Due to the immense benefits of online retail in customer reach, cost-effectiveness, and service efficiency, multiple industries have shifted to e-commerce to revolutionise business operations. These include high-end fashion brands deploying their respective e-commerce strategies to target more affluent consumers and accommodate their future shoppers. Despite arguments that e-commerce would not be up to par with the high-end retail experience in brick-and-mortar locations, companies like LVMH and Burberry remained successful in personalising the shopping experience for their customers through video consultations and live-streaming events.
Beyond luxury fashion, another industry benefitting from the rise of online retail is eyewear, with the following retailers redefining the customer experience through innovative product and service offerings.
Enhanced try-on features
Similar to luxury e-commerce, a common pushback against online retail in the eyewear industry is the inability to replicate the in-person shopping experience for frames. Thus, many brands and retailers developed virtual try-on features to help customers visualise whether or not a pair of frames would be the right fit, weight, and size for them.
However, leading UK retailer Glasses Direct further innovates by allowing customers to physically try on glasses at home and make more informed purchase decisions. Through their free home trials, customers are entitled to a pack of pre-selected, best-selling frames of different styles that they can test out for seven days. It is also free to swap out a model for an alternative or return the pack through its pre-paid postage label.
Wider range of frame sizes
Despite the wide product selection facilitated by online retail, many glasses wearers can still find it hard to purchase the right frames due to the lack of diverse sizing options. In this light, Dutch brand Ace & Tate showcases its commitment to in-depth eyewear and eyecare services beyond the option to schedule styling and optician appointments online.
Ace & Tate offers its frames in small, regular, large, and extra-large, with the sizes adjusting to not only the width but all aspects of the frame for more accurate proportions. The website has a size guide and an online tool for measuring pupillary distance to help customers find the right fit.
Charitable purchase options
Another way to meet customers’ expectations is to not only provide the products they want but to also reflect their values in your brand identity and storytelling. A notable example of achieving this is the French designer eyewear brand Bloobloom, which has recently met success in the UK following a £5m round of seed funding and new store locations in London.
Besides being transparent about where their glasses come from in light of sustainability, the brand also launched the ‘Pair for a Pair’ programme to deliver to socially responsible customers who want to make a difference. Under this scheme, every pair purchased equates to Bloobloom donating a pair to non-profit partners and local communities needing eyewear.
Vintage and sustainable selections
Lastly, another online retailer meeting the demands of eco-conscious consumers is Peep Eyewear. As an independent, family-run eyewear business, Peep Eyewear sources and restores vintage frames, offering unique styles and designs to customers every time. This elevates the shopping experience by enabling customers to discover bespoke frames in the otherwise saturated industry while also helping the environment by saving these frames from landfills.
Overall, these retailers demonstrate that it is possible to increase customers’ satisfaction with eyewear beyond simply leveraging the accessibility of the online retail space. Instead, they continuously innovate their products and services to engage customers and drive brand loyalty.
