Since 2022, intive has been proud to have toom Baumarkt, one of Germany’s leading DIY retailers, as a valued client. Together, we recently revamped their mobile app to enhance the customer experience and create a more seamless and personalized journey for DIY enthusiasts.
After this intense period of collaboration, it felt like the right moment for some reflection. We sat down with Cordula Mehler, Head of Omnichannel Commerce & Digital Services at toom Baumarkt, to talk about the importance of customer loyalty, the central role of the app in their omnichannel strategy, and the trends that will shape the future of customer engagement in the DIY sector.
How does toom Baumarkt define omnichannel in today’s DIY retail landscape, and what role does the mobile app play in implementing this strategy?
For toom Baumarkt, there are no channels in the traditional sense. We see the customer journey as a seamless interplay of interconnected touchpoints. The mobile app plays a central role in this: it serves as both a starting point for projects and purchases, and as a digital enabler throughout the entire journey.
As the heart of our omnichannel strategy, the app enables our customers to move effortlessly between online and offline experiences. It offers access to product information, project guides, and personalized offers – all in one place. In addition, it is closely linked to our loyalty program, making exclusive benefits and rewards directly accessible within the app.
Our goal is for the app to become our customers’ digital home – a central hub where they can find inspiration, support, and services for their DIY projects. The result is an optimized, consistent customer experience across all touchpoints – and strengthened customer loyalty.
Which strategies have proven most effective for creating a seamless customer journey across online, app, and in-store channels? And what were the most important lessons you learned in bridging the gap between brick-and-mortar and digital retail?
Among the most effective strategies for creating a seamless customer journey across online, app, and in-store channels is ensuring consistent communication and a unified brand experience with toom. Customers expect the same quality and service regardless of the type of interaction.
Another crucial factor is providing a consistent user experience (UX) across both website and app. This means ensuring that design, navigation, and features work harmoniously and are intuitive on both platforms.
One of the most important lessons we’ve learned is the need to continuously collect customer feedback and make adjustments accordingly. Integrating online and offline experiences also requires close collaboration between different departments to ensure that all aspects of the customer journey are seamlessly connected. Cross-departmental collaboration is essential to developing and implementing innovative solutions.
What does this term specifically mean for toom in the context of customer loyalty?
For toom, customer loyalty means building long-term relationships based on trust, added value, and relevance. Loyal customers are particularly valuable to us – not only because they shop with us regularly, but because they also act as authentic ambassadors for our brand.
We are proud to focus on this customer group through our loyalty program, which offers exclusive benefits and rewards to honor their loyalty and further strengthen the relationship. We deliberately rely on hyper-personalization to address individual needs and interests – creating genuine added value.
Our app plays a central role here: it is the digital core of our loyalty strategy. By integrating a central customer account for both the loyalty program and online shopping, we enable a seamless, personalized customer journey – cross-channel, convenient, and relevant.
Your app has evolved significantly over time. Which elements were most important to you in the app design process to ensure that it supports both your omnichannel strategy and your customer loyalty goals?
From the outset, our app development was aligned with our omnichannel strategy and with strengthening customer loyalty. A consistent experience across web and app, as well as an intuitive, unified user experience, was especially important to us.
Another key success factor was close cross-departmental collaboration – particularly between IT, marketing, UX/UI design, and our brick-and-mortar stores. This ensured the app was not only functionally strong, but also met our customers’ needs throughout the entire journey.
Today, the app forms the digital center of our loyalty strategy. It integrates a central customer account used for both our loyalty program and online shopping, creating a platform that unites all relevant services and benefits – personalized, connected, and convenient.
Which loyalty mechanisms have proven most effective for toom in building and maintaining long-term customer relationships?
The most effective loyalty mechanisms at toom are based on ongoing, individualized dialogue with our customers. This takes place across multiple channels – including print, email, app, and web – and is designed to deliver relevant content at the right time.
Regular, consistent communication is particularly important to us, keeping customers informed about current offers, DIY projects, and exclusive benefits. We focus on personalization by tailoring content and recommendations to customer interests, behavior, and project stages.
How do you measure the success of your omnichannel and loyalty efforts?
We measure the success of our omnichannel and loyalty initiatives using a range of KPIs to assess and refine our strategies. These include revenue, average basket size, number of loyalty program registrations, and opt-in rates for marketing communications.
A particularly relevant indicator in the omnichannel context is the ROPO effect (Research Online, Purchase Offline). It shows how strongly digital touchpoints – especially our app and website – influence the in-store shopping experience. Targeted analysis allows us to understand how digital interactions drive in-store purchases, helping us to further optimize the integration of online and offline channels.
Combining KPIs with behavioral data enables us to manage loyalty and omnichannel efficiency holistically.
We’re curious about your approach to partnerships. How important is working with technology partners in developing your customer loyalty solutions, and what have you learned from these experiences that could benefit others?
Customer needs and expectations can change quickly. That’s why we work continuously to integrate partners and technologies that enable us to remain flexible and respond rapidly to these changes.
Which exciting trends do you see for the future in customer loyalty and omnichannel engagement in the DIY sector? How is toom preparing to capitalize on these opportunities?
Looking ahead, we see key areas that will shape the future of the DIY shopping experience. At the heart of this transformation are Shopping Agents – intelligent assistants that support customers both in-store and digitally, offering proactive guidance throughout the entire decision-making process.
These agents complement our personal expertise on-site and create a seamless, cross-channel experience that is fast, relevant, and tailored to individual needs.
At the same time, we are expanding our service offerings: from fast delivery options to a craftsman service that helps customers bring their projects to life. This positions toom not just as a product provider, but as a true problem solver.
Another key focus is personalization. With the help of AI and learning systems, we can tailor recommendations, content, and services even more precisely to the preferences and life situations of our customers – strengthening relevance and loyalty in the long term.
toom’s story shows how thoughtful digital innovation can transform customer experiences and strengthen brand loyalty. At intive, we’re proud to support this journey through our expertise in technology, design, and customer engagement. Discover more about the tech behind toom’s app revamp in our detailed case study, and explore how intive’s loyalty solutions can help your business build lasting relationships with customers.
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