Redefining Retail: From Project Delivery to Product Experience
At a glance
CLIENT
Leading jewelry retailer
SERVICE
- Project to Product transformation, digital operating model, customer experience strategy
INDUSTRY
- Retail, eCommerce, Omnichannel
A top jewelry retailer with over 2,800 stores across North America and a workforce of more than 25,000 employees faced declining foot traffic and rising digital expectations. Traditional project-based IT initiatives were slow to adapt to changing consumer behavior, and fragmented online and offline journeys limited growth.
LeanCoded was engaged to guide the retailer’s Project to Product transformation, focusing on customer experience as the product. By creating a unified digital operating model, the company launched immersive shopping solutions that bridged in-store and online experiences, strengthened customer loyalty, and accelerated digital revenue streams.
Building a Virtual Shopping Experience
LeanCoded helped shift the retailer’s mindset from IT projects to product-centric teams dedicated to customer journeys. Using agile and cross-functional squads, the company built a virtual shopping platform that allowed customers to browse collections, schedule consultations, and complete purchases seamlessly online.
The new model emphasized continuous delivery and product lifecycle management, ensuring rapid iterations based on real-time customer feedback. Within months, the platform supported thousands of virtual appointments, capturing a significant share of digital sales.
The transition also required a shift in funding: instead of isolated projects, budgets were allocated to long-term products such as “virtual consultations” and “omnichannel shopping.” This enabled ongoing innovation rather than one-off launches. The result was a 40% increase in online engagement and a measurable uplift in conversion rates across digital channels. By embracing a Project to Product strategy, the retailer turned its customer experience into a scalable digital product.
Strategic Business Impact
The initiative positioned the retailer as a leader in digital customer experience within the jewelry sector. By treating customer engagement as a product, the company gained agility to adapt to shifting consumer trends, reduced reliance on physical stores, and unlocked new revenue streams.
Key Transformation Outcomes
- 40% increase in online customer engagement
- Thousands of virtual appointments booked monthly
- Omnichannel funding model established for long-term innovation
- Continuous product releases aligned with customer feedback
- Improved time-to-market for new digital features
Benefits Delivered
This transformation highlights how a Project to Product operating model redefines customer experience in retail.
- Stronger revenue growth — digital sales expanded through new virtual channels
- Customer experience as a product — seamless omnichannel journeys
- Faster innovation cycles — agile teams delivering updates every few weeks
- Scalable impact — thousands of digital interactions replicated across markets
LeanCoded’s Contribution
LeanCoded supported the client from strategy to execution, aligning leadership on a product operating model, training cross-functional squads, and delivering the technology backbone for virtual shopping. Our structured approach ensured measurable results — from higher digital conversion rates to increased customer satisfaction.