New Balance innovates digital experiences across global markets

At a glance:

• Industrial Manufacturing
• B2C
• Enterprise
• Boston, MA.

$7.8bn

2024 annual sales

+35%

YoY revenue growth

4,000+

Retail outlets

Summary

New Balance, a global leader in athletic footwear and apparel, unified its product data ecosystem with Inriver PIM to deliver richer, faster, and more consistent digital experiences across every channel.

As its global presence and product assortment expanded, New Balance needed a scalable solution to manage complex product information and assets across multiple markets and partners. With Inriver, the company streamlined data management, accelerated content delivery, and ensured brand consistency across wholesale, retail, and e-commerce platforms.

Outcomes: 

• Unified global product data for streamlined content delivery
• Improved product discovery and customer trust across digital channels
• Increased click-through and add-to-bag conversion rates
• Reduced product returns through accurate, detailed product content
• Enabled ongoing optimization of global digital experiences

The challenge

The globally renowned footwear and apparel brand New Balance was founded in the United States in 1906. Since then, New Balance has grown into one of the leading footwear, sportswear, apparel, and leisurewear brands, with a commitment to performance, innovation, and quality. The brand’s diverse product range caters to both professional athletes in elite competition and everyday consumers. New Balance has a portfolio of retail outlets across several geographies, a strong e-commerce presence, and an international network of resellers and stockists. The company totaled $6.5 billion in revenue in 2023.

New Balance is known for the innovation of its products, and that spirit of innovation has carried through into its sales and marketing operations. In an industry where customer experience is crucial and customization plays an increasingly important role in differentiation in a very competitive marketplace, New Balance understood the importance of digital product experiences that connect with customers both online and in-store. To deliver these experiences, New Balance knew they needed a comprehensive and adaptable solution to manage their market-ready product information. That’s why they turned to Inriver.

New Balance’s PIM journey with Inriver 

Here’s how New Balance started its journey to better product experiences:

1. Choosing and implementing the right PIM solution

After identifying the need for PIM software to power its digital product experiences, New Balance chose the Inriver platform due to its data model adaptability, syndication capabilities, and intelligent workflows. The Inriver PIM system was then implemented successfully, setting the stage for elevated digital experiences.

2. Unifying internal teams and external partners

As part of a wide-reaching implementation phase, various internal business units and external customers and partners were onboarded onto the Inriver PIM system to ensure all teams knew how to get the most out of the platform and could therefore use the same business language.

3. From implementation to optimization

Following the implementation and rolling out of better product experiences across its digital channels, New Balance is now focused on optimizing its use of the Inriver PIM system to maximize its business value, further enhance digital product experiences, and better meet consumer and partner needs.

4. Innovating with new digital experiences

As technological advances in e-commerce continue, so does New Balance’s commitment to being at the forefront of product experience innovation. This includes the brand looking at new ways to integrate interactive and immersive shopping experiences, all supported by the robust data held within their PIM solution.

“In a world where digital experiences are increasingly interactive and immersive, we must continuously evolve how we handle and integrate our data and assets. The Inriver PIM is central to this evolution.”

John Fister

Senior Digital Product Manager, New Balance

5. Focusing on interoperability

As the optimization of its PIM operations continues, New Balance continues to integrate the Inriver PIM platform with other systems in its technology ecosystem to further streamline cross-department workflows and ensure the seamless flow of market-ready product information to all end-users.

6. Measuring business value

As its PIM journey continues, a key part of New Balance’s strategy is testing and analyzing the impact of its new product experiences on customer confidence. Using KPIs like return rates, click-through rates, and add-to-bag rates, New Balance is measuring the added value of its PIM-powered strategies.

Inriver x New Balance: Takeaways 

The Inriver PIM solution is central in managing product data and assets, which are crucial for delivering high-quality digital experiences. As New Balance’s focus moves beyond implementation, the company is undertaking ongoing optimization to adapt to evolving technologies and meet changing consumer expectations. Accurate and comprehensive product data is essential for enhancing consumer confidence, as evidenced by improved click-through and add-to-cart rates. 

Integrating PIM with other systems is crucial for enriching data and ensuring a seamless flow of information to users. New Balance is also committed to testing and adapting to new technologies to maintain a competitive edge and continually refine the consumer experience. The company aims to drive meaningful business results through this strategic approach and remain at the forefront of the digital landscape.