Prada Group brings luxury style with a human touch through payments innovation

Challenge: rethinking payment moments as strategic 

When Chief Information Officer (CIO) Cristiano Agostini started at Prada Group, he had a strong mandate to support the company’s technological and digital transformation.

They saw an opportunity to rethink their use of technology to help clients have seamless experiences across the one inevitable moment of friction in the funnel: the payment moment. 

“The client journey is a relevant element of product strategy. We want to make it as smooth and as fluid as possible. So we decided to work on one specific point: the payment step.”

Cristiano Agostini

Prada Group CIO

Solution: flexible checkouts with Pay by Link and click-and-collect

Together with Adyen, they’ve improved checkout by letting customers use Pay by Link and click-and-collect. The Group can create and send payment links via email, phone, or other channels. 

Result:convenient and secure checkout experiences  

Prada Group uses these flexible payment options to give a true luxury experience. The Group can reach out to VIP customers and let them buy the latest styles while on the phone through secure links. 

Customers can also call customer service or the store when they want to make a purchase, pay in advance, and pick up their purchase from the sales representative.

Challenge: serving customers where they are

After removing irrelevant steps in the online checkout, Cristiano and his team wanted to take these experiences in-store. To create effortless payments experiences with a human touch, Prada Group was looking for a minimalist way to let salespeople approach customers when and where they are ready to pay. 

“One of the things we learned from ecommerce, was the fact that the checkout is the step where you lose most of the engagement. We need to serve the client by making any step that’s not relevant invisible. ”

Cristiano Agostini

Prada Group CIO

Solution: minimalist mobile payments with Tap to Pay on iPhone

With the help of Adyen, Prada Group was able to add mobile POS solutions to their US stores, including Tap to Pay on iPhone. Tap to Pay on iPhone allows sales representatives to accept in-person payments with only an iPhone wherever they are in the store, leaving clients to enjoy a luxury experience from the moment they step through the door.

To cater to different shopper preferences, V400m terminals sit tastefully on the Prada counter and can be brought to shoppers for easy and quick payments when the customer is ready.

Result: rollout of Adyen continues globally 

In the Prada Epicenter New York, salespeople serve customers with Tap to Pay on iPhone. They can add the human touch to every payment without a break in the journey by accepting contactless payments with only an iPhone. 

With Tap to Pay on iPhone, Prada Group’s US stores were able to scale up their payment operations instantly with easy installation and fast onboarding, and no extra hardware needed.

Thanks to the success of the Tap to Pay on iPhone in New York, Prada Group is planning to roll out the mobile payment solution globally.

On top of that, Prada Group has entrusted Adyen with their point of sale (POS) volumes in the United States, Europe, Canada, Asia-Pacific (APAC), and Brazil in the last two years.

“In Adyen, we found a partner that was able to work with us on the innovation of the consumer experience in store. And we work together in order to always improve this last payment step. With Tap to Pay on iPhone we accept all types of in-person contactless payments right on an iPhone. We don’t need any other hardware.”

Cristiano Agostini

Prada Group CIO

Challenge: getting first-party data from all sales channels

For a consumer, it doesn’t matter whether they pay online or in person. Purchases from all channels are part of the same journey.

Prada Group wanted to get a better understanding of their customers in order to offer them the luxury experience they expect.

The Group needed enriched customer profiles with first-party data that would help them serve their clients better on all channels.

“Now we start working on using innovation to infuse this digital and technological component into everything we do to improve experience, to improve data, to improve everything.”

Cristiano Agostini

Prada Group CIO

Solution: Unified Commerce drives shopper insights

All payments data from Prada Group’s online and in-person channels is collected in one place for a unified view with our single platform. 

Unified Commerce allows the Group to break through silos and collect reliable data about a single customer. This contributes to better insights, less guesswork, and more informed decisions.

“We aim to offer the exact same experience every time we interact with the consumer online, in store, at any other moment. Having a single platform that allows us to see the payment part is quite relevant for us.”

Cristiano Agostini

Prada Group CIO

Result: luxury experiences and valuable customer relationships

Prada Group uses data to give customers the same experiences across all channels. Using data to improve experiences lets them prioritize the human touch and making any step that is not relevant to the customer experience invisible.

It's a proactive maneuver by The Group. According to The 2024 Adyen Index, 43% of global consumers prefer retailers who remember their preferences and previous shopping behaviors to create a more tailored shopping journey. 

"Adyen is helping us in this journey because they give us a single view of our transactional and payments data. This data can help us provide the right products to the right customer at the right moment."

Cristiano Agostini

Prada Group CIO

Prada Group has only just begun with innovating the customer experience through payments. After the initial launch of Tap to Pay on iPhone in the Prada Epicenter New York, they’re already planning to roll out the technology in brand stores globally.

As shoppers demand more personalization and attention from their retailers, Prada Group ensures they will be ready to meet those demands. The collaboration with Adyen underscores their commitment to perfecting the luxury payments experience, both in-store and online. 

“We are working on scaling our overall omnichannel platform to make each component across all the channels consistent. And we believe Adyen is the right partner to help us with the payment component across every touch point.”

Cristiano Agostini

Prada Group CIO