Madison rolls out IBD Freewheel programme to help retailers serve customers online
Madison has announced that from iceBike* this year, its new IBD-focussed e-commerce website, Freewheel.co.uk, is opening up to all cycling retailers in the UK and Ireland.
The Freewheel programme was soft-launched in August last year, and is designed to offer independent bicycle retailers a cutting-edge online presence to serve their potential customers. The focus of the programme is to drive business to local bike shops either through a click and collect service or by receiving commission from home delivery sales.
Freewheel.co.uk operates by asking consumers to designate a local bike shop when they make a purchase. From that point on, all commission or collections will go to that shop which aims to blend the real-world and online shopping experience. Every sale will be attributed to a local bike shop, and according to Madison could possibly in the long-term help local bike shops to compete with big e-commerce websites.
After several months of testing with a small selection of retailers, Freewheel is now being rolled out to cycle retailers around the country, with different levels of involvement available to suit a variety of businesses.
Any interested retailers are encouraged to attend iceBike* this year to get all of the details about what the programme entails and how they can get involved. There will be daily seminars at the show explaining more about Freewheel, including:
- The Reserve and Collect functionality
- Getting commission from online sales – how does it work?
- The tiered system – various levels of involvement depending on your business
- Freewheel marketing and promotional strategy
- How your business can get involved
CEO at Madison, Dominic Langan, said: “We are really pleased to now be at the stage of being able to open Freewheel up to all of our specialist independent bricks and mortar customers. This is an initiative we truly believe could benefit all local bike shops with greater customer awareness, improved footfall and additional sales with no cost of entry.
“Freewheel is a sophisticated website with complex capabilities to deliver an effective customer experience for our specialist retailer network. Madison has invested significant sums of money and resources to facilitate the creation of a nationwide union of specialist independent bicycle retailers. Together we are stronger. You can find out how it all works at iceBike* next month and we look forward to welcoming you to Arena:MK.”
Visitors are encouraged to register now at www.icebike.co.uk. To view the website and find out more, visit www.freewheel.co.uk.
