Trek’s Journey to a Seamless Customer Experience

FIRST IN MIND, FIRST IN CART

2024 Trek & Locally Case Study

01. CLIENT OVERVIEW

Trek’s Integration with Locally’s
Omni-Seller Marketplace Platform

Trek Bicycle, a global leader in the cycling industry, is renowned for its high-quality bikes and cutting-edge innovations in performance and design.

Founded in 1976, Trek has built a strong reputation for its commitment to craftsmanship, technology, and sustainability. It offers bicycles for all riders—from casual cyclists to professional athletes. As a brand that consistently strives to stay ahead of the curve, Trek focuses on delivering superior products and creating an exceptional customer experience.

Recognizing the need to deepen its connection with customers in an increasingly digital world, Trek sought to create a seamless, omnichannel shopping customer choice experience. They wanted to ensure that when customers think of buying a bike, no matter where they are whether online or in a physical store, Trek would be the first brand that comes to mind, much like how shoppers instinctively turn to Amazon for online purchases.

The ultimate goal was to make Trek the first thought for consumers, much like how shoppers instinctively think of Amazon when they experience anything in the Amazon marketplace network. However, delivering this unified experience across multiple online and offline fulfillment options presented significant challenges to a brand with multiple sub-brands. Trek needed a partner who understood the complexities of wholesale, retail, and B2B dynamics to help them achieve their vision.

Trek’s goal was clear: to be as close to the consumer as possible, blending digital convenience with local retail engagement.

02. THE CHALLENGE

Provide a First-Party Experience that Enhances Customer Loyalty

Trek recognized early on that Locally was the ideal partner because of Locally’s unmatched ability to manage complex retailer connections and facilitate smooth customer engagement across various fulfillment methods.

Trek recognized early on that Locally was the ideal partner not only because of Locally’s unmatched ability to manage complex retailer connections and facilitate smooth customer engagement across various fulfillment methods but also due to Locally’s willingness to work hand-in-hand with Trek to bring their vision to life.

Locally’s proven track record of delivering real-time inventory visibility, global marketplace compliance, and robust order management tools made them uniquely qualified to meet Trek’s ambitious goals. However, it was Locally’s flexibility and commitment to collaboration that truly set them apart. They didn’t just provide technology—they worked closely with Trek to adapt and refine the solution, ensuring it aligned perfectly with Trek’s long-term vision.

Trek valued Locally not just as a technology provider but as a strategic partner with a deep understanding of the retail landscape. Together, they crafted a unified, consumer-first experience that kept the customer at the heart of every decision. This collaboration allowed Trek to focus on building brand loyalty while relying on Locally to handle the technical and operational complexities.

Trek knew what they wanted: to bring their shoppers closer to the brand and provide a first-party experience that enhanced customer loyalty. However, executing that vision required expertise in technology, retail logistics, and customer engagement—expertise that Locally uniquely provided through a collaborative and flexible approach.

Trek faced several specific challenges that Locally helped them solve:

  1. Harmonizing multiple fulfillment options, including ship-to-home, BOPIS (Buy Online, Pick Up in Store), and in-store shopping, into a single-cart experience.

  2. Facilitating mixed-cart shopping, where products available through different fulfillment methods needed to be unified into one seamless transaction.

  3. Managing payments online while remitting proceeds to local independent bike dealers (IBDs).

  4. Providing stores with order notifications and management tools.

  5. Offering the same experience to customers globally in over 30 countries.

03. THE SOLUTION

The Integration of Locally’s Core Tools

Locally’s core tools provided an off-the-shelf solution that helped them create a more connected and consumer-centric experience.

This initial phase laid a solid foundation, allowing Trek to address key needs while quickly getting the system up and running. From there, Trek worked closely with Locally to develop enhanced, customized features in subsequent releases, tailoring the solution to meet their unique requirements. Over time, this collaborative approach evolved into a unified technology vision that bridged the gap between e-commerce and local retailers, ultimately delivering a seamless, consumer-first experience.

