Shoe Zone and parcelLab: A seamless transition from offline to online retail in the age of Covid-19

The corona virus has changed the way the British public shops – perhaps forever. When Boris Johnson announced on March 23 that all non-essential stores would have to close with immediate effect, sales of bricks-and-mortar retailers plummeted. Many retailers who had traditionally relied heavily on their brick-and-mortar stores were forced to upgrade their online businesses.

One that experienced this was Shoe Zone, a retailer that offers shoes for all ages. The company immediately introduced a “buy one get the cheapest free” offer on their website to encourage customers to continue shopping with them online.

In addition, Shoe Zone added a banner on its homepage linking to a message from their CEO about their response to Coronavirus. The estimated delivery time was also updated, informing customers in advance that they should expect longer wait times than usual. The site also assured customers that the return period has been extended to 12 months.

Turning rummagers into loyal customers during the crisis

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Unlike many UK retailers, Shoe Zone had previously invested heavily in their e-commerce site, so they were already well placed to handle an increase in orders and the shift from offline to online.

Last year, a partnership had been agreed with operations experience (OX) specialist, parcelLab. Shoe Zone was already proactively communicating with its customers during the shipping process via an integrated track & trace page in the company’s branding.

WISMO inquiries now account for 70 percent of customer service calls

Reports indicate that the issue of WISMO (Where is my order? / Where is my order?) is accounting for over 70 percent of inquiries for merchant customer service. The crisis is leading to unsettled customers who want to know when their package will arrive or if it will arrive at all?

Through the proactive communication Shoe Zone had implemented with the help of parcelLab, they actually saw a decrease in WISMO inquiries in March. Their customers are kept informed and proactively notified of any delays, meaning they no longer have to contact customer service to ask where their package is.

Personalized shipping communication is every marketer’s dream

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Typically, marketing emails achieve open rates of about 15-25 percent and click-through rates of about 2.5 percent. By taking control of their own post-purchase communications and treating these emails as an additional marketing channel, Shoe Zone has seen engagement rates of 74 percent, open rates of 68 percent and click rates of 27 percent specifically attributed to these shipping-related emails.

By communicating with their customers when they are most engaged (during delivery) and creating a pleasant customer experience during this part of the customer journey, the company can increase customer retention tremendously.

The Future Looks Bright

Both Shoe Zone and parcelLab are excited about what the future holds for the partnership. Undoubtedly, Shoe Zone’s customers will receive an optimized customer experience, making them both happy and, at best, loyal brand ambassadors.

In these difficult times, it is especially important that we provide our customers with the best possible Customer Experience. Thanks to parcelLab, we are able to keep them informed of the status of their order at all times and provide them with important updates (i.e. delays). This allows us to reduce the stress level for our customers and keep customer service requests as low as possible. We are very pleased to partner with parcelLab – especially in these difficult times. Shoe Zone

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Want to learn more about how parcelLab can help retailers deliver a positive customer experience to their customers? Contact us – we’d love to help!