How to WOW your online fashion customers every step of the customer journey

Fashion is one of the biggest sectors in ecommerce: online fashion sales reached around US$1.33 trillion worldwide in 2025, and 35–40% of all fashion revenue now comes through online channels. These clients are experienced (mobile) ecommerce consumers with high expectations and demands of the webstores they decide to use. An exceptional online experience is absolutely essential for fashion brands. It is no longer just about the products, customers expect a flawless shopping experience. Fashion brands need to step up their game and awe their customers throughout the entire journey. But how exactly do you WOW your customers during every step of the customer journey?

Creating an in-store experience

Every day it is getting more important to offer online customers the best of both worlds: the customer service and the contact with the fashion items of brick & mortar, and the convenience and pace of online shopping. By replicating an in-store shopping experience online, customers can receive real time personal advice and have an idea of how the item will look on them before buying it.

ASOS

Many fashion brands offer their customers an amazing online experience to narrow the gap between offline and online shopping. ASOS was an early mover with its ‘See My Fit‘ trial, which used augmented reality to show online shoppers what their clothing selection would look like on different body types. Virtual try-on has since gone mainstream: in July 2025 Google launched an AI try-on feature for US shoppers that lets them upload a full-length photo and see how apparel from product listings might look on them. That makes the shopping experience easier and a lot more fun, and it raises the bar for what shoppers expect on a brand's own site.

Omoda

Another great example of creating an in-store experience is Omoda. The Dutch shoe and fashion retailer introduced personal styling advice by video call, giving customers tailor-made advice by means of a virtual tour of the store. Shoppers could schedule an online appointment and choose between FaceTime, WhatsApp video calling, or Google Hangouts. Omoda uses interactive technology operated by real people to surpass their customers’ expectations.

The added value of personalisation in fashion e-commerce

Winning a new online shopper is one thing; turning them into a repeat customer is another. Fashion organisations need to keep re-engaging shoppers and turn them into repeat customers. To do so it’s very important to collect data about the individual customer to tailor website content to their preferences. It will help returning customers to find clothing, shoes, or accessories they like more quickly.

A great example of real-time personalisation is Zalando’s AI-driven discovery feed, which launched in July 2025 and was live in 22 markets by October 2025. Shoppers scroll and swipe through clothing, brands and content, and the feed adapts to their preferences in real time. Public profiles let them follow brands, save content and share their own style boards, so every interaction teaches the algorithm more about the wishes and needs of the customer.

Provide flexible payment and delivery options in the checkout

Online fashion shoppers have particular payment needs, they prefer to choose between different payment options while checking out. Cards from Visa, Mastercard and American Express are accepted all around the world and still matter: in the UK, direct card payments account for 46% of online spending, according to Worldpay’s 2026 Global Payments Report. Fashion shoppers also drive broader payment trends for e-commerce such as digital wallets, which now account for 56% of global e-commerce transaction value.

Shipping options within checkout

What counts for payment options counts even more for delivery. Consumers will definitely not hesitate to take their business elsewhere if they can’t find their preferred shipping option among your options. To reduce cart abandonment, it is important for fashion retailers to offer their customers the different choices they need during the checkout process.

At-home delivery is the default for most online fashion shoppers. Only offering home delivery won´t suffice though: pick-up points, lockers and click-and-collect are expected and requested as well. Free shipping is valued very highly by most online shoppers, even more than speed: in Sendcloud’s 2025 research, 85.3% of UK shoppers would pick free delivery over fast delivery, and 78.5% would cancel an order if shipping costs are too high. So if your organisation does not offer free shipping yet, we highly recommend doing so as soon as possible.

Branding & Personalisation make the delivery experience

While expectations of online fashion shoppers keep growing, it’s the retailers task to keep up with them. Consumers enjoy when their customer experience is highly personalised, it makes online shopping easier and it creates the personal service they receive in offline stores. Also, personalisation in delivery is absolutely important to keep your customers satisfied.

Customers have the right and the need to be informed every step of the way. And they want to be informed by the brand they shopped from. Many retailers still fall short here: in a 2025 parcelLab study of the largest US online retailers, nearly one-third did not notify customers when a package was delivered, and two-thirds relied solely on email updates. Sending customers to the carrier’s standard track & trace page is a rude sudden disruption of the customer experience. More customer driven retailers and brands direct customers to a fully branded track & trace page, making this useful service part of the fully branded, uninterrupted customer experience.

The importance of outstanding packaging

Packing in e-commerce wasn’t always as important, it used to be nothing more than a necessity, a cardboard box to protect the product (and its original well designed packaging) inside. Nowadays, the delivery experience is a key part of the entire ecommerce customer experience. A standard cardboard box is really a missed opportunity in branding and customer retention.

Packaging is a way fashion retailers can make themselves stand out from the competition. It’s also a big opportunity to wow your customers and to make the received product(s) feel even more special. It’s a great way to promote your brand!

Brands that take their unboxing experience seriously choose a custom printed box over a standard one, and add a personal touch inside, such as a handwritten card from a stylist explaining the selected items. From the moment the parcel arrives at the front door, the customer knows it will be a great experience to unbox it, and that makes it memorable.

With the different expectations and preferences of consumers per country, it can be difficult to keep up with all of them. An external fulfillment service provider can help your brand meet all local customer expectations and wishes.

Returns as a revenue generator

Returns are the new normal, it has become a part of the shopping experience. US shoppers were expected to send back 19.3% of online sales in 2025, according to the NRF, and fashion leads the way: in a 2025 Rithum survey, apparel and electronics led all return categories, and 36% of consumers admitted to “bracketing”, buying several sizes or styles to try at home and return. In response to these return volumes, e-commerce organisations need to add people, save warehouse space, and establish departments to process these reverse logistics. But the returns aren´t only bad. How you deal with returns before and after purchase can differentiate your business from competitors, and it can even be a revenue generator.

An example of using returns as a revenue generator is Zappos, an Amazon company. It was one of the first companies to offer free shipping both ways and a 365-day return policy, a model that allows customers to try on products at home with no upfront costs. They practically invite their customers to order the shoes, try them at home, and send them back if they are not happy about it. The executives of Zappos say with pride that their customer service is the new marketing and their return policy is a revenue generator. Zappos’ best customers have the highest return rates, but they are also the ones who spend the most money and are the most profitable returning customers.

Retain customers by prioritizing customer service

In order to take advantage of loyal customers, you want to give them the best shopping experience possible. It’s important that you don’t underestimate the power that interacting with your customers has on your business. Qualtrics research from 2025 shows that after a bad experience, 34% of consumers reduce their spending with a company and 13% stop spending entirely. So, in order to help and advise your customers in the best way possible, your customer service agents need to have a wide range of knowledge and empathy. They need to show the tone of voice that perfectly reflects your brand.

Loyalty program

H&M is widely known for its customer loyalty program. Their membership program ticks all the boxes, it is a perfect blend of transactional benefits and community-driven experiences. Members earn points on purchases online and in store, and those points turn into vouchers. New members get a welcome discount, and the program adds member-only offers, events and birthday perks. A loyalty program that many organizations can take as an example.

Loyalty programs pay off: in Antavo’s 2026 Global Customer Loyalty Report, 92.7% of loyalty program owners reported a positive return, with an average ROI of 5.3x. For this reason alone, creating loyal customers is so important for your business. It doesn’t matter if you’re small or big, building an emotional connection with your customers through engagement is the way to grow. And loyalty programs will help you provide motivations for your buyers to come back, create accounts and spend even more money.