Showcasing E-Commerce Innovation: Lessons from Leading Brands

As the e-commerce landscape evolves, the need for intelligent solutions that enhance the customer experience has never been greater.

The brands we’re highlighting are at the forefront of this transformation, using innovative tools to redefine digital retail.

By carefully selecting and exploring these case studies, we aim to showcase how leveraging smart e-commerce strategies can solve common challenges, drive engagement, and transform the shopping experience.

We aim to inspire new possibilities for your own brand or store, illustrating how e-commerce platforms can be a powerful engine for growth and customer satisfaction.

Vitra – OfficeChair Finder

Choosing the right office chair from home can be challenging for customers without the ability to try it out in person. Vitra’s Office Chair Finder solves this by guiding users through a personalized selection process.

Through a step-by-step questionnaire, customers provide details about their preferences and needs, and the tool then recommends chairs tailored to those inputs. The visual feedback is particularly innovative, with chairs dynamically rearranging in a circular grid as users make selections.

Once the survey is complete, users can compare their top recommendations with the built-in comparison tool. At any point, customers can also click on any chair to explore it further or configure it to their liking.

Reverse Office Chair Finder

Vitra has seamlessly integrated the Office Chair Finder into their omnichannel brand. Not only is the tool accessible online from the Product Listing Page (PLP), but it’s also available in-store.

Each chair in the store has a scannable label that allows customers to use a reversed version of the Office Chair Finder. By scanning a chair, users can quickly discover whether the office chair in front of them is tailored to their needs.

This approach creates a smooth blend between the physical and digital shopping experiences, giving customers an innovative way to interact with the product both online and in person.

Apple – Compare

With new iPhone models released every year, the differences between versions have become increasingly subtle, making it difficult for customers to decide whether upgrading is necessary. Even tech enthusiasts sometimes struggle to pinpoint the exact differences. To address this, Apple developed a Product Compare Tool that allows users to compare up to three devices side by side.

While product comparison tools aren’t new, Apple’s execution stands out for its simplicity and focus. By limiting comparisons to three products, the tool avoids overwhelming users, and visual illustrations for different categories make subtle differences easier to detect. The user experience is seamless and fully integrated into Apple’s broader e-commerce platform.

One potential improvement to elevate the experience even further could be the addition of a "show only differences" option, allowing users to toggle similar values on and off for a more focused comparison.

Mammut – Compare inside the PLPs

Much like Apple, Mammut recognized the value of giving users a product comparison option on their platform. However, Mammut tailored their approach to better fit their unique user journey.

Since Mammut’s customers spend more time on Product Listing Pages (PLPs) and Product Overview Pages (POPs), they integrated the Compare Tool directly onto these pages where users are already comparing thumbnails and prices. Users can select items directly from the PLP to open a comparison tool that provides a clear, side-by-side view.

Mammut enhances the experience with visual benchmarks, using different types of graphs to help users easily distinguish between product features. Additionally, the tool allows users to add more items to the comparison, ensuring flexibility.

An innovative feature is the option to visually compare items in full-size view, which is particularly helpful for clothing that may look similar at first glance.

Mr Spex – Virtual Try On

Mr Spex, known for its vast selection of glasses, faced a challenge common to eyewear: glasses significantly impact your appearance, and while general guidelines exist, it ultimately comes down to how they look on your face.

To address this, Mr Spex introduced a Virtual Try-On feature, which has since become a key driver of their e-commerce success. Using your camera and advanced 3D scanning techniques, the tool adjusts a 3D model of the glasses to match your head size and real-world measurements, giving a realistic preview of how they’ll look on you.

To ensure a smooth user experience, Mr Spex preloads the virtual try-on assets as soon as the rest of the Product Detail Page (PDP) loads. This reduces loading time and makes the feature quickly available when users are ready to access it.

(This pattern of background loading for 3D assets is increasingly common, as seen with Nike's sneaker customization tool, ensuring faster performance despite the large asset sizes involved.)

Suitsupply – A online Configurator for Tailor Made Suits

SuitSupply offers one of the world’s best online programs for custom-made suits, a key factor in their success. Over the years, their Custom Made program has been continuously refined, allowing customers to design a tailor-made suit from the comfort of their own home through a suit configurator.

Recognizing that most people don’t have the expertise to confidently make decisions for a custom suit, SuitSupply has developed a guided process that leverages their years of knowledge. With helpful explanations, presets, and intuitive options, so even those without fashion expertise can easily create a suit that fits their style.

For customers who prefer more personalized help, SuitSupply offers the option to book an appointment with a style advisor. During the appointment, the advisor uses the same configurator on an iPad, guiding customers step by step through the process. The technology and UX behind this tool were revolutionary at launch and remain cutting-edge, yet SuitSupply has made the entire experience feel effortless for users.

Suitsupply – Book an Appointment

While booking appointments for services like barbers or tennis courts is common, SuitSupply has reimagined the process to fit perfectly within their omnichannel brand. Originally known for custom-made suits, SuitSupply has expanded into high-end menswear, but they’ve stayed true to their mission of helping customers find their perfect fit. For this reason, they kept the concept of booking appointments for personalized style advice.

