Sixthreezero produces stylish, sturdy, customizable cruiser bikes that reflect Founder and CEO Dustin Gyger’s love of coastal California life. The company has mostly sold products online for a decade but doubled down on their digital experience in 2020 and 2021. Gyger was already planning on digital improvements; the pandemic created even more urgency to provide buyers an easy, intuitive, and personalized path to a new bike purchase online.
When Dustin Gyger founded Sixthreezero in 2005, he initially relied on sales through brick and mortar stores. But as eCommerce capabilities ramped up and buyers got more comfortable purchasing online, he transitioned to a fully online sales model well in advance of pandemic shutdowns. He is experienced in making pivots: his original move online came in part as a way to weather the 2008 downturn, and the continued pressure on local bike stores, which have been closing in droves as people move online to buy.
The pandemic period saw a huge influx of new online buyers across categories, but particularly in sporting goods, particularly bike sales, which have been up as much as 400%. All of the investments sixthreezero made in their eCommerce experience paid off, but there was more to do to serve their customers, and the evolving needs of new buyers searching for the right bike online.
Sixthreezero partnered with Vincit to create a new app and new website experience to enhance their Shopify site, adding features to make buying a bike online easier, more customized, and more fun. Both launched in April ‘21 and they’re not just good for customers -- the brand is seeing continued sales growth as a direct result of the investment in their digital experience.
Identifying the challenges that drive the most business and customer benefit
Once the business challenge was understood, Vincit recommended a modern ecommerce + Headless CMS approach to make it much easier to manage the many product variants and combinations for the customizer and other content. The headless commerce rebuilts architecture and help give Sizthreezero the ability to continue tailoring the shopping experience to fit the brand, community and users.
Sixthreezero was also leveraging and managing so many plugins and add ons that affected their web performance and required constant attention internally, so we removed them to improve efficiency on the front end and for internal workflows, replacing required functionality with better alternatives.
In addition, SixThreeZero already had a mobile app, but given less than ideal reviews, glitchy features and inaccurate ride tracking, it was important to identify a better solution. Vincit was identified as the strategic partner to redesign the app in addition to the web experience.
How to Build Trust and Drive Sales with With Exceptional Buying Experiences
Sixthreezero produces cruiser bikes that are comfortable, durable, and reliable but come with a variety of customizable options and price points. Buying a bike online can be a leap of faith, and the company was looking for ways to help riders find the right bike for their body, their lifestyle, and their riding plans.
The company partnered with Vincit to create a customization tool in the form of a quiz that would not only add confidence in the buying process but also improve overall conversion on the site. The BodyFit quiz offers personalized recommendations to point people to the right bike based on their measurements, preferred riding styles, and other items including past injuries.
Once a recommendation is made, the Customizer allows potential buyers to select their colors and other features, so they can make the recommended bike their very own. These new features don’t just help a consumer, they also sell more bikes. The BodyFit feature, which captures email addresses to share results, has increased conversion 10-15%.
In addition to improving eCommerce experience, Gyger also invested in a new app for riders, designed to provide a community connection and love of riding that ties directly to his company’s purpose and values.
The Vision for the App Experience
Sixthreezero’s new app, sixthreezero Pedaling, was designed for users to connect with other riders as well as earn achievements to get motivated to ride their bike or trike. This digital experience would allow for any rider, whether they bought a sixthreezero bike or not, to use this app to track progress and be involved in a community online. Any rider, on any bike, anywhere in their biking journey, could use this app to track progress and riding experiences. Plans for the app were in the works before the pandemic, but the app perfectly met the needs of the time -- for connection, outdoor experience, and new ways to track success.
How SixThreeZero Got to the Experience They Wanted
Once sixthreezero had a vision in mind for their app and experience, it was time to document and define features and incentives. When it came to the details, they knew which statistics their main users would be interested in tracking. Leveraging the information they had at hand, they built app features specifically catering to current user behavior and profiles.
App Features
Did you really work out if you didn’t track it? Sixthreezero ensured that their users had everything they needed to track a successful bike ride. The app was designed with motivation and community in mind. This app pushes riders to improve their own statistics, while also competing against others in the biking community. Whether you are running big or small errands or just riding for fun, the motivating factor helps build biking habits to increase mileage and speed. No matter the reason behind the rider's reason (for fun or exercise), it’s a great tool for them to view their progress and engage with the community.
Easily Track Rides
The Pedaling App allows riders to easily track their bike or trike rides from the app. When a rider tracks their ride, they can see a map with their route, distance, and speed. These important stats can help any rider improve and visualize their progress as they continue to track their rides.
Leaderboard
As an incentive for users, every week sixthreezero is giving away a prize to the number one spot on the leaderboard. This incentive not only motivates users to ride their bikes more but incentivizes them to track their rides in the app and continue to see where they rank against others in the community.
Achievements and Badges
The Pedaling App provides a sense of community as well as a place to track progress. While the app includes the leaderboard, it also has a section dedicated to a rider’s achievements and badges. This section of the app shows when a rider hits new milestones, how many consecutive rides they have ridden, and badges for other streaks as well. The app provides a space to focus on a rider’s own goals while also being involved in the riding community.
How It’s Worked for Them
The new Pedaling App from sixthreezero not only involves their community and their customers, but allows for anyone with any bike to participate. So whether you’re new to biking or a current customer, everyone can be involved. Potential customers can get involved in the community, continue their research on a brand, and then make their final buying decision.
Looking For Something Similar? Get In Touch!
Sixthreezero is a leader in digital experience, driving sales and customer engagement through savvy digital marketing, a partnership with Amazon, and early and consistent investment in improving their online experience. Are you interested in exploring how a similar approach to your website or mobile app could accelerate your sales, create more loyal customers, and open up new growth opportunities? Get in touch with Vincit to hold a brainstorm and learn more about direct-to-consumer retail digital customer experience and eCommerce trends.
