Decathlon's We Play Circular program promotes sustainable business practices and circular economy solutions. This web platform, designed for renting equipment used by the Decathlon team, empowers sellers, managers, and VPs with intuitive tools that enhance engagement and streamline their experience within the program.
Background
Decathlon, the worlds largest sporting goods retailer has a new sustainable ambition:
KEEPING OUR PLAYGROUND CLEAN (committed to 2050)
It’s not a secrets the the fashion industry is one of the polluting industries.
9,800 metric tons of Waste
135,000,000,000 liters/year of Water
500,000 to 1,000,000 metric tons of CO2 annually
As consumers become more environmentally conscious, sustainability has become a priority in fashion, and of course also in sports fashion.
According to recent surveys, over 60% of consumers consider sustainability important when choosing sportswear, influencing brands to adopt eco-friendly practices in design and manufacturing. This is the reason brands like Adidas, Nike, and Patagonia are investing in sustainable materials (e.g., recycled polyester, organic cotton) and production methods. But is it enough?
“Sustainability isn't just about selecting eco-friendly materials or minimizing waste.
It's about envisioning a holistic life cycle for each product—from creation to recreation to promote sustainability and accessibility in sports”
Barbara Martin Coppola - CEO of Decathlon.
Meet “We Play Circular”
This is an innovative, sustainability-focused service offered in stores that allows subscribers to rent and freely exchange sports equipment, embracing a circular economy model. Through this monthly subscription service, users gain flexibility by borrowing sports gear for as long as they need and returning it at any time, with Decathlon refurbishing the returned items for future users.
The subscription packages include:
- Easy Package: £25/month for access to equipment worth up to £400
- Flexible Package: £50/month for equipment worth up to £1,000
- Freedom Package: £95/month for equipment worth up to £2,000
This model supports Decathlon's mission to make sports accessible to everyone while reducing environmental impact. Subscribers can explore different sports without long-term commitments, encouraging active lifestyles and reducing waste by reusing and refurbishing gear.
We Play Circular reflects Decathlon’s commitment to sustainable transformation in the sports industry, offering consumers a cost-effective, eco-friendly way to engage in various activities.
Reducing Environmental Footprint -
Waste and Emission Reduction
Extending the LIFESPAN of products
Promoting RECYCLING and REUSE
Reducing RESOURCE CONSUMPTION
Single-use plastic & Plastic Leak Project
My team and I developed a comprehensive, web-based complex system for Decathlon’s 'We Play Circular' program.
Our design solution enables Store Employees, Branch Managers, and VPs of Retail and Sustainability to seamlessly manage rental operations, track inventory, and monitor sustainability metrics. By focusing on intuitive workflows, real-time updates, and user-specific dashboards, we ensured a user-friendly experience that aligns with Decathlon's mission to make sports accessible while reducing environmental impact. To maintain design consistency across the platform, we utilized Decathlon's existing design system, ensuring a cohesive and familiar experience for all users.
The Challenges
Creating a User-Friendly Equipment Management Interface.
Ensuring a Consistent and Scalable Design System.
Data Visualization for Monitoring and Reporting.
The Approach
We began the process by creating a style guide for the system.
Much of it was already established. Therefore, Our task was to use the existing guidelines and implement new changes or add elements as needed, integrating them seamlessly with the existing style guide. The style guide consisted Branding (colors, typography (Web & Mobile, Logos), Spacing guidelines etc.
Step 1: Store Employees
John James
In-Store Employee positioned at the We Play Circular station
Main needs:
Providing excellent customer service
Increasing efficiency
Achieving goals set by manager - up sale products
Using a reliable and intuitive System
Our process included conducting interviews and observations at the Rothschild Boulevard branch in Tel Aviv, where we engaged with employees to understand their daily needs and goals and gain insights into the Decathlon system.
When the customer arrives at the branch with an email containing their order number, the employee can either enter the order number manually into the system or scan the barcode.
Once the order is verified, the employee retrieves the package (which arrives from the warehouse, as it’s not packaged in-store). The employee can view the order details and items, and after handing the package to the customer, they simply press ‘GIVE’ in the system to complete the transaction.
At this branch, returns are available only for products that were purchased, not rented. Customers can bring back purchased items to the store and receive a refund on-site.
