With the launch of the new ZooRoyal online shop on 5 May, REWE Group has successfully completed a complex technology project: ZooRoyal and Weinfreunde worked together with REWE digital for a year to make their e-commerce platforms more future-proof. The new Weinfreunde shop went live on 30 March. The aim of the project was to replace an increasingly complex system landscape that had grown over the years with a modern, standardised architecture.
The reason for the reorganisation was the realisation that too many individual special solutions and technical legacy issues were slowing down innovation, while operating and development costs were constantly rising. Against this backdrop, the REWE digital IT verticals unit assumed responsibility for the technological reorganisation:
„We deliberately wanted to move away from historically grown complexity and towards a platform that enables speed instead of blocking it“
Eric Voigt, Head of IT Verticals
"A key success factor here was the cross-divisional agreement with ZooRoyal and Weinfreunde on key standard platform functions," explains Eric Voigt, Head of IT Verticals.
In terms of implementation, this decision led to ZooRoyal and Weinfreunde switching from their previous technology partner Shopware to commercetools. As a leading digital commerce platform with an AI-first approach, commercetools is in line with the Group-wide technology and platform strategy.
The change is clear for customers: they experience faster loading times, more stable shops and simplified purchasing processes. Weinfreunde.de also features a revised design and new payment methods such as Klarna - which was also introduced at ZooRoyal as part of the new platform - for additional shopping convenience.
The new platform also brings advantages for the teams in the background, as they have significantly more room for manoeuvre and independence in their work thanks to clearer structures and standardised functions.
The platform change will have an impact far beyond the current operation: with the successful transformation, ZooRoyal and Weinfreunde have created a technological basis that is a prerequisite for future e-commerce developments. "Most e-commerce systems were never designed to support AI agents acting on behalf of customers. By moving to a modern e-commerce platform, companies like ZooRoyal are laying the foundation to participate in this next phase of e-commerce, where search, decision-making and even transactions are increasingly powered by AI-powered interactions," explains Dirk Hoerig, founder and Chief Innovation Officer of commercetools.
With this in mind, ZooRoyal is working with commercetools to prepare the shop specifically for AI-supported applications - for example for product searches, recommendations or, in the future, complete purchasing processes. „For us, technology is not the centre of attention. Our aim at ZooRoyal remains to provide customers and their pets with real added value at every moment - customised, forward-looking and absolutely trustworthy.“ Annette Corsten, Managing Director Strategy, E Commerce and Marketing at ZooRoyal In the future, AI-supported applications could help pet owners find the right coat care or the right toy from the ZooRoyal range or simplify recurring processes such as the monthly food order. Supported by suitable building blocks from commercetools, ZooRoyal is one of the early adopters within REWE Group that is specifically testing these new possibilities and exploring their potential for customers and its own business model.
