case study
Elevating Global Guest Experience with Next-Gen COM
Founded
1998
Headquarters
Vancouver, BC
Industry
Athleisure Retai
Number of Locations
780+
Challenge, Strategy & Results
Lululemon is a popular athletic apparel brand with a presence worldwide (780+ stores). Recently, they faced several issues because their old call-center system was nearing the end-of-support per IBM’s announcement informing clients that support would end in Oct 2025. Lululemon also wanted to boost the performance of their Call Center platform before the busy Holiday 2025 season.
Perfaware upgraded and improved Lululemon’s Call Center Order Management platform (to Next Gen IBM Sterling COM) with smarter promotions, faster search, stronger security, and better guest insights. This made the system more stable, efficient, and easier for Guest Educators (customer service representatives) to support customers worldwide
About Lululemon
A global leader in premium athletic apparel and accessories, Lululemon was founded in 1998 in Vancouver, Canada.
With more than 650 stores across North America, APAC, and EMEA, the brand is renowned for its technical innovation, community-driven experiences, and exceptional service.
Lululemon calls its customer service representatives “Guest Educators” because they educate the guest, i.e., customer, on various things. These guest educators play a central role in shaping customer satisfaction, which eventually helps in building the brand image worldwide.
Challenges Faced by Lululemon
After implementing the IBM COM (Dojo version) a few years ago for a smooth customer service experience, there were several challenges spotted, such as:
Solutions & Strategy Execution by Perfaware
Perfaware understood the goal and emphasized addressing all the major challenges. We designed a step-by-step strategy, which included:
Unified Promotion Discovery & Best-Discount Selection
Perfaware integrated enhanced promotion logic into COM, enabling educators to:
- View all promotions applicable to a guest
- Automatically select the highest-value discount
- Reduce manual validation
- Deliver a transparent and savings-focused guest experience
This made recommendation-driven selling easier, faster, and more accurate.
Enhanced Guest Profile with Closet, Wishlist, & Saved Items
Perfaware expanded COM’s profile capabilities to show:
- Items a guest previously purchased (“Closet”)
- Wishlist items
- Items saved for later
Guest educators now have a comprehensive understanding of guests’ preferences, enabling personalized, thoughtful recommendations.
Wishlist & Saved Items → Order Conversion
A new workflow enabled educators to seamlessly turn wishlists or saved items into active orders while interacting with guests. This supported:
- Higher conversion during chat/call interactions
- Shorter order creation times
- Increased revenue from service channels
Physical Gift Card → E-Gift Card Conversion
Perfaware implemented a new capability within COM, allowing educators to:
- Validate physical gift cards
- Convert them into digital e-gift cards
- Provide instant redemption access to guests
This eliminated wait times and reduced the load on backend support teams.
Security, Compliance & System Reliability Enhancements
Perfaware updated COM to align with global regulatory and security benchmarks by:
- Modernizing identity and authentication flows
- Enhancing audit trails
- Strengthening data-protection mechanisms
- Eliminating outdated logic and legacy vulnerabilities
This ensured COM remained compliant and secure across all markets.
High-Impact Performance Optimization
Perfaware conducted deep performance tuning to improve:
- Global search latency
- Order lookup speed
- Item search response times
- Overall COM UI responsiveness
Educators experienced significantly smoother navigation during peak load periods.
Stabilization of Next-Gen COM Ahead of Holiday 2025
Perfaware executed:
- Patch management
- Regression testing
- Load testing
- Issue remediation in collaboration with IBM
This ensured the platform was stable, scalable, and ready for Lululemon’s largest traffic season of the year.
Business Results & Impact After Partnering with Perfaware
Personalized, High-Value Guest Interactions
Educators now deliver informed and customized support using:
- Closet history
- Wishlist insights and Saved items
- Promotion recommendations
Increase in Conversions & Revenue
Wishlist-to-order conversion and optimized promo selection drove:
- Faster order creation
- Higher checkout completion rates
- Better upsell/cross-sell opportunities
Dramatically Faster Global Search
Global search performance improvements led to:
- Reduced handling time
- Faster educator workflows
- Higher guest satisfaction levels
Stronger Security & Compliance Posture
Their COM solution now fully aligns with updated global regulatory requirements, strengthening Lululemon’s data protection practices.
Guest Educators reported having a more intuitive, faster, and context-rich experience within COM. They highlighted:
- Better visibility into guest preferences
- Easier promotion application
- Faster search capabilities
- More meaningful conversations with guests
The upgrade was described as offering a “unique and elevated CSR experience that combines performance, personalization, and efficiency.”
Client Feedback
About Perfaware
Perfaware (founded in 2012) is a global technology transformation partner that helps businesses scale their digital commerce and customer service operations.
We specialize in implementing and optimizing enterprise platforms like IBM Sterling, Salesforce, Blue Yonder, and Kibo Commerce to deliver seamless omnichannel experiences.
Backed by a cross-regional delivery team, Perfaware brings a mix of technical expertise, strong partnerships, and a values-driven approach to drive digital growth and long-term business impact.
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