From website to store: omnichannel growth at Maxi Zoo with Hybrid

Background

For anyone with a pet, Maxi Zoo is undoubtedly a familiar name. The pet food and accessory specialist is part of the Fressnapf Group, the European market leader in pet products. Across Europe, the Fressnapf Group operates no fewer than 1,500 stores, 46 of which are in Belgium.

The challenge

Pursuing constant growth in a competitive Belgian market. Maxi Zoo is currently a pure brick-and-mortar retailer. Competition from online players is therefore tangible. The main challenge is convincing pet owners to visit a physical store. Given the growth ambitions, both acquisition of new customers and retention of existing buyers is a must.

Why Hybrid Agency?

What started with email marketing and data capture has grown over eight years into a close partnership with a dedicated Hybrid team tailored to Maxi Zoo. Thanks to the combination of strategic guidance, hands-on expertise, and continuous analysis, Maxi Zoo has been able to further professionalize its digital marketing. By using TaaS (Team as a Service), Maxi Zoo always has access to the right profiles to act quickly and accelerate strategically.

The collaboration

At the start of our collaboration, already 8 years ago, the focus was primarily on data capture and email marketing. Through landing pages, contest concepts, and segmented communication, we maximized retention of the existing customer base. Over the years, we adjusted based on online acquisition opportunities and gradually increased the digital marketing budget.

This expansion of channels went hand in hand with an increasingly close partnership between Hybrid and Maxi Zoo. To flexibly respond to the complex digital reality and tackle the challenge of attracting, training, and retaining skilled online marketers, Maxi Zoo opted for a tailored Hybrid online team (TaaS). The Hybrid experts and Maxi Zoo marketing team form the perfect 1+1=3. Through the Hybrid team, the right digital skills are available whenever needed, and the right number of hands when acceleration is required.

Over the years, new measurement opportunities have become available. Whereas previously we could mostly measure via loyalty card data, in recent years in-store traffic data has also been included.

Today, our team’s efforts are comprehensive:

• Designing and optimizing an online strategy focused on store visits
• online advertising via Google, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Pinterest, etc
• Targeted conversion optimization on website and landing pages
• Integrated SEO and content strategy
• KPI Dashboarding via google data studio
• Boosting measurable store traffic
• CRM development & email marketing

Key KPIs:

• Increase in organic traffic (branded + non-branded) as an indication of greater brand awareness and potential acquisition of new pet owners
• Net growth of the database (taking churn into account)
• ROAS on store traffic

Results and impact

Global results over the entire partnership period:

• Overall ROAS (captured contacts and store visits) increased by 80% over the last 2 years
• Structurally, we see a rising trend in the number of database contacts and store visits via paid advertising, with a decreasing cost per lead
• The number of new, qualified database contacts is 30% higher than the set net target
• Year-on-year organic traffic growth of 16% and counting

The future

The collaboration between Hybrid and Maxi Zoo continues to evolve. With a solid foundation of data-driven insights, a dedicated TaaS team, and an integrated omnichannel strategy, the focus is on further growth in both store visits and customer retention. In the coming years, efforts will focus on expanding digital touchpoints, further personalizing customer communication, continuous optimization of conversions, and integrating new technologies for better measurement of offline and online interactions. In this way, Maxi Zoo aims to further strengthen its market-leading position in Belgium and respond to changing consumer behavior, while the partnership with Hybrid ensures flexibility and scalability for every new challenge.

Conclusion

The collaboration with Hybrid resulted in strong and measurable growth on multiple fronts. ROAS on store traffic increased by 80% over the last 2 years, while the number of qualified database contacts exceeded the net target by 30%. Additionally, organic traffic continues to grow (+16% YoY). Maxi Zoo demonstrates that even a physical retailer can sustainably boost brand awareness, customer retention, and store visits through a well-considered digital approach.