of our specialists. Most customers ultimately end up with a combination of online and offline support, whereby they first gather information online and then come into one of our ROSE shops for some face-to-face advice. They may then choose to sleep on their decision and place the order online the following day. Some 80% of our product purchases are now made and processed online. For us, good service is a combination of an excellent product, excellent service and excellent price-performance."

What do you specifically pay attention to in your online shop?

"Just like everything else we do, the online shop of ROSE Bikes is very customer-centric. We have a fantastic team of experts that work on usability and the customer journey every day, also incorporating customer wishes.”

What do you consider particularly important in terms of payment during the checkout process?

"The final steps of a purchase always take place during checkout. The most important thing is therefore to ensure a smooth process for all the payment types offered. The main objective in this regard is for customers not to have to worry about payment and instead ensure that they are offered their preferred payment type, making their purchase easy. This also quite obviously and demonstrably increases our conversion rate. Unzer's merchant backend also provides us with a transparent overview of the payment processes. This allows us to make refinements here and there and further optimise our overall service. We also like the fact that we have a personal contact at Unzer and do not need to call an anonymous customer hotline, as is otherwise often the case."

What effect is the coronavirus pandemic currently having on your business?

"As you may already know, the bicycle sector is currently experiencing very strong growth. We are also benefiting from this. Although not the only factor, the coronavirus pandemic is certainly contributing to this. Even if we all wish the increase in business was due to other circumstances, the fact is that bikes are currently developing into a sustainable alternative to cars for many people, as well as becoming an increasingly popular and important means of transport for short trips. Bikes are also becoming status symbols, a trend we have now been observing for quite some time. Indeed, many customers no longer own just one bicycle. For example, some are keen to have a racing bike for riding on the road, as well as a mountain bike for trips into the forest."

Why were you looking for a payment service provider and what ultimately made you go with Unzer?

“In the past, we used to incorporate all service provider payment types via dedicated, self-programmed API interfaces as standalone integrations. With the new shop, we decided to process all service provider transactions from a single source via one payment service provider. We have been working with Unzer, back then as heidelpay, since launching our Spryker online shop in May 2018. The backend provided by Unzer offers us a complete overview of all payments at any time on just one platform. Integrations already in place at Unzer mean that we can also extend our range of payment types both easily and affordably (for example to include SOFORT transfers or instalment purchases by easyCredit). In addition to this, we enjoy low maintenance costs thanks to the central system of payment type control.“