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EQUIVA is a leading provider of all things equestrian: From riding clothing to horse feed and nutrition, they live by the motto: “We love, we care, we ride.” With over 80 EQUIVA stores in Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg, as well as the www.equiva.com eCommerce store, the company is on a mission to make equestrian sport an unforgettable experience for customers and their horses.
In April 2023, the company started the digital transformation process by replacing the paper sticker-point loyalty card with a mobile app that creates emotional bonds and wins members’ hearts.
Here's how they used Open Loyalty to go digital with their loyalty program, gamify the member experience, and increase share of wallet.
EQUIVA uses its mobile loyalty program to provide an exceptional customer experience and become a single source for equestrian products.
In just three months, the team
Loyalty program members show:
Referrals:
Referrals:
"The open API-first approach supported by the Open Loyalty model helped us to transform extremely fast. In less than four months, we switched from a paper card with sticker points that only worked in brick-and-mortar to an app that works omnichannel. We were able to implement features like push notifications, actions, rebates, and coupons into the loyalty app. These features drive app downloads and help us grow the program member base.."
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director, EQUIVA GmbH
EQUIVA had clearly defined loyalty goals, which was the main reason behind the fast and successful implementation of the program.
Most of the competitors in the equestrian industry have a frequent buyer program where customers have to spend a minimum amount of money to receive a certain percentage discount for future purchases. These programs provide discounts but lack any emotional connection with program members.
EQUIVA uses their mobile loyalty program to provide exceptional customer experience and become a single source for equestrian products.
"We wanted to create an emotional relationship with all our customers. We decided to move from competition-like tiers, e.g. bronze, silver, gold and instead refer to our customers as friends, best friends, and ultimately soulmates."
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director. EQUIVA GmbH
As a provider of all things equestrian, they wanted to ensure that people who buy feed and care don't have a reason to go anywhere else when they want the best for their horses.
EQUIVA had a notable number of customers who were satisfied with the traditional program and wanted their old card back. However, the old system could not track customer points digitally: it held all the customer data, but the points themselves lived as physical stickers on cards.
"The salespeople need to be convinced about the change. If they don’t believe in it, they won't be able to sell it. They need to perceive it as a chance and understand that joining the program is simple and makes their job a lot easier."
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director. EQUIVA GmbH
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Before they went digital with the loyalty program, the customer data was stored in four separate systems: cash register, legacy customer database, newsletter system, and eCommerce store. To introduce the new program, the team had to merge it all into one customer data platform with robust APIs.
"If you work with an API-first system like Open Loyalty, you need a robust API infrastructure. We used Lobster to switch from legacy data ETL (extract, transform, load) to real-time APIs."
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director. EQUIVA GmbH
The CRM team is learning to use the full potential of Open Loyalty to move customers higher up in the program and increase share of wallet. They're testing and learning the use of features that might suit their program, e.g. push notifications, coupons, and campaigns.
To move from paper cards to a new digital discount program, EQUIVA designed and implemented the EQUIVA Friends mobile app. Open Loyalty is the technology that provides the loyalty mechanics in the program and integrates with the existing tech stack. Here’s exactly how Open Loyalty enabled the transformation.
“The open API-first approach supported by the Open Loyalty model helped us to transform extremely fast. In less than four months, we switched from a paper card with sticker points that only worked in brick-and-mortar to an app that works omni-channel. We were able to implement features like push notifications, actions, rebates, and coupons into the loyalty app. These features make people download the app and help us grow the program member base.”
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director. EQUIVA GmbH
“When planning the digital transformation we needed to support our “we love, we care, we ride” claim quickly. We didn’t want to build the technology ourselves. Instead, we partnered up with professionals who do it for us so that we can transform very fast. We used Open Loyalty's pre-built modules, applied the loyalty mechanics via API to our tech stack and focused fully on the customer experience.”
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director. EQUIVA GmbH
To take part in the EQUIVA Friends program, customers download an app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
The EQUIVA Friends program offers up to a 10% discount on every purchase. The discount amount depends on the membership tier and the product group being purchased.
Members also receive exclusive Friends discounts and a birthday surprise for themselves and their horse.
The Friends discount also applies to goods that have already been reduced.
For every euro spent at an EQUIVA store or at the online shop, members receive two Hearts. The more Hearts they collect, the higher they rise in the bonus tiers and the more they can save.
There are three different Friends discount levels: Friend, Best Friend, Soulmate.
There’s a unique pathway for horse owners (top spending customers). After spending at least 50 euros on food during a single visit, customers earn the "Chefkoch" badge. As a reward, they receive 400 hearts and immediately move up to the Best Friend tier, with its added perks.
"We realized that people don't buy 25 kg bags of food as gifts; these customers almost certainly own horses. Since horse owners spend an average of €2,000 a year, they are our key customers. We designed a pathway where a €50 food purchase triggers the 'Chefkoch' badge and an immediate promotion to 'Best Friend' status. Providing those higher-tier perks right away gives them a reason to come back and stay with us for the long term."
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director. EQUIVA GmbH
In this video, Martin Galonska, Head of Marketing at EQUIVA, shares why they chose Open Loyalty as their strategic partner. Learn how EQUIVA moved away from legacy systems to build a modern, API-first loyalty app that their customers actually love.
Currently, the CRM team at EQUIVA is actively testing new mechanics to drive key strategic goals, which include enhancing the brand and increasing share of wallet. With Open Loyalty as their technology partner, they are well-positioned to implement remarkable initiatives.
To conclude, here is the one thing Fritze likes most about working with Open Loyalty:
"It's a combination: a rock-solid feature base and a cross-functional team that demonstrated 110% dedication to our joint success."
Fritze von Berswordt
Managing Director, EQUIVA GmbH
