Ted Baker says it has fulfilled an extra 101,000 online orders in a year after it started to ship them from some of its UK stores.
The fashion and lifestyle brand, ranked Top250 in RXUK Top500 research, currently ships online orders from 30 stores, and says that the extra orders it has achieved by doing so represent an 8% increase in its ecommerce turnover in the UK.
Ted Baker is working with order management specialist OneStock, whose order management system (OMS) enables the retailer to deliver orders from the most convenient spot. If a warehouse is out of stock, shops can claim the order via a dedicated app, ‘winning’ it in what’s described as an element of gamification.
Clare Harrison-Empson, director of operations at Ted Baker, says the OMS enables it to improve the use of its stores for ecommerce, with the extra sales improving store profitability while at the same time improving the management of its inventory. As a result, the retailer is less likely to be out of stock, and sells more items at full price, rather than discounting in seasonal sales. The cost of fulfilling orders is also down.
“Results in the first year have exceeded our expectations,” she said, “and the OMS continues to be a real success. Ship from store is now a must-have for every omnichannel retailer.”
Last December alone, Ted Baker stores fulfilled 30,000 online orders – equivalent to 13% of its total UK ecommerce turnover for the period. Previously, those orders would have been lost. The OMS also supports click and collect from stores – and since starting to use it, Ted Baker says its click and collect orders were up six-fold five months after launch.
Romulus Grigoras, chief executive of OneStock, said: “Like many retailers in recent times, Ted Baker has seen significant growth in ecommerce, with sales surging 35% year-on-year – bringing its stores into the mix to create a unified operation and service extra demand has provided excellent results in terms of sales, motivation of store associates and above all customer satisfaction.
“Shoppers also receive an enhanced delivery promise due to the accuracy and reliability of stock and delivery information.”
Ted Baker currently sells online and from 564 stores in the UK, Europe and North America. It is now looking to use OneStock technology in its international stores as well.
