Just in time for the 2009/2010 Bundesliga season, the 1899 Hoffenheim soccer club optimized its online fan store with new features and an updated layout. The project was implemented by Sycor.
Since mid-August 2009, just in time for the start of the 2009/2010 Bundesliga season, fans of 1899 Hoffenheim have been enjoying their soccer club’s new and improved website, which offers more information, faster access and easier navigation. At the same time, the club also relaunched its online store, where fans can browse and purchase merchandise using new functions presented in the club‘s corporate design. The relaunch of the online merchandise store was implemented by Sycor.
“The existing online store was the starting point for our project,” explains Patrick Hey, Head of E-commerce at Sycor. “We worked with the web agency to design and implement the new features and the store layout using the club’s corporate design.” The design plans focused primarily on the needs of the users of the online store. By integrating Adobe Flex 3, Sycor brought product presentation in the store to a new level. The design of the online store as well as the presentation of merchandise is clear, up to date and innovative. For example, the new fan store provides zoom functions for viewing products in more detail as well as other features for displaying personalized products. The overall buying experience and service offerings were further enhanced through integration of new payment options such as the online payment service Payment Network, a shipment tracking feature, and a list of top sellers on the home page. An English language version of the online store was added to meet the needs of the Hoffenheim club’s growing international fan base. “A special challenge in this project was the tight 3-month implementation deadline,” says Fadi Naoum, Vice President of Global Service and Support Operations at SAP and project manager for the merchandise store relaunch.
Markus Sieger, spokesman for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim is very happy with the results: “We picked Sycor to implement our requirements because the company had already been supporting us in our online store activities for quite a while. We are extremely satisfied with our new online store. And not only that: our fans are much happier now too.”