Hotel Chocolat is a well-loved luxury British chocolatier and cacao grower. Recently, the team has seen a huge increase in demand on their online store. As a result, Hotel Chocolat has partnered with leading Operations Experience Management platform, parcelLab, to improve the e-commerce experience that they deliver. They now send proactive, ominchannel delivery updates, including via their app.
With 140 stores, a London restaurant and a cacao estate in Saint Lucia, Hotel Chocolat is the definition of a global brand. Founded in 1993, the company has enjoyed success in brick-and-mortar retail. It stood out as the only UK-based company to own its own plantation.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Hotel Chocolat saw a significant change in customer behavior. The team saw a substantial uplift in e-commerce demand, which now accounts for 50% overall sales. As a brand that prioritizes customer experience, Hotel Chocolat want to ensure that its customers receive the same high-quality experience online as they do in-store.
A sweet solution
As a result, the Hotel Chocolat team has partnered with parcelLab’s Operations Experience Management platform. They identified our solution as an opportunity to better meet the needs of their growing online audience. Hotel Chocolat understands that providing customers with the best possible experience will improve loyalty and retention, as well as decreasing inquiries.
parcelLab is working with Hotel Chocolat to design and deliver bespoke customer communications throughout the customer journey. Each touch point is branded in Hotel Chocolat’s familiar tone and style and delivered within its own ecosystem. The delivery updates are adaptable, enabling the team to make changes until they perfect each touch point for its audience.
Omnichannel delivery updates
Our team is working with Hotel Chocolat to create a customer workflow that is best for their audience. That means identifying the key milestones that will be communicated proactively to customers, but also the channel each message will be delivered by. Handpicking these details enables Hotel Chocolat to create the most user-friendly experience possible.
We are working with the team at Hotel Chocolat to deliver both email communications and push notifications to VIP.ME customers through the dedicated Hotel Chocolat app. We will also be collaborating to create and launch a branded order status tracking page, both in web shop and on the app.
Martin Bell, E-commerce Director at Hotel Chocolat says:
parcelLab’s expertise and proven success rate in helping brands navigate the post-purchase experience makes them a great fit for us. They understand our business and our challenges, bring an innovative approach to solving these, and are passionate about creating positive and happy online experiences that bring us closer to our customers.
Valuable customer touchpoints
The omnichannel approach adds clear benefit for the customer who receives proactive delivery updates on the status of their order without having to call in. But it also holds a huge commercial benefit. Hotel Chocolat is able to prolong customer engagement and drive extensive traffic to their app.
Within the order status tracking page on the landing page and the app, the team can easily embed fresh content tailored to each customer, based on search and order history, as well as customer data. For example, product recommendations can be displayed to encourage additional purchase. And related content can be used to encourage a sense of community within the customer base.
Want a piece?
We are looking forward to seeing how Hotel Chocolat’s fresh approach to post-checkout communications impacts their performance. The proof is in the pudding… so take a look at some examples of post-checkout emails delivered by our customers. If you are interested in working with the parcelLab team to improve your delivery updates, contact us. or, book a demo to see our platform in action. No matter if you’re in marketing or operations, supply chain or customer experience, OX Fest ’21 is for you. Together we will push the boundaries of traditional e-commerce and explore new ways to impress your customers.
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