Max Factory doubles customers with Vonage messaging

Max Factory doubled its active customer base after adopting Vonage messaging tools across WhatsApp, RCS and SMS, according to the companies.

The Italian retail chain, which has 48 stores across seven regions, had previously relied heavily on printed promotional materials. That approach offered limited targeting and made campaigns harder to measure.

The new setup combines the Vonage Messages API on WhatsApp with Vonage Conversational Connect, a platform for managing campaigns across multiple messaging channels. Max Factory used the tools to send tailored promotions based on customer purchase history, location and preferences.

Within a year of the rollout, the retailer recorded a 65% read rate for personalised campaigns, according to Vonage. Centralised campaign management also reduced manual work and operational errors for Max Factory's marketing team.

The shift reflects a broader move by retailers away from mass printed promotions and towards direct digital messaging, where response rates and campaign performance can be tracked more closely. For chains with physical store networks, messaging also offers a way to link local offers with customer data gathered across channels.

Max Factory sells clothing, household goods, home décor, stationery, pet products, toys and DIY items. The group has presented digital outreach as part of a wider effort to connect its store estate with online customer touchpoints.

Printed flyers had become less effective in reaching customers, while the business lacked the infrastructure to support measurable marketing at scale. Moving away from paper-based campaigns also reduced print costs and lowered the retailer's use of physical materials.

Giacomo Cinelli, Head of Marketing at Max Factory, said the change gave the company a more direct way to reach customers on channels they already use.

"Vonage gave Max Factory the tools to reach our customers efficiently and securely via the messaging channels that resonated with them," said Giacomo Cinelli, Head of Marketing at Max Factory.

"Vonage's solutions allowed us to deliver personalized, targeted promotions directly to customers, and empowered our team to tailor content dynamically based on individual purchasing history, location, and preferences - capabilities that traditional advertising channels simply cannot match."

Retailers have increasingly used messaging apps and mobile alerts to replace or supplement email and paper promotions, particularly when they want faster feedback on whether campaigns are opened and acted on. WhatsApp has become a common channel for branded communications in several European markets, while RCS is being promoted by telecoms and technology providers as an upgraded alternative to standard text messaging.

Vonage is part of Ericsson and sells communications software and application programming interfaces to businesses. Its portfolio includes products for messaging, contact centres and unified communications.

For vendors in that market, retail has become a key sector as stores and brands look to improve repeat purchases and loyalty without relying as heavily on broad discount advertising. Messaging-based campaigns can also be adjusted more quickly than printed materials when inventory, regional demand or seasonal promotions change.

Fredrik Gessler, Head of API Product Management at Vonage, said the Max Factory project illustrated how retailers are changing customer communications.

"Max Factory's transformation is a powerful example of what becomes possible when retailers move from one-size-fits-all outreach to intelligent, personalized, and omnichannel communications," said Fredrik Gessler, Head of API Product Management at Vonage.

"By leveraging the Vonage Messages API via WhatsApp and Vonage Conversational Connect, Max Factory was able to reach customers more reliably, engage them more meaningfully, and scale its marketing operations with unprecedented efficiency. This is exactly the kind of transformation we enable for enterprises around the world."