000 _ Jaycar commercetools instore@2x

commercetools InStore: Jaycar

Platform
commercetools InStore
SERVICES
AI & Personalisation, Applications & Extensions, Data, Digital Transformation, Platform Implementation, Systems Architecture, Technology
Jaycar Electronics is a leading retailer across Australia and New Zealand, specialising in delivering a wide range of high-quality electronic products at exceptional value. With a deep passion for innovation, Jaycar is committed to offering unique and practical electronics that cater to everyone, from hobbyists to professionals.

With a network of over 130 stores across both countries, Jaycar provides a convenient and reliable shopping experience for customers seeking electronic components, gadgets, and accessories. Their mission is to make quality electronics accessible and affordable while maintaining a reputation for excellence and reliability.

The Overdose. composable team partnered with Jaycar to redefine their digital landscape, leveraging best-in-class platforms and technologies to create an experience that’s as innovative as the products they sell. By blending robust commerce, search and content solutions with our commercetools Antidote Accelerator and Alokai’s cutting-edge front-end capabilities, we delivered a platform that’s as scalable and reliable as it is customer-centric.

The model was completed with a world-first implementation of the recently launched commercetools InStore product.

Our collective approach wasn’t about reinventing the wheel but using our top-tier partners' proven, enterprise-grade technologies like commercetools, Algolia and Contentstack to create a unified, omni-channel experience. From seamless online browsing to integrated in-store solutions, every aspect of Jaycar’s digital presence was carefully designed to enhance functionality and user experience.

This collaboration has propelled Jaycar to the forefront of digital retail innovation, setting a benchmark for how eCommerce and digital executives can future-proof their businesses. By choosing trusted frameworks and avoiding the pitfalls of experimental development, Jaycar now stands as a testament to what’s possible when the right vision meets the right technology and partners.
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Integrations

commercetools features included:

Unified Cart : Customers can start carts online that associates can access in-store to complete purchases. Carts can be built and saved in-store for future purchases online.

Inventory : Real-time tracking across all channels improves accuracy of availability, improving customer satisfaction.

Payments : Enables any way to pay in-store and facilitates a payment ecosystem across all channels.
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Challenges

CHALLENGE #001
Engaging Younger Audiences

Jaycar was struggling to connect with younger demographics, particularly Gen Z and Generation Alpha. These groups are key to future growth but were disengaged by the existing brand experience.

SOLUTION

By embracing a modern, composable commerce approach, Jaycar was able to implement technology and strategies that resonated with younger audiences. Enhanced digital capabilities and omnichannel integration provided a seamless, engaging experience that appealed to tech-savvy consumers.

CHALLENGE #002
Outdated Technology and Team Limitations

Jaycar's team was hindered by outdated, slow, and predominantly on-premises enterprise systems. Feedback from engagement surveys highlighted frustrations around inefficiencies, particularly when accessing critical information during in-store interactions.

SOLUTION

Jaycar partnered with commercetools and Overdose to adopt a cloud-native, composable commerce framework. This new setup empowered store associates with mobile Honeywell PDA tablets, giving them real-time access to inventory, customer data, and product information. The result was improved team efficiency and enhanced in-store service.

CHALLENGE #003
Disconnect Between Online and Offline Shopping

Jaycar’s online and offline commerce operations ran on separate, outdated systems, creating a fragmented customer experience. Online shoppers enjoyed some functionality, such as product recommendations and inventory visibility, but in-store customers faced significant delays due to manual processes.

SOLUTION

With commercetools’ InStore capabilities, Jaycar unified its digital and in-store commerce systems into a single, real-time platform. Fixed HP terminals and mobile tablets in-store were fully integrated with the tech stack, ensuring a seamless customer journey across all channels.

CHALLENGE #004
Disconnect Between Online and Offline Shopping

Jaycar needed a future-proof solution that could scale with evolving business needs, quickly adapt to market changes, and support emerging trends. The existing system lacked the flexibility to pivot efficiently.

SOLUTION

Implementing commercetools’ composable and cloud-native architecture allowed Jaycar to easily add new capabilities within weeks, not months. This ensured the business could remain agile and respond proactively to changes in the retail landscape.

