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

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 than usual waiting times. The site also assured customers that the returns period had been extended to 12 months.

Turning rummagers into loyal customers during the crisis

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

Last year, a partnership had been agreed with operations experience (OX) specialists, 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 enquiries now account for 70 per cent of customer service calls

Reports suggest that the issue of WISMO (Where is my order? / Where is my order?) now accounts for over 70 per cent of enquiries for retailers' customer service. The crisis leads to insecure customers who want to know when their package will arrive or if it will arrive at all?

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

Personalised shipping communication is every marketer's dream

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Typically, marketing emails achieve open rates of around 15-25 per cent and click-through rates of around 2.5 per cent. 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 per cent, open rates of 68 per cent and click rates of 27 per cent 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 loyalty 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 optimised 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 stress levels for our customers and keep customer service queries to a minimum. We are very pleased to be partnering with parcelLab - especially in these difficult times. Shoe Zone

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!