Peloton Redefines its Retail Offering in the UK

At Peloton, we strive to create a positive and lasting impact on our Members' lives. This became clearer than ever when the pandemic hit in early 2020 and our teams had to find a way to continue to support our Members. Throughout the year our global teams found new ways to help them focus on their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing through ‘Live From Home’ classes, a Member Relief Fund and many more global initiatives. In the UK, our teams worked hard together (albeit socially distanced) to reimagine what our Member experience entails and this was particularly true for our Retail teams, whose role is largely dependent on daily face-to-face customer interaction. Despite the circumstances, they continued to innovate throughout 2020 and introduced new ways to bring Peloton to potential new Members and engage with current Members virtually.

Staying at home, but keeping connected

When stay-at-home measures were in place during the first lockdown in March 2020, we closed our retail locations but that didn’t stop our in-store teams from connecting with Members. They pivoted quickly and transitioned to working remotely from home. These team members also began supporting other functions such as Member Support, continuing to operate with a bias for action through constant improvement and innovations.

During the second lockdown in November 2020, our teams knew they could be effective at home, but they wanted to find new and interesting ways to (virtually) meet potential new Members, help keep them informed about our products, while not losing that one-on-one, personalized experience. This led to the launch of virtual appointments from our showrooms and provided a way for prospective new Members to see our products. As with our ability to produce high quality, immersive class content to our Members at home, we quickly realised that we could deliver the retail experience from our Peloton Experts’ homes in an impactful way. With the help of our Creative and Production teams, we were able to train our Retail Experts through a robust programme to deliver an effective retail experience through the screen and, as a result, conducted over a thousand appointments from our Experts’ living rooms within a three-month period. Following our “Members First” approach and recognising that some customers still want to meet us virtually, we continue to offer virtual appointments from our showrooms as an alternative for those who prefer to sample the Peloton experience at home.

A personalised experience for Members - from the comfort of their homes

In addition to virtual appointments for prospective Members, we’ve also introduced new services for our current All-Access Members. Personalised Bike Fit service (where our in-store team helped Members set up their saddle and handlebar heights) has always been a key part of our Retail team’s aftersale offering. However, when we couldn’t welcome Members into our showrooms during lockdown, we recognised the genuine need to continue to engage with our Members at home as well as a gap where we could provide further learning opportunities for our Retail team members.

Designed by James Hayward, Showroom Manager at Canary Wharf and an experienced outdoor cyclist, the Virtual Bike Fit service was created to offer a personalised opportunity for our Members to enhance their Peloton experience, providing specific guidance on Bike set up. The service begins with an anatomical analysis of Member’s form on the Bike with current settings, followed by a one-to-one consultation on their lifestyle and concluded with a real-time recommendation and adjustment of settings by our Peloton Expert. Each Virtual Bike Fit appointment is tailored to our Members’ preferences in order to set them up for success. The rigorous training through our internal ‘Peloton Academy’ platform for UK-based employees is currently well underway and this will soon be extended to our team based in Germany.

Moving in to branch out

In the past year, our team in the UK also redefined the retail landscape by launching concessions in retailer John Lewis. The first Peloton concession opened at John Lewis' flagship Oxford Street shop in August 2020. This was followed by the opening of eight additional concessions in John Lewis shops across the UK.

More recently, we launched a concession in the iconic department store Harrods in London’s Knightsbridge neighbourhood. Located on the fifth floor in Harrods’ technology department and set within a premium environment, the space incorporates private trial rooms for personalised product demonstrations. To complement the experience, customers can also shop the latest Peloton apparel and accessories which, at launch, included a selection of items that were exclusive to Harrods. Through these first-of-its-kind partnerships with quintessential and iconic British retailers, we are able to bring the Peloton experience to more customers across the UK.

Looking ahead

We’ve just opened our second showroom in Scotland, located at St James Quarter in Edinburgh. Commenting on the importance of retail, Kevin Cornils, Managing Director International said: “Nothing beats experiencing our products in person and the experience we offer in showrooms provides a great opportunity for people to learn more about the brand. Ultimately, it’s about delivering the best possible experience for our Members and, in the past year, our team has continued to innovate and deliver and we’re excited to see what the future holds for retail!”.

To book an in-person or virtual appointment, click here to find our showroom contact details and speak to a Peloton Expert today.