How St Maclou Benefits from UGC | Case Study

In this case study, we explain how St Maclou has integrated social content on its e-commerce site using the Flowbox platform. As consumers become increasingly demanding when shopping online, brands must find innovative ways to present their products authentically.

For France’s flooring and installation experts, showcasing user-generated content (UGC) has become a key strategy to improve product presentation and inspire visitors. By integrating Flowbox technology, they transformed their website into a dynamic, community-animated space where real customer experiences bring their products to life.

Thanks to Flowbox, St Maclou achieved a CTR of 10.5% (the percentage of visitors who clicked on community content relative to the total number of impressions). Since implementing purchase tracking on the site, St Maclou’s team observed that 13% of sales were assisted by Flowbox (sessions during which visitors viewed social content before purchasing one or more products).

The Numbers

The Story

A home is much more than walls and floors — it’s a reflection of the people who live there. At St Maclou, they believe that every room has the potential to tell a story, brought to life through their interior and exterior floor coverings and rugs. Since its founding, the French brand has been dedicated to helping customers create interiors that are both functional and aesthetic.

St Maclou stands out with its vast selection of over 2000 flooring options, expert installation services, and personalised advice. Beyond individual customers, St Maclou is also a trusted partner for interior decorators, architects, and industry professionals, offering customised solutions and exclusive benefits to enhance interiors.

To strengthen customer trust, inspire visitors, and present their products in real and authentic contexts, St Maclou wanted to use a user-generated content platform.

The Challenge

St Maclou faced the challenge of continuously producing quality photo and video content at lower cost that would be representative of their product catalog. A significant challenge.

“We had noticed that over the years, user-generated content was becoming increasingly important and more present on our competitors’ sites. For us, this type of content offered the possibility to showcase our products in real everyday situations. Before Flowbox, ‘more advertising-oriented’ ambiance shoots were done during major productions in homes or studios. Organising this requires time and substantial investment. Beyond the financial gain, UGC allows us to highlight customers who are proud and satisfied with our products, which is important for the brand image. So we felt that this UGC approach was an excellent option to diversify and enrich our content.”

Juliette Labarre, Brand Content Manager at St Maclou

Following a market analysis and review of different available platforms, St Maclou identified Flowbox as the most widely used solution to manage all content generated by their customers as well as content from content creators and influencers with whom the brand collaborates.

Beyond solving their content production challenges, Flowbox also helped them collect and use more authentic and inspiring content. Unlike traditional advertising, entirely directed by the brand, community-generated content seemed more spontaneous, creating something different in consumers’ perception of their products.

“We wanted to generate inspiration, but also share truly authentic content. Compared to advertising content, entirely directed by our brand from A to Z, we saw a real difference with content created by the community. These were really people, in their homes, sharing their own content, without trying too hard or promoting our products in an overly commercial way. It was more spontaneous, and that’s what makes the difference.

There are now many more videos and Instagram reels. And for us, it’s a real time-saver! Because if we had to produce the same thing internally, it would be much longer and more expensive. Whereas with the reels shared by our community, we get nice videos, product demonstrations, and super natural staging. In fact, today, our content is 60% reels and 40% images, whereas at the beginning, we broadcast almost only photos. It’s a real evolution in how social networks are used.”

Juliette Labarre, Brand Content Manager at St Maclou

When it comes to collecting and moderating all this content, brands need a platform that simplifies the entire process. A crucial step for implementing a long-term UGC strategy that isn’t time-consuming.

“Content management is facilitated by templates, which are well-designed and save time. You can easily track the status of content: those in approval, pending, those already approved, or those where products are not yet identified. The platform’s visual interface makes all this quite simple. For rights requests too, we have a clear view of what is granted or not. Two to three sessions per week are enough to manage the collected content.”

Juliette Labarre, Brand Content Manager at St Maclou

The Solution and Flowbox Experience

With Flowbox, St Maclou has integrated UGC across its entire website. On the homepage of course, but also on category pages and product pages. Visual inspiration plays a key role in guiding customers throughout their purchasing journey. Visitors can thus visualize and more easily choose the ideal floors for their home.

“In addition to authenticity, UGC brings real added value in terms of product demonstration and contextual placement. For example, on our site, we integrate them directly into category pages, such as those dedicated to parquet or carpet. At the bottom of these pages, we display numerous photos from UGC that correspond to the products being searched. This really helps our visitors visualise: e.g., ‘I’m looking for parquet flooring, but I don’t know which one to choose…’ and these visuals help them decide.”

Juliette Labarre, Brand Content Manager at St Maclou

Efficient management of collected content is crucial to keep UGC galleries dynamic and engaging. With Flowbox, St Maclou benefits from automated moderation tools and real-time content updates, ensuring that approved photos and videos appear instantly.

“Regarding flows, we haven’t evolved them much since implementation, because we found a design we liked. But it’s true that there are quite a few customisation options, and especially, modifications are almost instantaneous. As soon as an image is approved, it appears right away on the flow.”

“I would also really highlight the moderation tools: it’s simple, effective, everything is visual with green for ‘approved’, red for ‘rejected’… It’s super intuitive and easy to use.”

Juliette Labarre, Brand Content Manager at St Maclou

Integration and Customer Support