Fielmann founder Günther Fielmann knew that selling prescription eyewear is all about the in-store experience. After all, it involves much more than simply selling a product and sending your customer on their way. From taking an eye test to selecting and adjusting the right frame to your face and finally picking up your order, it’s a fully tailored experience.

So when it came to taking their retail experience online, the Fielmann team knew it had to replicate real life as closely as possible – while being equally as seamless and intuitive. 

In partnership with SCAYLE, Fielmann has been creating a unique omnichannel shopping journey for their customers – all the while simplifying the complexities that come with being an optometrist offering more than 150,000 product variants.

“The customer’s experience is always an omnichannel experience. The moment you start selling online as an established business that has operated a certain way for over 50 years, there’s an expectation that it’s going to work just as well online as in-store.”

Stefan Wolk, Director E-Commerce, Sales and Digital Innovation at Fielmann

About Fielmann

For over half a century, Fielmann has been on a mission to make buying fashionable prescription glasses more seamless and accessible. In 1972, Günther Fielmann founded its first store in the German town of Cuxhaven. Today, the brand is ranked the third biggest optometrist in the world.

• Customers: 29M
• Employees: 24K+
• Turnover: €2.3B
• Stores: 1,200+
• Customer Satisfaction: >90%

Launch Timeline:

With SCAYLE, Fielmann was able to celebrate their first go-live within the first three months of starting the migration – and steadily expand their international online presence.

Challenge 1. High Product Variation and Complexity

With thousands of variants per product, finding a shop system to manage Fielmann’s huge data load while maintaining a seamless, fast, and appealing browsing experience for customers proved to be an immense challenge for the brand. 

For one, Fielmann needed to create a frontend that enabled customers to effortlessly choose and combine different product configurations and components. For example, contact lenses have a huge number of variants including around 100 different prescriptions that can differ per eye. Each store page needs to deliver complex medical information clearly, while offering customers the choice to buy lenses in larger quantities for a discount.

The Solution: A Powerful Platform to Carry the Load

SCAYLE tackled the massive and complex product catalog, speedily integrating and centralizing data, so their first country shop was ready to go live within just three months of starting the migration process. 

To configure Fielmann’s thousands of contact lens variants, the SCAYLE team built a custom feature that simplified the buying experience for customers. Meanwhile, we expanded the RX glasses feature to make each individual product component configurable – creating an unmatched user experience in the optical space.

The Results: More Than 150,000 Variants Managed Centrally

With SCAYLE optimizing Fielmann’s online user experience, customers can now effortlessly browse their favorite products. For example, they can find the right contact lens simply by putting in their respective prescription values.

Meanwhile, SCAYLE’s upgrade and implementation of the RX glasses feature allows customers to intuitively select their prescription strength, configure lenses, and choose matching frames. Whatever their medical or usability preference – it’s all right at the customer’s fingertips.

Additionally, we incorporated a Nuxt3 upgrade – a frontend framework that makes their store even faster and more secure – that enabled Fielmann to extend promotion options in their marketing campaigns. And with SCAYLE’s subscription module, customers can automate their contact lens orders. This increased customers’ satisfaction and loyalty and created a new recurring revenue stream for Fielmann.

Challenge 2. Creating a Seamless Omnichannel Experience

“70% of people who buy glasses with us in-store tend to also have an online touch point before or during the sales process, so it’s never a sole eCommerce case but it instantly becomes an omnichannel case.”

Stefan Wolk, Director E-Commerce, Sales and Digital Innovation at Fielmann

For Fielmann, it’s evident that creating synergies between online and offline channels is essential. An effortless omnichannel experience equals a more seamless customer experience. But taking a service that relies heavily on customization and in-person appointments online is no easy feat.

In addition to a smoother online buying journey, Fielmann needed solutions that would help manage peak times in-store throughout the day to alleviate pressure on their shop teams and significantly reduce wait times for customers.

