FARFETCH partners with parcelLab to reconnect with customers post-checkout

FARFETCH, a high-end fashion retailer, first partnered with parcelLab to keep their customers engaged for longer. At the time, the brand, who is known for being customer-centric and tech-forward, piloted our solution successfully in two different regions. But now, the team is preparing to roll out the parcelLab solution across new markets! To celebrate, we look back on the goals of the FARFETCH team and the approach parcelLab took to achieve them.  

FARFETCH is the global destination for modern luxury. The brand effortlessly fuses cutting-edge digital experience with the familiar nostalgia of boutique shopping. Like parcelLab, the brand’s core sits one simple idea: connection. It is FARFETCH’s mission to bring together curators, creators and consumers.

With this in mind, FARFETCH wanted to reclaim their end-to-end experience, ensuring no opportunities to connect with customers are missed.  But how did the team identify parcelLab as the best solution? Stuart Hill, SVP of Logistics at FARFETCH, looks back on the team’s goals and how our solution was identified as the best option to achieve them.

FARFETCH featured the post-checkout enhancements they developed with parcelLab in their Customer Highlight Video:

Goal 1: “Be where our customers are”

FARFETCH identified the importance of managing the post-checkout experience, and were committed to making it happen. As a brand that prides itself on staying close to their customers, it was deeply important for FARFETCH to regain control of customer communication. They understood that when a customer experience is smooth and enjoyable, it has a direct impact on their desire to shop again. The challenge was that with a complex fulfilment chain and unique business model, the data and communication required to achieve control post-checkout had become too much to manage.

As a platform, FARFETCH has multiple stock points for each order. So, providing a streamlined post-sales experience was more difficult than for the average brand. But that did not deter them from tackling the challenge. Initially, the team considered the idea of building a solution in-house. But, upon discovering our platform, they opted to give us a try:

We’d all love to be able to do everything in-house but ultimately as a business we need to make these strategic decisions about how to use our tech resources efficiently. When there are specialists like parcelLab in the market that can solve the problem using minimal resources, it makes sense to partner externally on this and offer customers an immediate benefit.

Goal 2: Be customer-centric  

Despite its complex fulfilment chain, the parcelLab solution enables FARFETCH to provide one link for multiple fulfilment points, something that they hadn’t been able to do before. This change provides a more user-friendly experience for the customer, as it allows them to track their orders from anywhere, anytime – all in the same place. It was this customer-centric approach that made FARFETCH’s team feel aligned with ours. Whilst it is obvious that there is commercial benefit to controlling end-to-end experiences, ultimately the customers’ best interests were the common thread that brought our teams closer together.I think we’ve got a common goal to improve the lives of customers and simplify that post-purchase experience, which means we’ve got an aligned purpose we’re all working towards. parcelLab has empathy with the B2C challenge and understands the post-purchase challenge.

Goal 3: Be there, be relevant, be luxury

parcelLab’s approach enables FARFETCH to deliver its customer contact via their preferred channels. In effect, we work with the team to create a communications workflow specifically designed around the FARFETCH customer. Each interaction is branded and personalized, so when the customer recalls buying from FARFETCH, the experience is easy to differentiate. What the customer remembers is a smooth, convenient and joyful experience. With our support, FARFETCH is free to embody its bold, unmistakable style at every turn. Its customers feel guided through the e-commerce journey and part of the beloved community.

The parcelLab team that we work with is an extension of our team in trying to solve an issue. I think that the reason why solutions like parcelLab are successful is because they are disrupting an area, and you’re able to create nimble and flexible solutions.

What’s next?

Find out more about the growing partnership of parcelLab and FARFETCH in our case study now.