WAIR Capitalizes On the Post-Purchase Experience With Inline Reviews

Regardless of what industry you work in or what product or service your brand sells, the importance of shopper feedback cannot be overstated. Reaching out to shoppers during the post-purchase experience for reviews provides your team with an invaluable source of information that can be leveraged to boost brand loyalty and optimize critical areas of your business. 

With the recent launch of WAIR V.4.0, our team wanted to help our brand partners unlock the power of continuous sizing feedback without distracting shoppers from their conversion path. Let's take a look into how WAIR's new inline reviews feature achieved this goal by redefining how eCommerce apparel brands collect and leverage shopper feedback.   

What Makes Reviews So Important For eCommerce Brands?

Before we jump into this groundbreaking update, let's discuss briefly why shopper reviews are so significant for eCommerce brands.

It can be considerably difficult for eCommerce brands to contextualize shopper purchase and return behaviors, especially when it comes to product categories like apparel. The reasons why a shopper would return your product can range from a shipping mishap to poor sizing and fit and everything in-between. In addition, returns data on apparel products can be inherently biased toward those who might be in-between sizes or have a unique body shape, resulting in poor representation for the rest of your core shopper base. Because returns data itself can be considerably murky, reviews are an excellent way for your team to gain further insight into shopper purchase and return behaviors. 

Reviews also play an integral role in shaping your brand's reputation and trustworthiness. According to a recent study by Digital, 54% of shoppers read reviews before purchasing a product, and positive reviews play the most significant role in online purchasing decisions. As eCommerce shoppers have become more and more cautious about where they spend their dollars, brands of all sizes have leaned heavily into reviews to alleviate apprehension and drive conversions.

The Problem With Existing Online Review Formats

While shopper reviews are an invaluable resource, there are potential roadblocks when using them in the traditional online format. For example, it can take a considerable amount of time for brands to even receive reviews from shoppers at all. A recent report by Findstack found that while 81% of shoppers leave reviews, they only do so at a rate of 4 times (or less) per year across all products they consume. Needless to say, accumulating enough reviews to discover recurring patterns and optimization opportunities can be a lengthy process, which is why brands must provide convenient ways for shoppers to leave feedback throughout their journey. 

Another potential drawback is that brands always take a risk when diverting shoppers from their conversion path. Most online reviews require shoppers to write a short excerpt on their experience with the product or service, which can easily distract them from their initial goal, which was to continue purchasing your products. As acquiring new shoppers continues to become more expensive and demand wanes in the face of rising inflation, the last thing brands want to do is lead returning shoppers away from their journey towards conversion.  

Capitalizing On The Post-Purchase Experience Through Size Reviews

So, how has WAIR streamlined the reviews process so that brands can drive immediate and lasting feedback without diverting focus from the shopper's journey? Let's take a deeper look into our new inline reviews feature.

What this new feature does is display a small popup window to returning shoppers who used WAIR for sizing, asking them how the product they purchased fit them upon arrival. The shopper can choose between "too small," "too big," or "just right," and upon selection, the popup window will simply disappear, allowing the shopper to return to their journey. The shopper can also choose to dismiss the window if they'd prefer to leave a review at a later time. Once dismissed, the shopper won't see the window again until their next session on the brand's eCommerce site. 

While this addition to WAIR's eCommerce sizing tool may seem somewhat benign, streamlining the review process has proven invaluable in generating quick and meaningful data for WAIR's brand partners. On average, WAIR's brand partners have seen 150 size and fit reviews daily, providing a continuous flow of valuable feedback and data, all while keeping the shopper experience on-site. In addition, WAIR has been leveraging inline reviews to further refine our sizing strategies on a per-product basis, improving overall sizing health, boosting shopper confidence through social proofing, and increasing product keep rates. 

The benefits, however, don't stop there. Because every inline review response is recorded and made available through the WAIR dashboard, our brand partners can reference this data at any time to:

• Contextualize product returns instantaneously
• Identify any products in poor sizing health and determine how to best remedy the situation
• Optimize inventory management efforts around products with optimal sizing health, ultimately improving keep rates
• Gain immediate feedback on the sizing health of new product launches
  

Our team has spent countless hours ensuring that the applications of this new feature are extensive, and we cannot wait to help our brand partners leverage this powerful new data stream moving into the peak shopping season. We saw how impactful the 2021 season was in gathering valuable shopper data, and this year is looking to be just as lucrative. 

Delivering Sizeless Commerce At All Stages of the Shopper's Journey

The sizeless commerce experience does not end with point-of-sale size recommendations. Inline reviews are only the beginning of how WAIR will continue to expand sizeless commerce across all areas of the shopper's journey, delivering a best-in-class eCommerce experience.

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Are you ready to unlock your brand's full potential with WAIR? Schedule a demo here, and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook for all your fashion content needs!