Rutland Cycling

Rutland Cycling started life as a bike hire and retail shop on the shore of Rutland Water in 1981. Nearly 40 years after its launch, and now run by the second generation of the founding family, Rutland Cycling’s vision is to inspire more people to own and ride bicycles.

Rutland Cycling’s bricks and mortar stores focus on lifestyle and experience, which has been key to its success over value and budget competitors. Rutland Cycling is disrupting the industry and quickly adapts to change with specialist stores dedicated to breakthrough e-bike technologies, and add-on services such as bike fit studios, café’s and indoor training demo centres.

Key Benefits

• Footfall
  Track footfall both in-store and out of store in real time at ≥98% accuracy using the latest AI technology
• Vehicle Counting
  Count and classify non pedestrian movement of cars, lorries, buses and bikes

The Problem
Rutland Cycling explains its customer as “Anyone who might want to cycle better, whatever that might mean to them, and we exist to help them realise their cycling goals.” MRI’s store insights will help Rutland Cycling understand its visitors in more detail, from store behavioural patterns and demographic profiling to visitor numbers and national trends.

The Solution
Rutland Cycling appoints MRI to monitor footfall and demographics across 14 stores.

MRI is delighted to confirm its appointment by Rutland Cycling to provide its footfall, demographics and visitor intelligence services at its 14 stores. The aim of the partnership is for Rutland Cycling to have a better understanding of its customers and store performance.

The Results
Rutland Cycling has had a rapid expansion of bricks and mortar growth, from four stores in 2015 to 14 stores in 2019, and they say store location is the key to its success. Data and insights provided by MRI will enable Rutland Cycling to build ‘bike shops of the future, creating large stores with exceptional interiors and depth of range relevant to its target audiences in its bricks and mortar locations. Online innovation and sales are competitive, but Rutland Cycling feels it is important for its customers to be able to visit bricks and mortar stores and deliver a great customer experience on the ground.

Approximately 55% of Rutland Cycling’s business is in its bricks and mortar stores and the focus for its future is experience-led purchasing that not only excites its customers but retains them too. MRI’s data, insights and reporting will provide Rutland Cycling with the intelligence it needs to make key business decisions. In the words of Rutland Cycling “Retail isn’t dead, but boring retail is!”