Key components of the solution included:

Trek leveraged Locally’s Product Locator API to show nearby store availability on their product pages. This allowed shoppers to view local inventory and add products to their cart for BOPIS, allowing them to access both online and offline inventory seamlessly.

Product Page Integration

Payment and Fulfillment Integration

Shoppers could enter their payment information on trekbikes.com, but the dealer’s Stripe merchant account processed payments via Locally’s API. This ensured local IBDs were compensated while maintaining Trek’s control over the shopper’s cart experience.

The solution needed to adhere to complex tax regulations across various jurisdictions and Locally ensure full compliance by managing tax collection, remittance, and reporting seamlessly.

Marketplace Compliance

Order Notification and Management

Locally provided real-time order notifications and management tools for retailers, ensuring that stores could efficiently fulfill and manage customer orders.

Although the initial launch took place in the U.S., the solution was designed to scale globally, with a rollout planned across 30+ countries in the coming months.

Global Scalability

04. LEADERSHIP VISION & RESULTS

The Leadership Behind Successful Results

Trek’s leadership, particularly their e-commerce leader Steve Novoselac and CEO, John Burke, played a crucial roles in realizing this vision.

Trek’s leadership, particularly their e-commerce leader Steve Novoselac, played a crucial role in realizing this vision. Unlike many brands where e-commerce and wholesale compete for dominance, Steve understood that the real win was maintaining the brand’s relationship with the consumer—not owning every sale. By leveraging IBDs for local fulfillment through Trek’s digital platform, Steve saw an opportunity to deepen customer loyalty and keep shoppers from turning to competitors.

With John Burke, Trek’s CEO and President, also championing this vision, the goal was to get as close to the consumer as possible—understanding their motivations and delivering an experience that adapted to those needs. The cart became central to the journey, driving the shopper through their path to purchase rather than just focusing on the product page. This shift allowed Trek to offer a dynamic shopping experience that seamlessly met the consumer’s needs across various fulfillment options.

Leadership Vision

Trek’s integration of Locally’s Product Locator API successfully unified their fulfillment options into one seamless, mixed-cart shopping experience. Through their partnership with Locally, Trek successfully transformed their digital experience, making it as close to the customer as possible while harmonizing fulfillment across online and offline channels. Key outcomes included:

  • A seamless customer journey that allowed shoppers to effortlessly move between fulfillment types—whether ship-to-home, BOPIS, or in-store shopping.

  • Improved retailer relationships with efficient payment processing and robust order management tools, ensuring that local dealers played a critical role in Trek’s ecosystem.

  • Global readiness, with the solution initially launching in the U.S. and planned for international expansion across 30+ countries.

  • A unified technology platform that kept Trek at the forefront of the customer’s mind, driving brand loyalty and a superior customer experience.

Results

Steve Novoselac
VP of IT and Digital

“At Trek, we are committed to making our brand accessible to cyclists across all channels, from independent dealers to owned locations, and our e-commerce platform. With no off-the-shelf solution available, we took the initiative to develop our own marketplace that reflects our dedication to global markets. Locally emerged as the ideal partner, helping us launch ‘Consumer Choice,’ an innovative marketplace now live on trekbikes.com. This partnership allows us to offer a mixed-cart experience, combining local store inventory with the full breadth of Trek products—all seamlessly integrated into a single shopping journey. We take pride in protecting the Trek brand, and with Locally’s support, trekbikes.com is now the ultimate resource for our customers, meeting their expectations at every step of the journey.”

05. CONCLUSION

A Seamless Customer Experience

Trek’s collaboration with Locally has been a game-changer, transforming the customer journey by seamlessly uniting online and offline shopping.

Thanks to Locally’s deep expertise in retail and B2B, Trek overcame the complexities of managing retailer relationships and mixed-cart transactions and positioned itself to deliver a superior, future-ready experience.

The partnership has strengthened Trek’s bonds with independent dealers, fostering greater collaboration and setting the stage for continuous growth and global scalability.

As this project evolves, Trek is poised to elevate its customer- first approach even further—driving enhanced loyalty, deeper customer engagement, and long-term brand success on a global scale.