Australian lifestyle and youth fashion brand City Beach will leverage Massachusetts-based NewStore’s consumer app to extend its digital footprint and enhance customer loyalty.

NewStore produces a modular, mobile-first omnichannel cloud platform for retail brands worldwide. City Beach will leverage the consumer app to design and launch the City Beach app, which will debut on iOS and Android in Australia, New Zealand and the USA in the coming months.

Since its inception in 1985, City Beach has championed a legacy of youth fashion. With over 65 stores throughout Australia, the retailer boasts a curated selection of more than 300 brands and is supported by a team of more than 3000 employees. City Beach’s digital footprint includes ecommerce operations accounting for a significant percentage of the company’s revenue. By rolling out the app, the business will extend its ecommerce presence beyond desktop and mobile web, strengthening its digital prowess while enriching customer relationships and driving sales.

“After a comprehensive evaluation, it became evident that the NewStore platform was the perfect match from a feature-functionality standpoint,” said Chris Lockwood, head of ecommerce at City Beach. “This journey marks a turning point for City Beach, and we are confident that the end product will benefit our business and further our commitment to offering a superior customer experience.”

With NewStore, City Beach will have access to the essential capabilities it needs to run a modern and engaging app, as well as real-time omnichannel inventory visibility, custom push notifications and interactive product lookbooks.

NewStore’s consumer apps also provide an on-brand in-app experience with interactive storytelling and immersive videos that seamlessly integrate videos to unlock brand visuals that drive engagement.

The digital loyalty offering produces a members-only experience with out-of-the-box capabilities designed to create superfans.

External features can be added to the app for customisation possibilities.

Compared with typical mobile web site metrics, NewStore customers have seen three times more visits from their app users and in-app conversion rates as high as seven times. At the same time, brands using the apps have reduced customer acquisition costs, with 90% of users accessing the app directly versus through paid search advertisements.

“Youth fashion retail has its own set of challenges, and businesses must have a vision and strive to continue to adapt,” said Troy Elliott, head of operations at City Beach. “NewStore not only gets this, but the team also brings a much-needed spirit of partnership and collaboration to the table. In a rapidly evolving retail landscape, their innovative app development approach and commitment to our brand’s success truly set them apart.”

Stephan Schambach, NewStore CEO, added: “The NewStore consumer app is a vital component of our larger omnichannel platform. Our modularity is a key differentiator, and brands like City Beach can choose how to leverage our offerings. Their decision to launch a NewStore consumer app speaks not just to meeting today’s consumer demands but also to their forward-looking vision for retail’s future.”

NewStore (www.newstore.com) runs apps for 25 brands in more than 40 countries. It provides omnichannel-as-a-service for retail brands worldwide that want to accelerate their digital transformation. Built with Mach principles, NewStore’s mobile-first, modular cloud platform includes PoS, order management, clienteling, inventory and consumer apps.

For more than three decades, City Beach (www.citybeach.com) has been a beacon of Aussie lifestyle, fashion and culture, growing from a small surf and skate shop in 1985, to an international brand with more than 65 stores Australia wide.