The Solution: Upscaling Online Features

To drive Fielmann’s omnichannel vision forward and support their teams in store, SCAYLE worked with their in-house team to implement the pre-existing online booking system for scheduling in-store appointments. This connected online to physical stores, enabling teams to manage the daily influx of customers.

Furthermore, SCAYLE integrated and migrated Fielmann’s existing capabilities and upgraded existing functionalities, such as improving Fielmann’s online store finder.

The Results: Increased Online Traffic and Efficiency

Within a matter of months, the new omnichannel approach improved user experience for Fielmann customers and created operational efficiencies across the board – boosting the retailer’s revenue. 

Additionally, connecting their online booking system helped flatten the curve during peak times in-store, reducing customer wait times and managing floor staff capacities more efficiently throughout each day.

Challenge 3. Taking the In-Store Experience Online

Whether you’re after one particular pair of glasses, the right type of contact lenses for your day-to-day, or updating your prescription, optometrist visits are as diverse as they come. So it was crucial that Fielmann ensure the store’s online features replicate and complement the brick-and-mortar experience as much as possible.

The Solution: Augmented Reality and AI Innovation

SCAYLE effortlessly integrated products and services to take the Fielmann in-store experience online. SCAYLE’s Storefront Accelerator allowed for speedy feature integration during the migration process. As part of Fielmann’s vision to execute a next-level shopping experience, the SCAYLE platform also connects:

AR Try-Ons

Buying prescription glasses without trying them on is a no-go for most customers. So SCAYLE supported Fielmann in integrating a pre-existing virtual try-on feature. Using their own device, customers can try on frames from the comfort of their homes. It even virtually erases their real glasses – so they always have 20/20 vision to see how they look.

Measuring the Pupillary Distance

The perfect pair of glasses is not only about design. Instead, it’s all about the perfect fit. How will you know if your frame of choice will fit your head perfectly when you shop for glasses online? On the SCAYLE platform, Fielmann implemented a way for customers to measure their pupillary distance from home, so customers can be sure their lenses sit where they’re supposed to.

Eyesight Check App

Need to update your eyeglass prescription values? There’s no need to head back into the store. With SCAYLE, Fielmann added an eyesight-check-app to their online platform. In the RX configurator, customers evaluate their values and then save the details via ‘My Account’ for easy access.

Smart Image Recognition

Not every style suits every face, so once you find one you like, chances are you’ll come back for more. To take the hassle out of browsing through hundreds of models online, SCAYLE helped Fielmann integrate an intelligent image recognition feature. Now, customers can instantly view and find what they’re looking for – simply by uploading a picture of their favorite frames.

Personalized Product Recommendations

While shopping on the way to work or from the convenience of your own home has its perks, the sheer product volume can be overwhelming. With SCAYLE, Fielmann implemented AI powered product recommendations using an external feature, feeding customers more of what they already love, and complimentary items they might need.

The Results: A Future-Ready Experience that Grows Turnover

Adding specific features to replicate the in-store experience online has increased Fielmann’s online traffic. Meanwhile, online turnover has also experienced a significant boost.

Overall Results

Thanks to SCAYLE, Fielmann has created a smooth and unified buying journey that not only makes purchasing prescription eyewear online a breeze but also complements their tailored in-store experiences.

As such, the retailer has been able to boost online sales, reduce in-store bottlenecks, and strengthen customer bonds. 

In the future, Fielmann plans to double down on providing the most innovative customer experience in the optometry sector, including expanding their omnichannel offering and launching more European country shops with SCAYLE.

“Our partnership with SCAYLE has grown increasingly strong over the past few years, and so has the SCAYLE product. We’re confident it will continue to do so in the future.”

Christian Altmeyer, Vice President Digital at Fielmann

“As one of the biggest optometrists in the world, Fielmann brings the expertise and vision needed to transform their retail experience, and we’re proud to be an elementary part of their journey.”

Tobias Ring, Managing Director Commercials at SCAYLE

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