What is Sweatlife Community?

A lululemon case study on product strategy for a community platform. The goal was to connect guests to educators, classes, events, ambassadors, and editorial storytelling.

What problem did this platform solve?

lululemon needed a way to connect commerce to community, education, and storytelling. The platform strategy organized those touchpoints into a single product experience guests could use beyond shopping.

What was built in the platform concept?

Four pillars: store hubs, classes and events, ambassadors, and a content hub.

What outcomes are documented?

A platform concept and functional plan, including a release plan targeting late 2019 and continued development through 2020.

Who is this approach for?

Best for brands with strong educator, ambassador, and event programs that want community to compound, not just campaign. Less useful when the brand does not have a differentiated community engine to activate.

Sweatlife Community

Opportunity: community platform and guest tools

Community lies at the core of everything lululemon stands for, and "Community Now" is the digital platform poised to equip guests with the tools and access they need to embrace the sweatlife. It aims to achieve this by being:

A digitally-driven, guest-centric, omni-channel experience that harnesses the expertise of Lululemon educators (front-line store staff) across all channels.
A pioneering social community designed to forge meaningful human connections, both in the digital realm and in real life.
A dedicated space to host some of the most highly anticipated and revered events globally.

Solution: four platform pillars

Our strategy was built on the following 4 pillars:

1. Store Hubs

Location and logistics
Core functionality includes:

Location map
Store hours
Contact information
Associated Classes & Events
Editorial content
Associated Ambassadors

2. Classes and Events

Discover and book
Core functionality includes:

Discover classes and events
Book class or event
Reminder about booked class or event
Waitlist class or event
Cancel class or event
Add to calendar
Payment

3. Ambassadors

Program education and profiles
Core functionality includes:

Educate users on lululemon’s Elite, Global, and Local Ambassador program
Discover ambassadors relevant to user
Inspire people to engage with content created by ambassador network

4. Content Hub

Editorial Storytelling
Core functionality includes:

Create editorial that inspires lululemon’s customers to engage with their brand and product
Indirect sales
Product education and price point validation
Training guides
Video classes
Podcasting

Results: roadmap and release plan

"Community Now" is currently in development, with a planned release scheduled for the end of 2019 and ongoing development throughout 2020. The executive team, led by CEO Calvin McDonald, is eagerly anticipating the opportunity to merge the storytelling features with the already-established commerce features.