Italian retailer doubles active customer user base after replacing traditional print promotions with personalized digital messaging

Italian retailer Max Factory Group has selected Vonage, part of Ericsson, to modernize its customer communications across WhatsApp, RCS and SMS. The retailer said the initiative helped double its active customer user base within one year while enabling more targeted promotional campaigns.

Max Factory operates 48 stores across seven Italian regions. The company integrated the Vonage Messages API through WhatsApp alongside Vonage Conversational Connect, a multi-channel messaging platform for managing personalized campaigns across WhatsApp, RCS and SMS.

The retailer also reported a 65% read rate for its personalized email marketing campaign following the transition to digital communications.

Moving Beyond Printed Promotions

Before adopting Vonage, Max Factory relied heavily on printed promotional materials to communicate offers to customers. The retailer found that flyers provided limited targeting capabilities and made it difficult to measure campaign performance.

The shift to digital messaging allowed the company to communicate directly with customers through channels they already use while gaining greater visibility into campaign engagement.

“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.

Personalizing Promotions Across Customer Data

The new approach allows Max Factory to tailor promotional content using customer information such as purchasing history, location and preferences.

By combining these signals with digital messaging channels, the retailer can deliver more targeted promotions rather than relying on broad communications distributed to its entire customer base.

The company said the ability to adjust content based on individual customer characteristics has helped create more relevant interactions and support customer engagement.

Centralizing Campaign Management

Vonage's messaging solutions also provide Max Factory with a centralized environment for managing campaigns across multiple communication channels.

According to the retailer, this has reduced manual work and operational errors, allowing its marketing team to spend more time developing personalized experiences and promotional initiatives.

The transition has also reduced the retailer's reliance on printed flyers, lowering associated printing and distribution costs while reducing the environmental impact of paper-based communications.

Retailers Shift Toward Omnichannel Messaging

Max Factory's experience reflects a broader shift among retailers toward digital and omnichannel customer engagement. Messaging platforms can give brands greater control over how promotions are delivered while providing more opportunities to measure customer interaction.

“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 for Vonage.

For Max Factory, the combination of WhatsApp messaging and broader multi-channel campaign management has provided a way to expand its active customer base while replacing less measurable traditional promotional methods with digital engagement.