MobiLoud Helped XCVI Save 10 Hours Per Week By Relaunching Their Mobile App

For XCVI Fashion, a family-owned women's apparel brand with nearly 30 years of history, maintaining operational efficiency while growing their ecommerce presence presented unique challenges. 

As their D2C channel became their largest single retail outlet, the team faced a crucial decision: how to deliver a premium mobile experience without overwhelming their lean team.

Eric Lowe, Director of Ecommerce at XCVI Fashion, recognized that their most valuable customers would be the ones downloading and using their app. The potential for direct communication through push notifications, without the costs associated with SMS or additional emails, made a mobile app strategy particularly attractive.

Key Takeaways

• Eliminated 100% of duplicate work by managing a single codebase vs separate platforms
• App users have 30% higher AOVs making this a premium revenue channel
• Now saving ~10 hours weekly on app maintenance 
• Responsive strategy support provided a seamless transition and personalized guidance
• Push notifications reduced marketing costs compared to SMS while maintaining engagement with VIP customers

A 30-year legacy meets modern mobile expectations

XCVI Fashion targets women ages 40 and up with their distinctive apparel line. While wholesale forms a significant portion of their business, their direct-to-consumer e-commerce operation has grown steadily over nine years to become their largest single retail channel.

As a family-owned business approaching three decades of operation, XCVI has maintained a deliberate approach to growth. They initially hesitated to launch a mobile app, waiting until their business reached sufficient scale to justify the additional channel. Eric and his team don't believe in launching channels they can't properly support, ensuring each expansion receives adequate resources.

Why their previous provider fell short

XCVI took the plunge with their first mobile app provider about three years ago, attracted by promises of tight Shopify integration and simplicity. 

The reality proved more complicated. Eric recounts:

"We went with another company because they promoted how heavily they were involved in Shopify and how simple it would be. In some regards, it's simple, but there were still issues because we essentially had to maintain two different storefronts."

This dual maintenance created significant operational friction. 

Every homepage change, product update, or promotion required duplicate work across two platforms. When Shopify would release new features or improvements, the app wouldn't automatically benefit which created a growing feature gap that required constant workarounds.

The promised innovations and updates from their previous provider never materialized, forcing XCVI to create complex background processes and automation to manage discrepancies. This operational burden directly impacted how they utilized their app, limiting promotions and features because they couldn't justify the additional maintenance time.

"Our previous provider didn't feel as innovative as they claimed and their team didn't really show any excitement in helping us be successful. And with MobiLoud, I absolutely feel like the team genuinely wants us to succeed and are excited to see how they can help us and get the most out of our app."

Finding a better approach and partner committed to their success

When XCVI's growth manager introduced MobiLoud, what stood out immediately was the fundamentally different technical approach. 

Unlike competitors who build separate platforms that need to be synchronized with Shopify, MobiLoud's solution directly leverages the existing Shopify mobile site. Eric explains:

"It made a lot of sense because it literally uses Shopify. When Shopify upgrades or updates, the app is updated. When we change a page or product or sort order or a product goes out of stock and we want to hide it, it just works."

This eliminated the complex background processes they had built to manage their previous app. With MobiLoud's approach, they could finally simplify their operations, saving an estimated 8-10 hours weekly on app maintenance tasks.

What sealed the decision was the balanced approach: maintaining operational simplicity while allowing for app-specific enhancements. The solution uses their existing mobile site but provides the ability to add exclusive elements for app users when desired.

"MobiLoud keeps this whole thing simple and streamlined. No more juggling two different platforms, no more wasted time on maintenance. We can just focus on marketing and growing the business."

Relaunching their new app with no disruptions

Switching to a new mobile app provider is always a significant undertaking. 

For XCVI, this decision carried genuine concerns about potential customer disruption. Eric shares:

"I was obviously concerned during the transition, worried our customers would have a terrible experience. But the MobiLoud team crushed it - they were so responsive, fixing any little glitches lightning fast. Gave me total peace of mind."

