Great success for Appenzeller Gurt at the Digital Commerce Awards

Digital Commerce Award 2020: Great success for Appenzeller Gurt

At the Digital Commerce Award 2020, we prevailed against the big players in the industry. In addition to the victory in the category "Small Business", Appenzeller Gurt took third place in the overall ranking of 170 online shops, directly behind the e-commerce giants Coop and Digitec Galaxus.

The Lautatio says: "The winning shop in this category sells a well-known product, shaped by tradition and now a timeless fashion accessory. This year it was even seen on the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week in collaboration with New York designer Emily Bode - the Appenzeller belt! Caspar Eberhard founded the online shop in 2012. Together with his network of selected designers, photographers, copywriters and programmers, Caspar Eberhard created a convincing and more than contemporary sales channel of the personalized Appenzeller belts."

The jury evaluates according to these criteria - since 2012

The expert jury of the Digital Commerce Awards consists of retail experts, lawyers and university lecturers and was created on the initiative of the consulting firm Carpatia. Since 2012, the award has annually evaluated the best online shops in Switzerland based on a wide range of criteria, including

Findability of the offer
Differentiation from competitors
Concept of the online sales model
Home page of the online shop and presentation of the product range
Navigation and product search
Presentation of products and offered cross- and upselling functions
Joy-of-use, shopping experience and emotionalisation
Target group oriented presentation
Mobile optimization (depending on the category)
Adequate and sensible use of device-specific functionalities
Processes, usability and functions
Consumer protection and trust
Logistics and combination of different distribution channels
Fulfillment services and after-sales offers

David against Goliath 2.0

According to these criteria, can a one-man shop with a limited budget hold its own against a corporation with 2,000 employees? Or are apples and oranges being compared in this competition?

No, because consumers are not interested in whether there is a team of 1 person or 200 behind an offer. The only thing that counts for them is that they can get their product easily, quickly and clearly at any time. A consumer who is used to shopping at Zalando and Co. also expects this experience at smaller shops - otherwise he will be gone. That's tough, but it's the reality of e-commerce.

Small online shops basically have to take care of everything themselves: Logistics, communication, development, shipping processes, accounting and material procurement. It is important to set priorities, even to outsource if money is lacking. A good network is indispensable, but the basis is a great passion for the product.

Small online shops of course have advantages over the big ones, they are fast in implementation, have complete freedom in communication and are not subject to financial or political constraints of shareholders.

Appenzeller belt - a project of the heart

Appenzeller Gurt, founded in 2012, has always been more a project of the heart than a classic startup to be sold at a profit. The limited production of Appenzeller Gurten alone ruled out large-scale scaling right from the start. "Bliib chlii und ällää" is the motto in Appenzellerland and it is the same for us. We do not share the American dream of growth. Instead, we want to improve the product and create unexpected encounters - as in the cooperation with the hip-hop label Double Goose or the high-fashion designer Emily Bode. Or put the focus on the production of the leather, as in the newly launched collection "Traceable Leather", a traceable leather that comes from organic dairy cows from the farm "Fairfleisch", and is vegetable tanned by a Traditonsbetrieb in southern Germany.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our network, which made the award possible in the first place:

Website: Digital Workshop
CD & Logo: Helm Pfohl from Hej
Photography: Anna-Tina Eberhard Photography
3D Models: Remo Kast