Challenge: Lower print ROI and higher digital expectations

Conforama Switzerland, part of the XXXLutz Group, Europe’s second-largest home furnishing chain, has a long tradition of running campaigns based on printed catalogs.

As CMO Eva Matoua explains, “Print is still king. Each year, we send out 40–43 printed catalog editions to households across the country.”

But despite that, the ROI of print is slowly, steadily dropping:

The format is very expensive. Paper and distribution still take up a big part of our marketing budget. Also, the number of people who want printed catalogs is going down. So we need to reach a different audience who looks for information in other ways. And that naturally leads us to digital.”

Conforama’s first digital step was using iPaper to publish interactive PDF versions of their print catalogs.

But new discount and ecommerce competitors have increased the pressure in the market. Conforama now needs to move faster, meaning:

• More online activity
• Shorter deadlines
• Frequent last-minute changes

We work in retail. Things are constantly changing. We needed a partner who could support that day-to-day.”

Solution: Digital-first leaflets without PDFs

Conforama wanted to keep the inspirational feel of a catalog but make it faster, cheaper, and more flexible by using automation and data.

We wanted to take the digital catalog further. To offer a digital environment that looks like a catalog, without being based on a PDF.”

But building custom landing pages for each product category on their ecommerce site would require a large investment of time and developer resources.

So, Conforama partnered with iPaper to create a digital catalog experience without relying on PDFs:

• iPaper connected Conforama’s product feed to Horizon
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• iPaper created templates and layouts based on Conforama’s brand and catalog style
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• iPaper built automations to combine feed data with those templates and layouts

Now, Conforama simply fills in an Excel sheet with SKUs and uploads it to Horizon, which instantly generates a leaflet using their templates and automations. After quick manual tweaks, it’s ready to publish.

“With Horizon, we can create digital versions of our catalogs directly from our Google feed. If a price changes or a product goes out of stock, it automatically updates in the leaflet. That’s a big advantage compared to print.”

Results: Faster, smarter and more autonomous marketing

Conforama can now launch flexible, short-term campaigns without being tied to print deadlines:

We can now promote offers with a shorter lifespan because Horizon is more responsive. We can create digital catalogs at a lower cost with a one-week validity.”

They’ve also reduced costs and agency dependency:

iPaper and Horizon help us save money. When we create a Horizon leaflet using our feed, we don’t need to work with an external agency.”

And now that Conforama can make digital catalogs without PDFs, they can also create themed catalogs for specific product categories:

With Horizon, we can tailor our communication for each product category. We don’t sell a sofa the same way we sell a TV. For example, for furniture, we can make the Horizon experience more lively and inspiring. For TVs, we can highlight the best last-minute deals and publish them quickly. So, we’ll be able to give each product category a voice.”