How Your Fashion Label Can Streamline Customer Support Without Lifting a Finger

If 2023 has taught the fashion industry anything so far, it's that shopper retention will be paramount in the coming months. From soaring acquisition costs to dwindling demand for discretionary goods, attracting and profiting off new shoppers has never been more challenging. 

And what do successful fashion labels do when acquiring new shoppers becomes a losing battle? They double down on retention. Loyalty programs, personalized offers, and excellent customer support are all key components to cultivating and nurturing a loyal shopper base that will keep your brand in the green for years to come.

But while loyalty programs and personalized offers are relatively straightforward endeavors, customer support remains a crucial element that requires both skilled labor and, in the case of eCommerce, near 24/7 availability.

Let's take a quick look into how your brand can leverage modern technology to break down traditional roadblocks and streamline customer support without lifting a finger.

Why Excellent Customer Support is Paramount in 2023 ‍

Before we dive into the methods your fashion label can deploy to streamline and refine its customer support experience, let's briefly discuss why delivering excellent customer support is paramount in 2023. Here are some quick stats from HubSpot's recent customer support survey to set the stage:

• 68% of shoppers say they are willing to pay more for products and services from a brand that offers good customer support. 
  

• 93% of shoppers are more likely to make repeat purchases with brands that offer excellent customer support. 
  

• 61% of shoppers feel they are simply treated as numbers by brands and retailers. 
  

As we can see, customer support plays a major influence on both your shoppers' willingness to purchase your products and their likelihood of becoming brand evangelists. The kicker, however, is that most brands fall flat when it comes to their customer support experiences, resulting in over half of all shoppers feeling as if they're simply numbers on an Excel sheet. 

And what happens when shoppers don't receive good customer support? According to the same report, they simply take their business elsewhere, with 26% of shoppers switching brands after only one negative experience. With the stakes this high, it's time to stop viewing customer support as a money drain and rather an investment opportunity.

How Your Brand Can Streamline Its Customer Support Experience

So how can your fashion label lay the foundation for a memorable and low-impact customer support experience? Let's look at WAIR's brand partner, Holderness & Bourne, as an example of a customer support success story.

Holderness & Bourne is a premium lifestyle brand that combines a distinctive, golf-inspired take on classic style with a modern approach to fit, fabric, and versatility. Having seen a recent influx in the number of support tickets from online shoppers, their team knew customer support would be the key to both saving their team's valuable time and cultivating a loyal shopper base.

Like many other fashion labels, Holderness & Bourne knew the overwhelming majority of their support inquiries were related to sizing and fit. While the shopping experience included in-depth size charts and fit guides, customers still struggled to find the best-fitting products. They needed a solution that was both autonomous and able to deliver a top-quality customer support experience at all hours of the day for their global audience.

Their solution? As a longstanding partner with WAIR, an eCommerce sizing tool used by industry giants like Vineyard Vines and Rhone, Holderness & Bourne integrated our auto-launch feature into its Gorgias-driven chatbot experience to provide shoppers with instantaneous and personalized assistance with sizing. 

All their shoppers have to do to find their best-fitting products is simply ask the chatbot, "What's my size," and they are instantly redirected to WAIR's size recommendation solution, streamlining their journey and providing Holderness & Bourne with valuable body data insights needed to optimize all areas of their business.

The results? Holderness & Bourne was able to significantly reduce customer support tickets for sizing while simultaneously boosting conversion rates by 11%! The body data captured by WAIR has also been invaluable in helping further refine Holderness & Bourne's sizing strategy. 

We are extremely pleased with WAIR and had a fantastic experience with their team! WAIR's interface is incredibly easy to use, and customer inquiries on sizing have been dramatically reduced. -Amy Snead, Director of eCommerce @ Holderness & Bourne.   

Recap

As the challenges of 2023 persist, brands looking to retain a loyal shopper base and increase new shopper conversion rates must double down on their customer support efforts. Obviously, with brands operating on tight budgets and constantly chasing increased profitability, this is no easy task, which is why brands like Holderness & Bourne are thinking outside the box by streamlining the most common friction points within the shopper journey. The results of these efforts speak for themselves and reinforce the notion that excellent customer support should not be viewed as a burden or a resource drain but rather as an opportunity for all brands looking to drive loyalty and conversions in 2023.     

Interested in learning more about WAIR? Schedule a demo here, and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook for all your fashion content needs!