Buy, return, buy, return.E-shops with clothing have a problem<

Také trh s módou a oblečením už před pár lety podlehl nástupu e-commerce. Bez e-shopu už je málokterý prodejce oděvů, navzdory tomu, že si zákazníci v internetových obchodech nemohou zboží vyzkoušet.

And this is the stumbling block for a number of clothing or shoes shops.Since this summer, the German company Polando also sells clothes, shoes and accessories in the Czech Republic.Attracts customers to goods from 1 900 brands.It offers luxury brands (such as Emporio Armani, Karl Lagerfeld, Ralph Lauren or Calvin Klein), as well.Shipping offers free.

Zalando was established in 2008 in Berlin.At the end of 2014, it has entered the stock exchange and has since doubled its sales to EUR 4.5 billion.

Who does not return, does not buy

Although the German dealer has been growing at a double -digit pace in recent years, there are many clothing that customers return.

The problem with which a number of similar e-shops are struggling has recently noticed the German weekly Zeit.

The employees of the Logistics Center in Erfurt must deal with thousands of cases of return.Every minute Zalando handles and dispatches 208 packages, but half returns, describes Die Zeit.

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It concerns just clothing or shoes where the customer realizes that he does not like the goods or he does not like it and sends it back.Workers in a huge warehouse have to unpack the goods, check that it has not been damaged, folded again and put it in a box where it is then waiting for another customer.

Without returning the goods cannot live

What is happening in Erfurt is virtually the same thing that takes place in a regular shop where customers try clothing in the cabins and not falling back to the shelf.At least this is said by Daniel Behlert, who is the head of the largest logistics center of Polando.

Without returning the goods, according to him, according to him, Zalalando or other companies cannot live.But the question remains how to reduce the volume of the returned goods.

In 2008, when the company entered the market, it did not solve it.At that time, Zalando started selling adidas sneakers.At that time it was already common to buy books or electronics over the Internet, but clothing and shoes that you have to try not.

In order to attract as many buyers as possible, it offers free returning goods within 30 days, including payment of postage, even for orders that have free shipping within the state - including in the Czech Republic.

This means that goods ordered via Zalalando.cz can be sent to the Czech address without a surcharge for postage.This company's policy made it possible to grow to 17 countries in 10 years of existence and can employ nearly 16,000 people.Last year she served at 23 million customers.

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The limits of the Internet

But the high level of returning the goods points to the limits of online stores.Sellers Zalando, however.

Although Zalando does not publish this measure, and so they are estimates of internet sales of clothing and accessories that agree that the clothing and shoes is by far the highest compared to the other assortment.

Just for comparison: the largest Czech online store Alza.cz, whose sales exceeded 20 billion crowns last year, states that the rate of returning the goods has a percentage of the percentage.

Unlike Zaland, however, sells primarily electronics.

Three sizes at a time

Extremely helpful policy of Zaland to customers led to people ordering shoes, t -shirts and pants even in three sizes at once.

But there are bizarre cases."Ski clothes came back after three weeks and there was a ski pass in your pocket," one of the company managers said anonymously for the German weekly.However, only a few percent, however.

Of course, the high level of returning the goods increases operating costs and reduces profit.The company thus swung into black numbers only in 2014 only when it entered the stock exchange.

Graph: Development of profit/loss of poland before tax and interest from 2010 to 2017, in miles.eur.

Source: Zalando

Shares of the company grew from October 2014 until the middle of this year, when they began to sink.According to stock exchange analysts, it is a perennial reduction in the average purchase value.

Customers buy cheaper goods or only one item.This makes the entire sales system more expensive.

Sales in the context of a falling stock price begins to influence even the weather or.climate change.Unusually warm weather during August and September caused lower sales at the autumn/winter collection.

GRAF: Vývoj kurzu akcií ZalandaOd roku 2014 do současnosti, veurech.

Source: TradingView.com

Zatímco podle plánu na rok 2018 firma Zalando očekávala roční zisk před zdaněním a úroky EBIT ve výši 220-270 milionůeur, v září jej korigovala na 150-170 milionůeur.

Nevertheless, the Berlin company expects sales to grow by 20 to 25 percent this year, which is a very above average growth in the clothing market segment.

The satisfied customer does not return the goods

The company is now trying to find a solution to make customers with their selection happier and not returning so much, which would reduce the cost of logistics.

American Stacia Carr in Zaland runs a team of people in the development department trying to find a solution to maximum customer satisfaction.

For example, people who try their shoes all day work in her department.Three women put on only shoes number 37 and write down their size matching."We supply the algorithm with all possible data," the manager explained.Both from testing employees and customers.

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The store can now recommend the customer to the customer after several purchases.And this is just one of the ways of trying to reducing the returned goods.The founder of Rubin Ritter, despite the steady turnover growth, convinces investors that the company is not working on the lack of processes.

"We see that the recommendations of the size of customers have a positive effect on our economic results," he pointed out.

Digital experience

The largest e-shop with clothing in Europe wants to offer young people the entire “fashion cosmos”.He simply wants to persuade them to buy everything at once and as much as possible.Not just one shirt, baseball cap or sneakers.

Ritter talks about the so -called digital experience to support fashion blogs and campaign on social networks.Zalando believes that this campaign will reduce the unfavorable share of the returned goods.Whether the new concept works will test the retail peak of the year, the pre -Christmas period.

VIDEO: "Fashion Influencers" in the campaign for Zalalando and the Calvin Klein brand.

Source: YouTube.com