Finding Efficiency to Expand Digital Investment for Omni-Channel Retailer: Increase Variable Contribution Margin by $14 Million in first 9 Months

Company Profile

• Industry & Footprint: Leading fashion brand operating across multiple locations in the U.S.
• Business Type: B2C (Business-to-Consumer)
• Engagement Channels: Retail locations, Email, SMS, Phone, and Online
• Transaction Size: $50 to $500 per transaction
  
• Geographical Scope: Specific locations in the U.S. and key international cities

Inefficient Budget Allocation

• Prior-year investment mix was unclear; team needed to determine optimal daily spend per channel.
• Sought to balance spending efficiency with key brand objectives (e.g., Women’s Lifestyle).
• How to decide investment mix between D2C channels and other channels (like Amazon)

Business Problem

Need for Real-Time Performance Visibility

• Struggled to track performance across all platforms, channels, and campaigns in real-time (LC + MTA).
• Required optimization down to the fully loaded margin (FLM) at the campaign level.

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Segmentation of New vs. Existing Buyers

• Needed separate planning and reporting to accurately map activity drivers for each group.
• Saw an opportunity to increase activity among existing buyers and better target new customers.

‍Complexity of Measurement & Reporting

• Required Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA) and Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) to accurately tie outcomes to investments.
• Operational issues (e.g., QA concerns, brand mishaps) lowered confidence in data and performance.

Comprehensive Data Platform‍

• Real-Time Tracking: Implemented real-time monitoring for all platforms, channels, and campaigns (LC + MTA).
• FLM Optimization: Enabled day-to-day adjustments in spending based on fully loaded margin data.

Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) & Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA)

• First-Ever MMM: Conducted 3,000 model iterations with 94% accuracy, incorporating category-level data.
• Live MTA Model: Provided more precise budget allocation insights, especially for top-of-funnel investments.

Differentiated Strategy for New vs. Existing Buyers

• Activity Mapping: Identified unique conversion and engagement drivers for new vs. existing customers.
• Improved Engagement: Focused on boosting activity among existing customers while scaling new customer acquisition.