URBN drives revenue and reduces customer pain points with a powerful post-purchase experience

About the brand

Founded in 1970, Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) began as a single retail location selling an eclectic mix of apparel, vinyl, and accessories. Since then, URBN has grown into a portfolio of global lifestyle brands including Anthropologie Group, Free People, FP Movement, Nuuly, and Urban Outfitters. URBN not only operates over 700 stores across the US, Canada, and Europe but also counts a rental subscription service, restaurants, and event venues as a part of its portfolio.

“URBN has partnered with parcelLab to enhance our customers’ post-purchase experience. We selected them for their headless APIs, which allow us to integrate real-time, normalized shipping and returns data directly into our native customer touchpoints. This capability provides clear, consistent shipping event updates and a reliable platform, aligning with our strategic goals for customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.”

Rob Frieman

Chief Information Officer at URBN

Clearing the roadblocks to a modern post-purchase experience

Before parcelLab, URBN wanted a solution that could power a seamless, modern post-purchase experience without slowing down their plans to build a native shipment status and returns flow. Their previous solution couldn’t keep pace with their goals. URBN decided to look for a partner they could trust to operate as the data engine behind their communications and returns flows, while giving them the flexibility and control to craft the elevated experience their brands are known for. 

Powering a cohesive, scalable, and customer-obsessed post-purchase experience

URBN partnered with parcelLab because they needed more than a vendor. They needed a true technical partner. With millions of shipments across multiple brands, their post-purchase journey needed an upgrade. parcelLab brought the technical strength, flexibility, and strategic focus URBN was searching for, helping them transform this complex space into a seamless, brand-defining experience.

parcelLab’s ability to harmonize massive volumes of events, unify carrier data, and support headless customization gave URBN full control over their post-purchase experience while reducing operational costs. The result? A sophisticated, scalable ecosystem that delivers the elevated experience URBN customers expect, every time.

How parcelLab empowers URBN to elevate every customer touchpoint

• Personalized, revenue-driving post-purchase communication: Branded emails now deliver tailored recommendations, boosting engagement and driving repeat purchases across Anthropologie, Free People, and Urban Outfitters. These proactive communications have reduced WISMO inquiries.
• Fully embedded tracking experiences: Tracking pages now live directly on URBN brand sites, keeping customers in a premium, cohesive environment rather than pushing them to carrier pages or off-site.
• A seamless self-service returns journey: URBN’s returns portal supports exchanges, multiple drop-off options, clear return reasoning, and intelligent routing, empowering customers and reducing support load.
• A powerful data engine behind the scenes: parcelLab unifies events across a vast carrier network, giving URBN consistency, reliability, and limitless customization as their roadmap evolves.
• Complete flexibility with a headless architecture: URBN maintains full control over their design and UX, while parcelLab powers the complex data flows that make the experience possible.