This service-led approach marked a stark contrast to XCVI's previous experiences. Instead of scripted calls and generic solutions, MobiLoud provided personalized attention with a dedicated expert who actively solved problems and anticipated potential issues before they emerged. Eric says about the onboarding process.

"I found that the team really cared and dug into the details. It felt like you guys personally care about making sure that we are successful.”

This partnership mentality extended beyond the launch, with our team providing ongoing guidance on best practices for app promotion, push notification strategy, and exclusive content ideas tailored specifically to XCVI's business model and customer base.

Getting unified analytics without expensive add-ons

Beyond operational simplicity, XCVI found significant advantages in MobiLoud's integrated analytics approach. Their previous app solution made comprehensive reporting nearly impossible without expensive add-ons.

It required third-party applications and additional costs for basic analytics they already had on the website.

Attribution modeling would have cost them upwards of $500/month  plus additional expenses for implementation services. "I was like, are you kidding me?" Eric remembers thinking as the costs kept mounting.

The fragmented analytics created visibility problems, with traffic appearing as "organic" regardless of source, making it impossible to evaluate advertising effectiveness. This skewed their metrics and complicated reporting to leadership.

Now, with app traffic flowing through the same analytics channels, leadership can see accurate performance metrics. 

The app traffic integrates directly with Shopify, allowing their team to easily compare year-over-year sales and performance without complicated data adjustments or separate reports.

MobiLoud also provided customized app performance reports that give XCVI detailed insights into app performance, reducing analytics setup time while providing more actionable data.

Building a VIP channel with push notifications

With their app now functioning seamlessly, XCVI is focusing on rebuilding user adoption and leveraging the channel for their best customers. 

Their app user base had previously reached 8-10% of their customers and is now steadily growing back toward that benchmark after relaunch, with a target of reaching 12% penetration by EOY. 

Their strategy involves creating special value for app users through exclusive colors, loyalty point bonuses for app purchases, and potentially exclusive products when their volume justifies it. 

These initiatives recognize the significantly higher value of their app customers.

Push notifications have become a particularly valuable tool in their customer engagement strategy. Eric explains:

"I like that it doesn't cost anything, unlike SMS where you pay per send and the bill gets pretty hefty pretty fast."

By shifting some of their SMS communications to push notifications, XCVI has found a more cost-effective way to maintain engagement with their most valuable customers.

The data strongly validates this approach with app users consistently generating 30% higher AOVs than typical website visitors for example. This metric confirms XCVI's hypothesis that their most valuable customers gravitate toward the app experience, making it a high-ROI channel worthy of focused investment.

With MobiLoud's solution in place, XCVI can now confidently explore these app-exclusive experiences knowing they can implement them without disrupting their core operations or requiring extensive technical resources.

Key insights from a brand that found the right mobile partner

For brands considering either launching their first app or switching providers, Lowe emphasizes realistic resource planning. 

Even with a streamlined solution like MobiLoud, brands need to allocate time for push notification management and marketing integration. However, with the right partner, these investments prove worthwhile.

For those considering a switch, Lowe suggests focusing on operational efficiency. 

When mobile app management is just part of someone's responsibilities, simplicity becomes essential. When website and app experiences align through a solution like MobiLoud's, team members can focus on what matters most.

What ultimately set MobiLoud apart from competitors was the combination of truly using Shopify as their app’s backend rather than attempting to rebuild on a separate platform paired with a personalized, service-oriented approach that guided XCVI through every step of the process.

"MobiLoud keeps this whole thing simple and streamlined. No more juggling two different platforms, no more wasted time on maintenance. We can just focus on marketing and growing the business."

Curious about launching a mobile app for your brand like XCVI Fashion?

Get started with a free preview and see your store transformed into an app with:

• True Shopify mirroring that eliminates duplicate workflows and maintenance
• Personalized onboarding and support from a team dedicated to your success
• Cost-effective push notifications to engage your best customers

We can have it ready in as little as 24 hours - no technical work or commitment required.

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