8 common mistakes fashion brands make post-checkout

This study aimed to shed light on how fashion brands communicate with customers post-checkout. We strongly believe that delivery is no longer just a logistics issue, but a marketing and customer service one too, and our results aim to show this.

Sometimes, not everything goes as expected in the checkout, shipping and returns process. During the research stage of the study, we came across some potential conversion blockers.

Common mistakes fashion brands make post-checkout

• Some carriers did not specify which retailer an order was coming from. This means that the customer has to work out which tracking link is assocaiated to each order. This can cause both frustration and confusion.

   

• For many fashion brands, customer updates were inaccurate. For example, a parcel had already been delivered, but still showed as “in transit” in the customer account.

   

• Some retailers returns policy period is very short. This leaves a very small window of time for a customer to return their parcel should they need to. This means that the customer may well be disgruntled or stressed by the fast turn around time - and it's not necessary!

   

• Several retailers sent all communications to the PayPal email address instead of the customer account one. This meant that the customer may not receive the important updates about the status of their delivery.

   

• Some fashion brands did not recognize our postcode, requiring 6 characters when ours is only 5. For these we had to deliver to an alternative address to be able to place the order.

   

• Many retailers sent the review request after our refund had been processed.

   

• For three retailers, our orders were cancelled without reason, meaning we had to reorder. This took the retailer several days to tell us they had been cancelled making the buying journey much longer than is satisfactory.

   

• For several retailers our orders did not appear in the customer account.

   

Our recommendations to fashion brands

Too many UK retailers hand their customers over to delivery carriers during shipping, relying on them keeping their customers informed. This means that for the vast majority of the UK’s fashion retailers, customers are not accompanied through the entire purchasing journey. This additional marketing channel is not being utilized and retailers are missing out on opportunities to promote further products and in turn increase revenue.

As such, customers are currently receiving sub-par shipping experiences when retailers have the potential to provide exceptional ones. Customers no longer rely on emails for updates but want to receive Omnichannel messages via Whatsapp, Alexa, Facebook Messenger and more. By implementing our solution, retailers are able to not only communicate with their customers via email, instead of the carrier doing so, but also on the channels of the customer’s choosing. In addition, they can communicate proactively if a parcel is delayed rather than leaving the customer in the dark. All these additional elements in the customer journey make a stressful time an enjoyable one. And we all know that happy customers keep shopping.

In summary, in taking control of the customer journey post-checkout, retailers can improve their customer retention dramatically, reduce customer service inquiries significantly and increase revenue. Take a closer look into our research into 100 top fashion brands. We analyzed the checkout, delivery and returns experiences delivered. Learn how to stand out.