The Store Employee Challenges
Difficulty in meeting sales goals - With orders pre-packaged and ready for pickup, employees have limited interaction with customers, making it harder to upsell additional products and achieve sales targets.
Product recognition issues - Packages arrive pre-packed from the warehouse, and employees may find it challenging to recognize the products if they are not familiar with how they look.
Manual order processing - Entering order information manually can be time-consuming.
Ideation
Through our research, we identified the need for two screens: one for customers picking up orders (the rental screen) and another for employees handling returns. We focused on designing the seller screens to prioritize the essential information employees need about items and products, ensuring a streamlined experience centered on supporting the customer.
As shown, we explored various screen layouts—some split into two sections for pickup and return, others featuring a main dashboard displaying a list of orders ready for pickup. We also tested designs with a status bar indicating whether an order is ready, rented, or in progress.
The Result
The seller screen is designed to provide all essential information at a glance. To streamline the workflow, we developed a web platform that includes product images, upselling options, and a clear, intuitive user flow.
John can easily track his performance metrics, such as customer satisfaction rate, subscription updates, and upselling achievements, for which he earns commissions. The dashboard also displays key details for his current shift, including remaining shift time, tasks to complete, orders ready for pickup, and any open complaints. To access an order, he can simply enter the order ID, phone number, or select it from the list of ready-for-pickup orders.
When entering a customer’s order ID or phone number, the seller is presented with two separate screens: one for processing pickup orders and another for handling returns. This clear distinction helps ensure the correct action is taken for each type of transaction.
Renting Main Screen
At the top of the screen, the seller can easily access the customer’s subscription details, including the start date, monthly package, and remaining balance. The rental screen displays all necessary customer information and their orders—both current and past.
This particular order is marked as ‘ready’ and includes four items. John can scan each item to view its name, image, and price, and use the 'Edit' or 'Delete' icons to adjust the order as needed. He can also scan items for any damage or take pictures of the products instead of manually writing about the damage, making the process more efficient.
To address three main challenges faced by users:
Difficulty in meeting sales goals: When John presses the ‘Ready to Pickup’ button, a popup with recommended upsell items appears. These suggestions help John meet his monthly sales targets despite limited customer interaction due to pre-packaged orders.
Product recognition issues: Scanning items allows John to view product images and details, overcoming challenges related to recognizing products that arrive pre-packed from the warehouse.
Manual order processing: The system eliminates the need for time-consuming manual data entry by allowing John to quickly access customer orders via scanning and taking pictures of any product damage, making the order processing more efficient.
The Returning Products Screen
The returns screen provides the same essential details about the customer’s subscription, allowing John to efficiently manage returns.
When a customer wishes to return an order or specific items, John can view the rental duration and cost of each item. He can also add comments and take pictures to document any damage to the item or mark it as lost. This feature ensures accuracy and reduces errors in the return process.
At the end of the return process, a popup confirms that the items have been returned to the store and shows the remaining balance on the customer’s account. Additionally, the system suggests relevant products, offering opportunities for upselling in case the customer wishes to place a new order.
To address three main challenges faced by users:
Difficulty in meeting sales goals: The system offers upsell suggestions during the return process, encouraging John to promote additional products, even when the customer is not picking up a new rental.
Product recognition issues: By allowing John to take pictures of any damage or loss, the system addresses the challenge of product recognition during returns, ensuring clarity without needing to manually describe the issues.
Manual order processing: The system eliminates the need for time-consuming manual data entry by allowing John to quickly access order details and handle returns efficiently through scanning and photo documentation.
Step 2: Store Manager
Ron Copelman
Brand Store Manager
Main needs:
Increasing Profits
Providing excellent customer service
Achieving goals set by the corporation: upgrade revenue
Increasing efficiency
During the ideation process, we focused on identifying key information that would be valuable for a store manager. This includes details on today’s pickups, delivery orders, coordination with warehouses, subscription upgrades, product insights (such as defective or popular items), and employee information. These wireframes illustrate the initial stages of our design:
Interviews
We chose to expand our research by conducting interviews with key stakeholders.
Our research process included an interview with Natasha Klass, Nike Israel's Operations Manager and Assistant to the CEO. The main goal of this interview was to gain insights into the needs of a branch manager and a CEO overseeing an international brand with a local presence.