CHALLENGE #005
Creating a Unified Commerce Platform

Jaycar envisioned a single commerce platform to drive all customer interactions, blending the best of digital and in-store experiences. However, this required significant technological upgrades and seamless integration across systems.

SOLUTION

Overdose facilitated the integration of a best-in-class tech stack featuring commercetools (commerce), Alokai (frontend), Contentstack (CMS), Algolia (search), and Adyen (payments). Together, these components unified Jaycar’s operations, delivering a cohesive omnichannel experience for customers and a streamlined platform for the business.

CHALLENGE #006
Store Associate Empowerment

Store associates lacked tools to deliver exceptional customer service. Basic tasks like checking inventory required them to leave the customer’s side, disrupting the shopping experience.

SOLUTION

With real-time data access and mobile devices, associates could now provide immediate assistance, from checking inventory to offering personalised recommendations. This shift not only improved customer satisfaction but also positioned store associates as key players in the omnichannel strategy.

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"We’re embracing a truly unified retail strategy. Rather than doing what we did 10 years ago, which was to try to glue together and integrate disparate systems, we're building things in a composable way and getting the best pieces we need. Now, with commercetools Composable Commerce for B2C and InStore, we launched an in-store commerce engine and added ratings, reviews and loyalty management in just 7 weeks."
Graeme Faulkner
Chief Technology Officer
JAYCAR
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Why it was a success

While still in the pilot phase at selected outlets, Jaycar’s unified commerce powered by commercetools has improved the customer experience and reduced costs while allowing the company to trial new capabilities such as AI-powered search and conversational commerce.

Graeme pointed to headless technology as a key selling point and one of the main reasons Jaycar chose commercetools. The ability to own the frontend (which headless provides) was a non-negotiable requirement. “This is important for any brand interacting with customers. For us, it was also about the daily interactions our in-store team has with the frontend. It’s what they live in all day to serve customers.”

With access to top-tier technology, Jaycar’s associates can now seamlessly blend digital tools with the human interactions and expert knowledge that have long defined the company’s in-store customer experience. As an added benefit, they can take these robust selling tools onto the sales floor where the selling should occur, with the customer standing right next to them.

This enables associates to have comprehensive product information previously only available online at their fingertips, allowing them to quickly and easily answer customer questions and provide detailed specifications. If a product is out of stock, they can check store inventory and warehouse availability, place an order and provide customers with delivery timelines.

In addition, they can tap into Algolia’s product recommendations to aid in suggestive selling. This is especially helpful with Jaycar’s less technical customers who often come into the store to purchase items for a project without a clear idea of what’s required to complete it. Graeme pointed out, “It’s also a great way to drive consistent up-sells without the staff training overhead.”

The solution also benefits customers directly by supporting omnichannel shopping. For example, a customer can browse at home and create a cart or project list online. If they come to the store to purchase the items, an associate can quickly pull up their list and convert it into an in-store cart. Customers can also build a cart in-store with an associate, and if they’re not ready to purchase, they can convert the items and save them in an online cart.

Unifying in-store and online commerce also means customers can return items purchased online in-store and convert unreceipted returns into receipted/retrieved returns. They can also have associates confirm their loyalty point status to ensure they take advantage of any available rewards.

Since the backend is one system, all data comes in real-time from stores and online. This ensures that inventory and pricing information is always current so that what customers see online matches what they find in-store.

All of these things were simply impossible to accomplish with legacy in-store technology. It was designed to facilitate sales, not help you sell. commercetools’ solution is designed to enable engagement with the customer from the moment they walk in the door, maximising the sales opportunity.

Unlike Jaycar’s prior technology, its new composable stack is easily extensible and changeable, which means it can keep up with the changing needs of its teams and customers. “Before we were relying on some big software company to make small screen changes and they couldn’t make it happen or it would take months. This is the sort of thing that made us want to go headless in the first place.”

Case in point: Graeme mentioned the company is starting to sell installation services, which require integrating a booking system for appointments. “This is going to be easy to do now — and if I have another good idea I want to implement next week, I can do it — because of the composability of commercetools.”

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