Pace Athletic. A store that's all about breaking down barriers to running and fitness.

Founded by Will and Stu, two fitness enthusiasts who noticed that while surf stores had an ‘everyone belongs’ culture, running shops felt more exclusive. The most common barrier they heard was, “Oh, but I’m not a runner.” And so they set out to change that.

Marsello provides Pace Athletic with intuitive marketing and loyalty tools that help them build a community around their store and ethos.

Will and Stu's mission is to make running more inclusive and welcoming. The key to achieving this with Pace Athletic is through building a base of loyal, regular customers. Marsello is integral to building this community.

One of Pace Athletic's biggest challenges is competing in a market dominated by big chains. However, they're able to build a community of loyal regulars by focusing on experience. Will says, "The main business goal right now is to nurture the existing communities that we have because it's the communities that we survive on."

To achieve this, they use a range of tools and tactics - a loyalty program, referral incentives, a curated range of products, better service, and even a regular running club.

As an omnichannel business, Pace Athletic struggled with other marketing and loyalty solutions. They wanted to understand their community holistically, but were forced to dissect their audience into either an ecommerce customer or an in-store customer. Will says, "Now, because our loyalty system works across both channels, it makes it very easy to talk to our customer in just one voice."

Marsello has empowered Pace Athletic to better understand their customers, no matter how they choose to shop. "Having something that worked across both channels was really important. Marsello gives us the tools on that front," says Will.

They're able to capture data and send targeted marketing to more informed customer segments.

"Our whole focus at the end of the day is to get our customers into a good pair of shoes, really looking after them, and getting them involved in our community," says Will. "Marsello just makes that easier."