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Published
Mar 1, 2016
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Fashion retailers ignore customers on Facebook, study finds

Published
Mar 1, 2016

Strategic multichannel consultancy Practicology conducted a study of 50 fashion retailers on Facebook between November 2015 and January 2016, and found that they aren't maximizing the potential of their Facebook pages.


Photo: Practicology


Practology looked at the UK Facebook pages of 50 clothing, footwear and accessories retailers, and found that though 43 (86%) of them had direct messaging enabled on their Facebook pages, 18 (36%) of retailers didn't respond when the consultancy sent them a customer query this way. Among the non-respondents were Burton Menswear, Debenhams, French Connection, Hobbs, Jigsaw, Pull & Bear and Topshop.

56% of the brands, including Ben Sherman, Coast, Desigual, Evans, Jigsaw, Oasis, LK Bennett, Moss Bros, Next, Superdry and TM Lewin, didn't give out customer service information - like an email, phone number or customer service app - on their Facebook page.

22%, more than a fifth, hadn't set up a Call To Action button - such as Shop Now or Contact Us - and 26% didn't change their festive-themed cover images to reflect the change of promotions and season until the 4th January or later.

Practicology social media consultant Amanda Haxton said: "Fashion retailers and brands understand that if a consumer sees an outfit in their store window they expect to be able to walk into the store and buy it. Yet when it comes to Facebook pages, too many retailers don't take the same approach. And even worse, a significant number allowed customers to message them through Facebook and then didn't respond. This is akin to a staff member refusing to answer a question from a customer in a store".

She added: "Social media should be viewed as a crucial aspect of a retailer's customer engagement and customer service strategy. Our report provides benchmarks to show what best practice is for the Facebook platform, as well as clear examples of retailers who are getting it right."
 

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