THE COMPANY:
Yoga for the Young at Heart is an award-winning series of video yoga classes beginning in 1994 by Susan Winter Ward, an internationally acclaimed yoga instructor, especially for baby boomers and seniors. The company has been marketing
its retail product line on the web since 2001. As the power of online retailing picked up speed, Susan took her books and videos to the web. After meeting with some success, Ron Arnone, a friend of Susan’s and a marketing consultant based in Los Angeles, was asked to take over the online retail store in 2006.
WHAT THEY WANTED:
• Design Web Pages for an Older Audience
Susan’s books and videos target boomers and seniors, a very specific demographic. Although this challenge is shifting as
yesterday’s boomers become today’s seniors, older folks are often not as comfortable with the use of browsers and the
internet in general. This translated to decisions like using larger text, scrutinizing the use of conventional cross- and
up-selling strategies, and otherwise keeping the web experience in a “safe” mode that seniors would trust.
• Shifting Business Model
When Ron took over, sales were split 25% retail and 75% wholesale. Ron set a goal to flip the ratio to 75% retail and 25% wholesale, capitalizing on the increasing consumer trust in online purchasing.
• Simple Checkout Experience
YogaHeart’s existing shopping cart was outdated and stiff. As a result, Ron needed to find a dynamic but more controlled option for processing order.To ensure seniors were comfortable with the checkout process, the shopping cart had to provide a simple, seamless checkout path. To avoid the perceived threat of “registration,” their customers would need the ability to purchase without signing in or creating an account.
* Integration with eFulfillment Service
For years, YogaHeart had established a successful relationship with eFulfillment Service (EFS), an order
fulfillment and inventory management partner. Therefore, the shopping cart would have to feature a tight integration
with the company.
*Powerful Order Management
On the backend, Ron wanted the ability to track orders dynamically. On the frontend, YogaHeart required a simple way
for wholesale partners to identify themselves so they could establish their discount
WHY 3DCART:
“We chose 3dcart because we wanted a third-party provider with whom we could integrate a robust shopping cart system,” Ron says. “We’d accomplish this using buy buttons that we would host on our own site, without taking responsibility for managing ongoing cart updates.”
One of the biggest advantages of 3dcart for Ron is the ability to designate different customer categories. That way, wholesalers in multiple categories are organized into different customer groups. Identification on the frontend leads to segmentation on the backend, and wholesaler designations give them access to the specified discounts and shipping terms.
3DCART RESULTS:
Since switching to 3dcart, Ron accomplished his goal of shifting the business model. Now, 75% of YogaHeart’s
business is direct retail orders, with 25% of sales processed through wholesalers. Ron cites other benefits to working with 3dcart. “The price is right, support is great and the product’s stability is fantastic. There’s no learning curve every time the software is updated; instead of unfamiliar new features, 3dcart integrates refinements periodically that are easy to pick up.”