SuitSupply’s Book an Appointment tool stands out for its clear UX and clean UI, offering a step-by-step process to easily book an appointment. What makes this tool particularly unique is the ability to select your personal style advisor, with options to compare advisors based on ratings, reviews, and even their looks, adding a personal touch to the experience. Once booked, the advisor can prepare items in advance and even connect with the customer via WhatsApp for a more seamless interaction.

On the day of the appointment, customers receive reminders and are greeted by their style advisor upon arrival. If there’s a short wait, they are treated to a drink in a comfortable lounge area or can explore the store at their leisure.

This end-to-end experience, designed with care, blends in-person service with digital convenience. Later in the article, we’ll explore even more of SuitSupply’s innovative tools and services that further enhance this smart shopping experience.

Suitsupply – Lookbuilder

When shopping online, customers often struggle to visualize how different pieces will look together. SuitSupply addresses this with their Lookbuilder, an innovative tool that allows users to mix and match clothing items to create complete outfits.

Using a combination of 3D scanning, photography, and 3D printing, SuitSupply developed one of the most advanced online look builders available.

Customers can experiment with different combinations, ultimately finding the perfect fit and style.

This not only drives user engagement but also encourages customers to purchase entire outfits, rather than individual pieces, enhancing both customer satisfaction and sales.

Suitsupply – Shop the Look

SuitSupply has also extended the Lookbuilder visualization capability to their "Shop the Look" feature. On almost every Product Detail Page (PDP), customers can find multiple outfit ideas, made possible by the Lookbuilder pipeline.

This is typically too costly with traditional photoshoots, but SuitSupply’s technology allows them to create countless outfit combinations at scale.

They’ve even integrated this pipeline into their personalized newsletter, providing tailored outfit suggestions to customers—something we’ll explore next.

Suitssupply – Size Passport

SuitSupply offers a seamless integration between in-store and online shopping with their Size Passport. Customers can book an appointment online to get measured in-store, and these measurements are saved in their digital Size Passport, stored in their account.

The Size Passport can be used both for in-store try-ons and when shopping online, ensuring customers always order the right size. This reduces returns and strengthens the connection between the brand and its customers, driving sales.

Additionally, SuitSupply offers a tailor program where customers can order tailored clothing based on their stored measurements, fully integrated within the Size Passport for a personalized shopping experience.

Aubade Jewlery – Ring Size Finder

Aubade, known for their premium jewelry, offers a wide selection of rings. However, unlike clothing sizes, many customers are unsure of their ring size.

To address this, Aubade integrated a Ring Size Finder tool directly within the Product Detail Page (PDP). The innovative solution uses a simple item almost everyone has—a physical credit card—to help customers determine their ring size.

This approach solves the issue of varying screen sizes and gives users a clear, accurate size recommendation. It’s a perfect example of solving a real-world problem with intelligent design, ensuring customers feel confident in their ring purchases.

Zalando – “Get the look” of Influencers

Zalando understands the power of social media and micro-influencers in shaping purchasing decisions. Through partnerships with both bigger and smaller influencers, Zalando taps into authentic, user-generated content (UGC) by having influencers shop on their platform and showcase the outfits they create to their social media audiences.

This strategy has proven highly effective in driving traffic to their platform, as these influencer-curated looks genuinely inspire their followers—essentially influencing what people want to wear and buy.

Zalando has integrated this approach as their own version of "Shop the Look." By leveraging UGC to showcase outfits directly on their platform, they not only save on expensive photoshoots but also create a more natural, authentic connection with their audience. This results in reduced costs, higher sales—since customers often purchase entire outfits—and a seamless blend between their social media and e-commerce platforms.

Ikea – Augmented reality on the Product- Detail-Page

Ikea leverages augmented reality (AR) to enhance the shopping experience by offering an AR view of almost every item in their store directly on the Product Detail Page (PDP).

This feature allows customers to visualize how furniture and home goods will look and fit in their own space, addressing one of the biggest challenges when shopping online for home furnishings.

Tailor-Made Configurators

In today’s digital landscape, personalization is no longer just a nice-to-have—it’s a critical factor in driving customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Studies show that 77% of consumers have chosen, recommended, or paid more for a brand that offers personalized services or experiences, while 71% feel frustrated when a shopping experience lacks personalization. Brands are responding by giving users more options to configure products that fit their exact needs or personal preferences.

The best configurators share a few key traits: they are perfectly tailored to the product, provide intuitive visualization of changes, and strike a balance between guiding users through the options and avoiding overwhelming them with too many choices. Examples include the Apple Watch configurator, Nike’s sneaker personalization tool, Tesla’s car configurator, and one of our own recent projects—the Lockcard wallet configurator.

Conclusion

As we’ve seen through these case studies, smart e-commerce solutions are transforming the way brands engage with their customers, offering more personalized, seamless, and effective shopping experiences.

From product finders and comparison tools to virtual try-ons and custom-made configurators, these innovations not only enhance customer satisfaction but also drive sales and brand loyalty.

If you’re excited to explore where your e-commerce platform can go, feel free to book a call with us, and let’s discover together where we can take your brand.

Having spent extensive time working on configurator projects ourselves, we’ve seen firsthand how personalization drives engagement and conversions. In fact, 65% of e-commerce stores report an increase in conversion rates after adopting a personalization strategy.

For those interested in diving deeper into the world of product configurators, we’ve written an entire article that explores this topic in more detail.