There’s a lot of talk about what good omnichannel retail looks like – from apps and loyalty to ROPIS (research online, purchase in store) to assortment, fulfilment and so on.
We also know how multichannel retailers can make the most of their store estate by encouraging more cost-efficient behaviour from online shoppers via click and collect and returns drop-offs.
And we know that ‘unified commerce’ is a thing, too. In our 2025 trends post we described it as a centralised backend system including inventory, payments and customer data that connects to a range of frontend platforms. That definition may be a simplified view, but as I wrote in the article, “whatever language you want to use, you know a slick commerce experience when you encounter one”.
So, go on then, you may ask, what does it look like in practice?
Well, Marks & Spencer is the brand that has impressed me most over the last few months. In particular its click-and-collect (clothing to a food hall next day) and returns experiences in ecommerce. So, I thought I’d share what I like about the returns process.
What impressed me is not just how easy it was, but the gentle prompts involved that showed understanding of heuristics and shopper behaviour.
As you can see in figure 1, when I open the M&S app and select an item to return, I’m given a dropdown to select my reason. In my case, it’s a sizing issue. But M&S collects more useful information here than simply whether an item is too big – I’m presented with another dropdown asking for a secondary reason: Is it too long? Are the sleeves too long? The lapels too big? Or is the fit too loose?
Fairly obviously, this quickly provides M&S with the necessary data to inform their product content or future designs, to mitigate for returns in the medium term and ensure consistency across its catalogue.
M&S generously offers free returns in store, by post or home collection. I won’t debate free returns here, but needless to say it’s a divisive topic, given the scale of the issue for some ecommerce brands. However, what’s notable when I’m asked to select how I want to return my M&S purchase (see figure 2) is the use of a blue-grey swatch which highlights that returning to store (the default option) is ‘fastest’.
To labour the point, post and home collection options have some extra copy which declares ‘processed in 7 days’. The intimation is obvious – if you don’t want to be in that slightly anxious hinterland of waiting for your return to be processed and the refund to hit your bank balance, drop the item back to store. But wait, not just any store; using the same design elements, I’m also encouraged to return to a clothing and homeware store (‘fastest’) not a food hall, and I duly obliged (despite the fact there’s an M&S Food walking distance from where I live).
The advantages for M&S in terms of operational efficiency are obvious.
Continuing the theme of flexibility, M&S offers me the choice of receiving my refund to an e-gift card (‘New’) or to my original payment card (‘processed in 7 days’). The retailer doesn’t go as far as making e-gift card the default option, that would perhaps cause a nightmare for customer support, but there is a persuasive stack of copy explaining why shopping with e-gift cards is simple, convenient, safe and secure.
Obviously, if customers are happy to receive an e-gift card, which arrives via email and can be quickly added to their mobile app (though no longer to an Apple or Google wallet, which some customers have complained about online), this is a coup for M&S, ensuring that the revenue stays on the balance sheet.
Reader, I took the bait, and I was impressed to get my e-gift card a mere 15 minutes after dropping off my return at a self-service point (more on that in a minute). The only potential downside I saw in this refund option is if I wanted to return to store and purchase a new item in the right size whilst I was there; given that self-service doesn’t give customers an instantaneous refund, this may be problematic for some. However, this is the same across the board in multichannel retail when you return an ecommerce order to store – a refund is not immediate. Next, for example, gives a 1 day estimate for refund by gift voucher.
Though, of course, this scenario ensures I spend again with the retailer. And the investment in and adoption of loyalty apps means that many people will feel entirely comfortable having credit sat in their M&S account and then redeeming it in store, in my case across multiple food purchases, by scanning a gift barcode at a self-checkout, for example.
Just as with M&S click and collect (which has a digital check-in), returns are quick. I scanned a barcode (sent to me via email) at a neat and tidy console in the Bury M&S, a sticker emerged from a printer hidden in the wall, and I dropped the parcel in a bin, also recessed into the wall. No queue, no need to talk to staff.
The M&S success story over the past few years is well documented. With regards to fulfilment of online orders specifically, the brand began implementing digital click-and-collect and returns back in mid-2021. It was seen as particularly important to improve the proposition around third-party brands, which are only sold online, with M&S saying “success is a customer picking up their Sosandar dress and filling their trolley at the same time”.
Recent or current technology projects include supply chain transformation (e.g. with o9), an SAP upgrade, work with CommerceHub on the third-party brand platform, modernisation of the store estate and other omnichannel CX improvements (see page 64 of the last annual report).
It’s clear that the retailer is not content to stand still. As its clothing sales grow and online grows (11.3% in H1 2024) thanks to an “upgraded fashion-led online experience”, CEO Stuart Machin has spoken of the need to “accelerate” transformation with regards to “proposition, availability, fulfillment” in pursuit of its target of 50% of its clothing business online (currently at around a third). The retailer plans to “re-imagine” the web and app experience.
I’ve just turned 40, and maybe I’m entering that core M&S demographic, but perhaps it’s equally true that its younger customers may be less aware of such stereotypes, given that the clothing and home side of the business is much more focused than 10 years ago, and the brand’s media strategy is evolving. Whether through it’s data-driven customer insight (see the M&S partnership with First Insight) or standalone clothing and beauty stores (the first in Battersea), the retailer shows no sign of taking its eye off the ball when it comes to customer experience.
If you’re a marketing leader or work in L&D and are interested in how you can upskill your team in 2025, get in touch, or attend our next Capability Forum.