The Business
Now Optics is a U.S.-based leader in accessible eye health, operating under the Stanton Optical brand. Since its founding in 2006, the company has worked to modernize the patient journey by making quality vision care more convenient and affordable.
With a strong brick-and-mortar presence and a forward-thinking approach to digital transformation, Now Optics pioneered the use of virtual eye exams via telemedicine, conducting over 4 million remote appointments to date. This commitment to innovation and accessibility has positioned the company at the forefront of omnichannel eye care.
As the business scaled, the team saw a growing need to unify their digital communications, personalize outreach, and build loyalty at every stage of the customer journey. That’s where SAP Emarsys came in.
The Challenge
- Reducing churn
- Driving in-store appointments
- Building customer loyalty
- Connecting fragmented data
Between 2019 and 2022, Now Optics grew its customer base by 98%, from 251,000 to 497,000 new customers. But with that growth came a new challenge: shifting from high-volume acquisition to meaningful, long-term engagement.
With millions of patient interactions spanning in-store, online, and telemedicine appointments, the brand needed to:
- Reduce churn and increase repeat appointment bookings
- Turn no-shows into attended appointments
- Introduce customer lifecycle journeys that cultivated loyalty
- Execute personalized campaigns at scale, across channels
- Connect fragmented data into a single platform for smarter segmentation
The team recognized that building real relationships with patients would require automation, personalization, and a more agile approach to omnichannel engagement. They turned to SAP Emarsys to make that vision a reality.
The Solution
With SAP Emarsys, Now Optics built a customer engagement strategy that runs on data, automation, and intelligent personalization – reaching eyecare patients with the right message at the right time, on the right channel.
Automating the patient journey
By integrating appointment and prescription data into SAP Emarsys, Now Optics launched a series of automated programs that guide customers through key milestones:
- No-show reactivation journeys delivered targeted follow-ups to patients who missed appointments, resulting in a 65% YoY increase in churned customers won back and a 3% purchase rate.
- Prescription expiration reminders triggered personalized outreach via email and SMS, helping patients stay on top of their eye health. In 2024, this program alone generated 7.6 million engagements, with a single “catch-up” campaign driving 1,554 additional appointments – a 576% increase on the average – without any promotional incentives.
Preparing for high stakes holiday sales
To support its annual back-to-school campaign, the team used SAP Emarsys AI segmentation and Automation Center to deliver a coordinated, three-stage promotion across:
- SMS
- Web Channel (with 65k total web impressions)
- Digital Ads (with 664K audience members matched via Meta Ads)
This multichannel approach led to 5.8 million total engagements, ensuring the campaign reached customers wherever they were most active and focusing on the right audience at the right time. By streamlining execution across teams and channels, Now Optics was able to move faster, personalize at scale, and deliver measurable value with every interaction.
The Impact
With SAP Emarsys at the center of its engagement strategy, Now Optics has transformed how it connects with customers, moving from disconnected campaigns to a unified, data-driven approach that supports long-term growth.
Key outcomes include:
- Higher retention and reactivation through automated lifecycle journeys
- Increased appointment volume without relying on promotions
- Greater marketing efficiency with faster campaign creation and AI-powered segmentation
- Stronger omnichannel performance, with consistent messaging across email, SMS, web channel, and digital ads.
By activating real-time data and leveraging SAP Emarsys’ powerful automation capabilities, Now Optics is creating deeper, longer-lasting relationships with every customer—whether they book online, walk into a store, or connect through telemedicine.
Looking ahead, the team continues to explore new use cases and growth opportunities powered by SAP Emarsys. The foundation is in place. The data is connected. And the customer journey is fully in motion.
“With SAP Emarsys, we’ve been able to simplify complex journeys and stay connected to our customers at key moments. The platform gives us the flexibility to respond quickly, personalize at scale, and make every campaign more effective.”
