STORES Magazine - October 2008 - (Page S12)

MULTI-CHANNEL Zappos Pumps Up Customer Service Applications Zappos.com is virtually a pure-play e-tailer (it has five outlet stores) dedicated almost exclusively to the sale of shoes. Founded in 1999, it had gross sales of $850 million in 2007 and is on track to reach $1 billion this year. The key factor driving these numbers is customer service, Brent Cromley, the company’s director of development, told an attentive audience at his session on multi-channel excellence. The Zappos motto is “Powered by Service” which means, among other things: The call center is open 24/7. “We realize,” Cromley takes your order and sends them to you — period. said, “this is not the most efficient way to run a call cenAnother important aspect of the Zappos approach to ter. But it’s important for us to be there, and for our cuscustomer service is speedy order fulfillment. Not only is tomers to be able to reach us.” shipping free — on the main site, not the discount one Its primary e-commerce site, zappos.com, offers (see below) — the norm is overnight delivery. “The a 365-day return policy, with free shipping both published cutoff time for overnight delivery — what we ways. This is its answer to the “people have to try tell customers — is 4 p.m. Eastern time, 1 p.m. Pacific. shoes on” issue: Zappos encourages Internally, we manage to a 10 p.m. Eastcustomers to buy shoes in two sizes ern time cutoff. “It’s important and return the pair that doesn’t fit. “If somebody on the East Coast is for us to be there, It doesn’t do drop-shipping. “We did shopping at 9:30 p.m. and makes a purand for our some of it in the early days,” Cromley chase, likely as not they’ll get their order customers to be said, “but we dropped it in 2002, when the next day,” Cromley said. “That makes we realized there were problems with a big ‘wow’ for the customer — they feel able to reach us.” delivery and returns. It didn’t allow us like we’ve gone above and beyond the to provide the kind of customer call of duty for them.” Brent experience we want to provide.” Cromley The company’s toll-free Careful expansion number is listed on every Zappos’ fulfillment center in page of its website, and if Shepherdsville, Ky., contains you dial it, somebody 1,300 brands, more than answers. 150,000 styles, 800,000 UPCs All new employees, regardand 4.2 million individual units. less of position, undergo four In addition, Zappos carries a weeks of call center training. certain amount of inventory in Among their instructions: clothing and handbags, and is Should Zappos be out of stock experimenting with expansion on something a customer into eyewear, electronics, wants, look for it on a competihousewares, watches and jewtor’s site. If you find it, direct the elry. customer to that site. “We may “We’re dabbling,” Cromley lose that sale,” Cromley said, said. “Once we understand the “but we think we’re building a market and the systems and stronger customer relationship.” processes we’ll need to service No up-selling. If you call it, we’ll move into these areas asking for a cheap pair of more aggressively.” shoes, somebody courteously The company takes the same S12 STORES / OCTOBER 2008 WWW.STORES.ORG http://www.Zappos.com http://www.zappos.com http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - October 2008

STORES Magazine - October 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Force of a Different Collar What Shoppers Think Bagging the Competition 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Favorite 50 Sticky Strategies for Retention Concept2Watch Kiosks Online Business Intelligence RFID NRFtech Wrap-up E-Commerce Credit Warehouse Systems Logistics Selling Tools Supply Chain LOEB Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - October 2008

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