Swiss sportswear brand, On, is synonymous with the use of bleeding-edge technology to power human performance. A case in point is its recently launched LightSpray technology, which creates an entire shoe in just three minutes using a single manufacturing process operated by a robotic arm.

Therefore, it was perhaps surprising to hear On’s CTO, Narek Verdian, describe technology as a “quiet but powerful” enabler, layered through customer interactions to ensure the “human touch” always prevails.

Speaking on the Main Stage at NRF Europe, alongside Roelant Prins, CCO at On’s payment platform provider, Adyen, Verdian explained the company’s careful and intentional approach to rolling out technology. It’s about “creating brand love” across its channels through “seamless, fast and delightful” customer experiences, he said.

Evolving in-store checkout journeys

The On brand has around 60 stores worldwide, designed as experiential hubs where tech use is constantly refined to create frictionless in-store experiences. This includes the use of mobile-only payment terminals to ensure a more seamless bricks-and-mortar shopping journey.

However, this mobile-first approach meant store associates could be carrying up to three devices in order to complete a sale. Verdian said the business had worked with Adyen to further “remove blockers” for store associates, who can now use a single device to facilitate the end-to-end sales process, reducing device juggling and allowing them to focus more wholly on customer engagement.

Prins noted that mobile terminals now outnumber fixed payment terminals on its platform, with the tech provider seeing a +700% increase in tap-to-pay transactions in the first half of this year, while Apple Pay usage had increased by +60% in 2024.

Discussing the future of in-store payments, Verdian said he could envisage a moment when the checkout became invisible, with customers able to complete in-store payments via its app. He cited China as the clear outlier in terms of mobile integration – with On customers within the Chinese stores able to checkout via the WeChat app – the rest of the world is still “catching up,” he added.

Using data to create holistic, connected cross-channel experiences

Verdian said On’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales had increased by +52% year-on-year and that it sold through an additional 11,000 doors via its partnership network, using learnings from its DTC operation to improve wholesale partnerships and vice versa, while utilising data to understand customers across its channels.

He said On’s most loyal customers were on its app and the business was looking at how it could close the loop to integrate app engagement in-store in a way that’s “not intrusive but relevant and personalised.”

Commenting on the use of AI, Verdian said he felt AI should be powerful but used as a co-pilot for augmenting human expertise and insight.

On already uses AI to identify how customers engage across its communities – from running, tennis, gym and lifestyle. It feeds this data into its inference model, which seeks to understand customers interests and emotional drivers to serve contextual content across all its channels.

On’s Narek Verdian was speaking at NRF Europe, the debut European event from NRF, which took place between 16 – 18 Sep 2025 at Paris Expo Portes de Versailles.