Foot Locker backs e-commerce and loyalty for omnichannel growth

Foot Locker, the sportswear and footwear retailer, sees a major opportunity to level up its omnichannel strategy in 2023 with a strong loyalty programme at its core. 

Why it matters 

According to executives at the company, Foot Locker is shifting its approach from being product-led to consumer-led in an effort to create a consumer-driven demand engine that grows its market share, customer base, and share of wallet. 

Focusing on omnichannel ecosystems

In a Q3 earnings call, president and CEO Mary Dillon said the company will be focusing on its omnichannel presence and capabilities, the loyalty programme, digital marketing strategies and the technology platform enabling those efforts. 

The role of e-commerce in its omnichannel ecosystem is one major area of focus, added Dillon: “Without having a specific target in mind yet, I believe at 16%, our e-commerce penetration is below where it should and can be, which means there's an opportunity to capture more online-only sales; and, more importantly, build our omnichannel customer base.” 

By the numbers 

• Foot Locker's current omnichannel customers in the U.S. spend nearly four times the amount of its single-channel shoppers.
• Yet they represent only 6% of Foot Locker’s customer base, which leads to a vast opportunity to improve engagement with customers across channels and attract more of their spending dollars.
• 80% of Foot Locker’s best customers already buy three or more brands.

Leaning into loyalty

The CEO sees tremendous opportunity to further refine and evolve the FLX loyalty programme as part of its omnichannel offering.

“While we're already capturing a considerable amount of our sales through members of FLX, I see more opportunity to improve the value proposition of the program, drive more engagement with our members through personalization and ultimately attract more members and capture more share of wallet of our existing customers,” Dillon said. 

“In technology, we're in the process of reviewing our foundational needs as well as making sure we're building the right tools and capabilities to support those efforts in omnichannel and marketing. Having a stronger backbone and technology enablers will be a key priority for us going forward,” she added.