Hibbett consults Oracle to improve shopping

  • March 23, 2023
  • Steve Rogerson

Oracle’s retail cloud platform is being by US footwear and fashion chain Hibbett Retail across 1133 stores in 36 states.

To provide its customers with a better in-store shopping experience, the retailer has upgraded its mobile Oracle Retail Xstore point-of-service systems and added Oracle’s retail store inventory operations cloud service.

This should mean sales staff will always have an accurate view of available merchandise across channels and be able to serve customers from anywhere in the store to increase loyalty.

“Hibbett is where fashion intersects with sport, and the elite sneaker culture thrives,” said Tim Boggess, vice president for Hibbett Retail. “So, as a company, we focus on enhancing the customer experience from toe-to-head by delivering great service with every interaction. Our customers embrace our award-winning loyalty programme and expect an experience tailored to their interests and preferences. With Oracle, we can deliver this level of personalisation at scale.”

Hibbett is also moving to Oracle’s retail customer engagement cloud service and retail order broker. With these offerings, associates can easily view a customer’s past purchases to recommend new styles.

They will have the flexibility to ship merchandise to an adjacent store or a customer’s home if the product they seek is out of stock. In addition, the brand selected Oracle’s retail assortment planning cloud to help it place the right assortment of footwear, apparel and accessories in the right stores to attract and retain customers.

“By continuing to partner with Oracle, we can tap into the continuous delivery model of the cloud and reduce our investments in data centres,” said Ron Blahnik, chief information officer for Hibbett Retail. “The additional IT capacity allows us to focus more energy on supporting our business needs as we extend our market reach and customer expectations continue to grow and evolve.”

Mike Webster, senior vice president of Oracle Retail, added: “Customers increasingly want a more connected, personalised experience that can’t be delivered with piecemeal technology. With our platform, we are connecting not only systems but data, so retailers like Hibbett have the intelligence they need to deliver an endless aisle experience that keeps customers happy and continuously moving merchandise to bolster the bottom line.”

Hibbett, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is an athletic-inspired fashion retailer with 1133 Hibbett and City Gear specialty stores, located in 36 states nationwide. It has a history of convenient locations, personalised customer service and access to footwear, apparel and equipment from brands such as Nike, Jordan and Adidas.