3 Ways Online Fashion Retailer Missguided Utilizes Consumer Feedback

Fashion is an industry built on user feedback—one day you’re in and the next you’re out. We were interested in seeing how Missguided, an Ecommerce store specializing in women’s on-trend clothing, implemented a user feedback program to remain at the top of the game. Here are three insights from Will Brooks, the lead analyst on Missguided’s Ecommerce team.

Bridging the Quantitative with the Qualitative

With up to 30,000 products available online, the Missguided team relies heavily on data to drive decisions. Tools like Google Analytics are key in understanding how users browse and convert. But sometimes it’s hard for the raw numbers to tell a story, which is why the team asks users directly for feedback.

“The reason we love qualitative feedback is that it illuminates and provides a narrative to many issues that quantitative data identifies but may lack in detail,” Brooks said.

Through data, Missguided identified that the lack of depth—or available sizes—in particular garments was an issue. But it was only through candid customer feedback that they realized how impactful the issue was.

“We implemented a Qualaroo survey at checkout to ask customers about their shopping experience and find out if there were any issues,” Brooks recalled. “Actually seeing customer after customer say there was a problem with items being unavailable in their size led to a complete change in the way we buy merchandise.”

Today, Missguided purchases a smaller number of  products, opting to put them through a “test-learn-maximize” process before fully committing it to their merchandise. If an item is deemed a success during the testing phase, the purchasing department will begin to carry a variety of sizes to help reduce consumer frustration. The company’s journey to  providing a better customer experience was largely informed by what their consumers had to say. Moreover, their improved customer experience is a win-win: Missguided now avoids the costly mistake of investing in pieces that won’t resonate with customers while getting to maximize on the success of the products that make it through their testing process.

Using Real-Time Feedback to Diagnose Errors

Apart from improving their product lineup, the Missguided team has used their user feedback to identify and address customer issues in a more efficient manner than they otherwise would.  For example, students represent one of the largest segments of the Missguided consumer base. To ensure that they complete the online checkout process, the company often provides students with a discount code for up to 30% off.

Once, there was an error that prevented student shoppers from applying the code. Because Missguided polls their customers for feedback during the checkout process, shoppers were able to communicate that the code wasn’t working. Thanks to this feedback, the team was able to make the necessary fix so that the code would be accepted.

“In the past we would have noticed that the shopping cart abandonment rate would have soared, but we wouldn’t know the reason why,” offered Brooks. “But because those students were able to actively voice their frustrations, we were able to make a change rapidly and ensure that sales weren’t lost.”

Targeting Specific Segments

In addition to being able to ascertain product changes at the right time and identify issues are major benefits, some questions need to be answered  by a particular segment of your base. The Missguided team uses segmenting to optimize their data collection to affect change.

Brooks says that it’s imperative to make sure you target the users who can give the best feedback. Recently, the product team was evaluating whether they should purchase boots in real leather or an alternative material like polyurethane leather.

“There was strict targeting on that survey for boot leather preference,” Brooks said. “Rather than polling our entire audience, we asked only those people browsing that specific segment, resulting in the best possible feedback for our product team.”

User Feedback Is Always in Style

In an industry where success depends largely on the whim of consumers, user feedback is especially important. Keeping an ear to the ground and staying flexible is particularly important in such a crowded and fast-paced business.

Missguided is proof that gathering user feedback is always in style. Whether your online business is in fashion or widgets, download the Qualaroo Ecommerce guide to learn more on how you can win big by gathering consumer feedback.