2025  I  DEEP DIVE INSIDER PROFILES 

On Running has grown from a Swiss startup to a global brand in just over a decade, with customer satisfaction scores that consistently beat industry averages. Their approach is unusual: they treat customer experience as a product engineering problem. In their Zurich prototype lab, customer feedback directly influences shoe design. When an ultrarunner reports blisters at mile 80, engineers analyze the runner's gait and movement patterns. That feedback loop extends to everything: digital tools, retail stores, and support systems all work the same way. We visited their HQ and retail locations to understand exactly how this works in practice, where it breaks down, and what they're building next.

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When On expanded beyond Switzerland, they faced a common retail problem....how to replicate the personalized service of a specialty running store across global markets. Their solution was to build technology that captures the expertise of experienced fitting specialists.​ Most online shoe finders ask what size you wear in another brand. On's system asks how you run, where you run, and what happens to your feet during long runs. Before building the algorithm, their team documented thousands of in-store fitting sessions, noting every question specialists asked and every observation they made. Those human insights became the foundation of their digital experience.

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Sofia Mendes, who leads the digital experience team, monitors real-time customer interactions tagged with emotional signals like confusion, delight, frustration, and surprise. When a cluster of "unexpected friction" reports came from Japan around their mobile fit finder, her team was already rolling out a fix and contacting affected customers.

At their Tokyo Shibuya store, customers can use a treadmill with integrated pressure sensors and slow-motion cameras. When a runner described arch pain developing around kilometer 15, staff member Takashi Yamamoto used the gait analysis to identify a subtle collapse that occurred after two minutes of running, right when fatigue would set in during longer efforts.

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The interaction didn't end with a sale. Yamamoto spent 30 minutes after closing documenting the session and uploading it to On's global database for product teams to review. "A casual comment about toe blisters during downhill trail runs led to a modification in the Cloudventure trail shoe," Yamamoto explains. Six months later, that customer received the updated shoes with a note asking for feedback. They became one of On's most active advocates in Japan's trail running community.

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In Barcelona, store manager Emilia Costa arranges shoes by running experience. After gait analysis, about 70% of customers leave with a different model than they initially wanted. "They're buying for their actual needs," she says. On doesn't outsource customer service. Every support agent is an On employee who goes through the same product training as retail staff. The "Evolution Engine" team reviews customer conversations daily to extract product insights. When a customer named James reported squeaking shoes after 200 miles, support agent Pierre (a former track athlete) recognized a pattern from similar reports. He connected James directly with Martin Herzog, a senior product developer. That 15-minute video call revealed the noise only occurred with specific gaits on certain surfaces, insights that led to a component modification in the next version.

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"That conversation gave us more actionable insights than weeks of lab testing," Herzog says. James is now flying to Zurich to test the updated prototype. A digital dashboard tracks how customer feedback transforms into changes. Each suggestion follows a visible path from initial contact through evaluation, testing, and implementation. Regina Schmidt, who trains customer service teams, points to one cluster that led to new half-sizing in the Cloudswift. "It wasn't any single complaint but the pattern that emerged across hundreds of conversations."

 The On app connects runners to neighborhood meetups at cafés and parks. Thomas Weber, Community Experience Lead, often joins a local Zurich group that meets on rainy Tuesday evenings when only five people show up. "We measure success by continued participation," Weber says. "Many of our most active community members were customers of other brands initially. Some still are." The approach extends to sponsored athletes. Olympic medalists participate in local group runs and contribute to product development discussions. They're part of the community team.

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On tracks traditional metrics. They have Net Promoter Scores that consistently beat industry averages and customer retention rates that outpace standards. Freund also looks at different data: how many customers share their running journeys unprompted, how many send photos from their first marathon, how many reach out with detailed product feedback.

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A letter from a 62-year-old woman who completed her first 5K hangs in the headquarters: "I never thought of myself as an athlete until now." "Traditional metrics matter," Freund says. "These emotional connections are what truly drive our business." The challenge now is maintaining this approach during rapid growth. On went from a Swiss startup to a global brand in just over a decade. Scaling typically demands standardization, which could threaten the personalized experience that defines their customer approach.

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"Growth tests our principles," Mendes acknowledges while reviewing designs for digital touchpoints deploying across 20 countries. "We're building systems that scale human insight. Technology should amplify our ability to connect." It's the same philosophy behind their shoe design: providing structure that adapts to individual movement. At On, customer experience and product development are both about understanding how people actually run.