You know that feeling when you find the perfect shoe, it comes in your size, and it’s available at a great price? DSW’s specialty is making sure customers get to feel that way all the time.

DSW—Designer Shoe Warehouse—loves people who love shoes. Carrying thousands of brand-name shoes for men and women, of every imaginable color and style, their physical stores and online shopping experience could make even Cinderella’s dreams come true.

As Brian Seewald, DSW’s VP of Digital, says, “When we make any kind of decision about the brand, consideration of the customer always comes first. We want to give our customers what they want and have come to expect from us.”

Extending the consumer-friendly experience across every touchpoint

When thinking about how to upgrade the customer experience, DSW’s ultimate goal was straightforward: Simplify the customer’s experience no matter where they interacted with the brand, whether in-person, digitally, or somewhere in-between.

In today’s world, where you can order pizza with an emoji and play your favorite song by asking a voice-activated device, Seewald recognized the importance of using technology to connect with customers. “We wanted to improve how our customers were experiencing us online, across channels, which culminated in a redesign of our entire digital experience.”

To reach that goal, Seewald’s team looked carefully at every part of that experience and found ways to make it simple, seamless, and fun to shop for shoes online.

“We wanted to improve how our customers were experiencing us online, across channels, which culminated in a redesign of our entire digital experience.”

Brian Seewald

VP of Digital

DSW is always looking out for the customer

Part of DSW’s renewed digital strategy included the ability to send timely, relevant, and accurate information to customers about their online purchases. And when the team came across the Narvar platform, they decided to implement in advance of the rest of the site re-design. “Narvar was so simple to implement, and a key piece of our upgrade, so we pushed it in front of everything else,” says Seewald. “Our goal was to reinvent DSW’s digital experience and increase simplicity across the board, some of which was going to take time. Narvar enabled us to score a quick win immediately, before the critical Holiday peak season.”

By revamping how customers tracked their packages after making an online purchase, and then providing proactive notifications in case of delivery disruptions, DSW’s digital team knew that it could vastly improve the customer’s post-purchase journey with the brand.

Customers crave up-to-date info about purchases—and DSW delivers.

Turns out customers love being in the know about their online orders at every step of the way.

Whether it’s with a proactive update about a delay or a tracking page that shows important shipment information without disrupting the customer’s direct experience with the brand, customers want an experience that’s seamless, effortless, and beautiful. And with Narvar Track and Notify, DSW can give their customers what they want.

Another way that DSW is simplifying the customer journey is through Facebook Messenger chatbot updates, which customers can opt into after placing an online order. Says Seewald, “I love what we’re doing with Facebook Messenger. The customer is able to have a very natural interaction; it feels very easy. It’s perfect for a quick Q&A.”

“I love what we’re doing with Facebook Messenger. The customer is able to have a very natural interaction; it feels very easy. It’s perfect for a quick Q&A.”

Brian Seewald

VP of Digital

As a result of implementing Narvar, DSW has seen:

• 8% of customers click through the branded tracking page to go back and shop on the website, resulting in even more purchases and additional revenue.
• 5% of customers opt-in to receive additional package status notifications through other channels.
• 34% want those updates via Facebook Messenger.
• Positive feedback from customers who get proactive email alerts about delivery disruptions and delays.

“I can say with complete confidence that Narvar helps us provide a better customer experience than we ever could before,” says Seewald. “Being able to offer that delivery information upfront, and then proactively communicate with our customers—that’s a big deal.”

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