Foot Locker
Background
In 2015, Foot Locker came to the realization that, in the retail footwear market, consumers were pivoting from the traditional brick and mortar purchasing experience to buying shoes online. The company knew they needed to upgrade their e-commerce offerings and website to compete in the space. They needed a technical partner they could trust to not only deliver results but ensure their long-term digital strategy was well-designed.
Product
Near The Box helped build a custom application to integrate with existing systems and bring them to a modern technology stack. The result was a single-page application that combined a clean user experience and minimal page load time, despite the frequent presence of numerous images. We created a custom framework for their React/Redux application and wrote a custom server-side rendering engine to take advantage of SEO benefits.
Strategy
Foot Locker had several key obstacles that needed to be addressed as the architecture was coming together. An array of different data sources needed to be stitched together and consumed by the front-end application. Additionally, the application had to be SEO-focused, as this would make a huge impact on the underlying revenue. Finally, tight timelines were needed to get the website into working order to be able to start using the new system-wide architecture.
Near The Box helped address these concerns by building a completely custom React/Redux architecture. We started by architecting a front-end system that could consume data from a variety of sources as well as fit into the overall system architecture. This included writing a complete custom server-side rendering engine. This engine, written in Node JS, would allow for server rendering of the application, which would allow for full SEO control.
Near The Box was able to cut months off the initial build-out by leveraging our experience with React architectures. By setting strict architecture guidelines and a strong foundation, Foot Locker developers were able to work in a structured manner and move at a faster pace of development while not sacrificing code integrity.
Outcome
After launching the new website, Foot Locker received internal and external feedback that applauded the improved experience and increased e-commerce revenue. Near The Box still works in a technology architecture consulting role with Foot Locker 3 years after launch. By continuing a close relationship with the Technology Leadership team and taking ownership of key technology issues, we enable them to scale and improve their platform at a rapid pace.
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