Natasha shared that the CEO regularly reviews data from various departments, focusing primarily on metrics such as traffic, transaction baskets, conversions, and product information. Additionally, a business planner compiles data from all departments and systems to establish daily and monthly goals for each division.
As a result, we chose to display the planner's data prominently on each branch’s main screen, making it easily accessible to both the branch team and the CEO.
Following the interview, we decided that the branch manager’s dashboard should focus on key data.
The screen is divided into three sections, focusing on the store manager's primary goals: maximizing store revenue, improving customer satisfaction, and monitoring branch performance. Each section provides targeted insights and actionable data to help achieve these objectives.
Top Section: This area provides KPIs and operational insights specific to the branch, such as Customer Service metrics, Revenue and Conversion Ratios, and Product details. It includes information like Branch Upgrade Revenue, Customer Satisfaction, Subscription Changes, and Top Upsell Items, helping Ron make informed adjustments to inventory or offer support to employees as needed.
Middle Section: Here, Ron can compare his branch’s performance with other branches and the company average. He can filter the information by month and view metrics including Total Upgrade Revenue, Customer Satisfaction, Subscription Changes, and Traffic.
Bottom Section: This Operational Efficiency section provides warehouse data to help coordinate inventory and order management. It also displays traffic forecasts and congestion levels for the branch, enabling Ron to optimize staffing by day.
The goal is to present Ron with relevant data to simplify his operational decision-making.
The Result
The store manager has access to a variety of screens that provide all the information needed for efficient branch management.
These include customer and subscription details, main warehouse data, traffic forecasts, and the ability to export key metrics to a PDF for further analysis or reporting.
The store manager’s dashboard provides comprehensive access to all the information needed to efficiently manage the branch.
Step 3: VP Retail
Sarah Lee
VP of Retail and Sustainability
Main needs:
Sustainability Initiatives Oversight
Performance Monitoring
Strategic Decision-Making company - wide sustainability goals
Competitive Analysis
Interviews
As part of Decathlon’s new business model, many metrics now focus on sustainability and air pollution reduction targets across all UK branches.
The interview with Natasha was also instrumental in shaping the VP’s screen design but to deepen the research for the VP screens we looked for information from decathlon.
Luc Teerlinck, in charge of the Business Models Transformation at Decathlon said in an interview:
It is a project based on iteration, experimentation and flexibility based on intermediate results (test and learn).
Data is the key to this new business model: it allows us to model and identify the key issues to ensure this transformation. It is therefore with a project mode approach, by “doing”, by confronting the field that the project is built.
The Result
The VP requires comprehensive information on sustainability initiatives, company revenue, and key statistics to support strategic decision-making.
The dashboard includes all three sections, each tailored to address specific needs:
Top Section: Highlights the most critical data for the brand’s new strategy, including Sustainability Initiatives. Sarah receives insights on metrics like Single-Use Plastic usage, Average Product Lifespan, and Customer Success data. This customer-related information demonstrates that clients value the shift toward sustainability and want to participate in it.
Middle Section: Dedicated to Performance Monitoring and Competitor Analysis, this part allows the VP to evaluate how the new strategy impacts revenue. Filters enable data visualization by year, month, and specific branches.
Bottom Section: Focused on Product Insights, this section helps the VP make strategic decisions regarding inventory. It includes details on popular items, products that are low in stock, and those with shorter lifespans.
Together, these sections provide the VP with the insights needed to drive sustainability, boost revenue, and make data-informed decisions.
Conclusions
I thoroughly enjoyed working on Decathlon's project.
Beyond being a multi-country initiative that promotes meaningful consumer change already, I truly believe in this new strategy, which inspired me to explore, research, and learn more about the topic.
One of my key takeaways is that Decathlon’s new business model impacts everyone involved. I believe it’s valuable to show store employees the positive contribution their work makes to sustainability. Providing them with information not only on the products they upsell but also on how much pollution they've helped prevent by encouraging rentals over purchases could reinforce their role in this change.
If I had more time, I would like to expand on the screens for customers, showcasing information that might interest them and finding ways to encourage continued equipment rentals to reduce environmental impact. This would further immerse them in the We Play Circular concept.
“This will be our legacy: enabling everyone to practice sport on their terms,
while working to reduce our footprint on the planet”
Barbara Martin Coppola - CEO of Decathlon