As a sportswear retailer, Decathlon is all about living a healthy life. It uses its website to showcase not only how the products it sells can help shoppers achieve their fitness goal, but also the work it is doing to ensure that it trades more sustainably.
On its domestic French website, the sports equipment and clothing offers seconde vie (second life) products alongside its new releases, along with quick links for shoppers to find out how much they could earn by selling on their old products.
Services aimed at improving the sustainability of products include maintain and repair services, as well as rentals and resale, are also available.
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The retailer, which started life near Lille in northern France in 1976, is working towards a target that all of its products will include ‘eco design’ elements by 2026 – in that they will be made with less polluting materials and in less energy consuming ways.
At the same time, Decathlon makes it easy for shoppers to get advice and information across its sales channels on how to use the equipment that it sells to the best effect.
In-store, the retailer emphasises the expertise of its staff. Online, shoppers can download free sports and hiking apps, get sports advice and book sports activities.
They can ask a question online and they can also access a range of convenient services, from its mobile app to live shopping through Decat Live.
Customers can join Decathlon’s points-based decat’club, earning extra points through activities such as joining walking sessions. Its customer service promises to be convenient, with free one-hour collection, free delivery when shoppers spend at least €29.99 and a 365-day returns period.
In its 2021 full year, it made sales of €13.8 billion, 21% higher than in the previous year, and posted net profits of €913 million.
Online sales grew by 21% at the same time. Decathlon sold to 70 countries during the year and operated 1,747 stores in 60 markets.
On its UK website, the retailer operates a marketplace, offering third-party brands a direct route to reach its 30 million annual visitors.
This company profile originally featured in the RetailX 2023 Europe The Customer Value Chain report, click here to view.
