KIKO Milano, Italy's number 1 Italian global beauty brand with stores in more than 70 countries, has implemented in its physical and online stores a Unified Commerce solution together with Adyen, the global financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses, with the aim of optimizing the payment experience of its customers, making the moment of purchase unique and meaningful. Also central to this is the strategic integration of payment data and enabling local payment methods to support the specific needs of different markets.

The challenge: Optimized payments for a unique shopping experience, everywhere

The customer experience has evolved in recent years, focusing increasingly on three factors: convenience, speed and security. For this reason, KIKO Milano wanted to optimize the payment phase, which is decisive in the broader customer journey of its customers, ensuring that it could offer them a personalized and satisfying experience across all channels.

This was, however, complex due to the differences existing in the various markets in terms of preferences and payment methods used, as well as the difficulty in fully exploiting the potential of the available data on customer behavior, fragmented across different systems.

The solution: A global platform with a local presence

Working with Adyen, KIKO Milano implemented a unified payment solution that enables seamless transactions across all channels. Modern terminals such as mobile POS and the innovative Tap To Pay feature on the iPhone have, for example, been adopted by the brand in stores to make the payment moment smooth and wait-free. In this regard, immediate and easy integration with New Black's pre-existing EVA POS platform also played a key role.

In addition, to ensure an optimal experience in the different markets where the collaboration is active, namely Europe, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Hong Kong, KIKO Milano now also offers local, Adyen-enabled payment methods such as Alipay and WeChat Pay. Finally, payment data from different channels and countries are integrated into a single platform, simplifying transaction management and access to meaningful insights into customer behavior.

The result: Greater effectiveness, from checkout to international expansion

The use of innovative payment technologies has enabled a smoother checkout experience, with positive effects on conversion rates. The benefits achieved are, however, multiple and found in multiple areas; among the main ones:

• A higher level of payment security, which is also reflected in customer perceptions, accompanied by an overall increase in digital payments in stores to 50% on average globally with peaks of up to 65% in key European markets from 2023, when the partnership begins.

• A simplified and faster global expansion process, as evidenced by the implementation of 10,000 terminals in 1,000 stores in less than 9 months.

• Greater accessibility and quality of data, which has facilitated the creation of more comprehensive customer profiles, leading to higher engagement rates.

“The integration of Adyen into our existing systems and processes has been a comprehensive and transformative experience. In addition to enhancing payment security, allowing us to obtain and maintain PCI certification with greater ease, it has enabled us to enrich our customer profiles with relevant information about payment habits, allowing us to develop more targeted marketing strategies in line with their preferences”, says Kaveh Vahabi, Chief Information Officer of KIKO Milano.

Upcoming developments in the collaboration

Looking to the future, KIKO Milano considers opening new stores and expanding its partnership with Adyen, continuing to innovate its processes to stay ahead of the curve and offer a premium experience to its customers.

“Customers want and expect a seamless experience, both online and in store, and payments play a crucial part in this sense. Thanks to our collaboration with Adyen, we were able to implement a unified payment solution that provides seamless transactions across all channels ensuring our customers have the flexibility to use the payment they prefer without any complications. This had a positive impact on our CR and allows us to analyze payment data thus providing us with a deeper understanding of what’s working and what should be improved. Adyen’s platform is flexible, scalable and handles everything from compliance to local payment methods supporting KIKO Milano’s success in entering new markets”, says Cristina Casa, Chief Retail Officer of KIKO Milano.

“Providing each client with the payment technologies best suited to their growth path is crucial for us. In this sense, we are excited to be able to support KIKO Milano in achieving its goals, helping to enhance the uniqueness of each customer through innovative payments. With our platform, we would like to help KIKO Milano respond to the specific needs of customers in various markets, always maintaining a global and unified vision”, comments Gabriele Bellezze, Country Manager Adyen Italy.