Introducing next-gen Dealership Platform for the e-bike market

Overview

Accell Group is the European market leader in e-bikes and the number two player in bicycle parts and accessories. The group owns 11 well-established bike brands, which together sold around 1.1 million bicycles in 2018.

In response to rising competition from e-commerce solutions, the Group decided to support their “brick & mortar” dealers with a digital, in-store kiosk, called Younit. The kiosk would also help address two challenges facing the Group’s bike dealers. One, most bike dealers were located in smaller storefronts in urban areas, meaning they could only exhibit a few dozen bikes on the shopfloor. Second, bike store staff often struggled to provide adequate attention to all customers in the store, particularly during peak hours.

The kiosk would make it possible for customers to see the full range of bikes available for purchase, even if these aren’t available in the store, and select the right bike for their needs.

The idea

Accell Group had very specific requirements for the digital retail platform. As a leading bike brand with locations across Europe, it required a multilingual, multi-country and multi-brand solution, i.e. Younit had to support all brands in the Group’s portfolio, starting with Winora and Haibike. The kiosk also needed to be cloud-based and avoid license fees. Furthermore, with pressure mounting from digital-first category newcomers, Accell Group strived to develop and roll out the digital retail platform as quickly as possible. 

Project

Star was tasked with conceptualizing, defining and designing the new system and user experience. We collaborated closely with Accel Group to build a user and dealer-centric product. The design process started with researching the existing technology and retail experiences. Acquiring this background and context gave the Star team an in-depth product understanding and a great point of departure for designing the new kiosk experience.

Thanks to the new digital solution, dealers are no longer limited to showing customers the bikes they have on-hand. They can now display their entire bike range via the kiosk. Dealers are also in a better position to advise customers on their purchase, as they can explain the advantages of certain bike features or parts using the visual display. Customers can also use Younit to browse on their own using the “Bike Finder” assistant. This feature lets customers search for bikes that fit their mobility needs, e.g. downhill mountain biking or inner-city commuting.

Project scope