Challenge

For over 40 years, Decathlon has delivered optimal value in the retail sports industry with high-quality, sustainable products and the goal of making sports accessible to all. In addition to its own retail offerings, the company created a marketplace for people of all ages to attend sports classes with local coaches. Many Decathlon stores are now built to offer these athletic opportunities, with some spaces ranging from 4–5K square feet (370–460 square metres). This differentiator catapulted Decathlon’s value in the sports industry. Decathlon was looking for a payment provider to propel its growing marketplace model and ensure a streamlined payments process between coaches who wanted to promote their classes and sports fans who wanted to participate.

Solution

Decathlon turned to Stripe Connect to power this unique marketplace for athletics. Decathlon needed a payments solution to support payment processing and refund management for an influx of new coaches to the platform. Refund amounts were especially critical, as many clients purchase multiple sessions in one transaction and need only partial refunds. Refunds are also time-sensitive and dependent on whether the class cancellation is completed 24 hours in advance, in accordance with Decathlon policy. Stripe provided Decathlon with a payment platform that could navigate these complexities and provide a superior experience for both customers and coaches.

Results

Leveraging Stripe, Decathlon completely automated the onboarding process for coaches, saving significant time on the administrative side and reducing friction for a new coach wanting to sign up. In just 15 months, Decathlon Canada was able to onboard 300 new coaches across 11 Decathlon Canada stores and complete approximately 10,000 bookings. Stripe’s reliability and ease of use were crucial in managing this massive growth.