Outdoor clothing and activewear retailer, Ellis Brigham, has improved omnichannel delivery operations and post-purchase experiences, cutting WISMOs by -14%, in partnership with delivery intelligence platform, Ingrid.

As one of the UK’s most trusted mountain sports brands, Ellis Brigham operates a network of 15 stores across the UK as well as its growing online channel, supplying outdoor enthusiasts with high-quality equipment, from mountaineering to trail running and skiing to snowboarding.

As part of its recent digital transformation, which saw Ellis Brigham re-platform to Centra, the adventure-wear retailer implemented Ingrid’s all-in-one delivery suite, aiming to enhance experiences for customers while streamlining operations as it optimised new fulfilment channels. 

With delivery now playing a critical role not only in conversions but also across repeat purchases and loyalty, two thirds (65%) of shoppers say loyalty is now won or lost on delivery experiences research of 1,000 UK consumers by Ingrid found.  That impact on customer lifetime value (CLV) was a key driver for Ellis Brigham when looking at optimising its checkout and post-purchase experiences. 

“It’s unacceptable to not be able to offer choice and communication,” Mark Oldham, Head of Operations at Ellis Brigham, commented. “One bad delivery and you’ve lost a customer, the CLV hinges on it.”

Deploying Ingrid, the outdoor sports retailer was able to create more choice and flexibility for shoppers at the checkout, including additional shipping options and clearer fulfilment windows and timelines.  It also opened up delivery personalisation, offering customers dynamic delivery fees, based on their loyalty tier or purchasing history. 

Meanwhile, integrating real-time stock visibility within the Ingrid platform also improved the speed and accuracy of its Click-and-Collect offering.  This also helped to streamline Ellis Brigham’s Ship-From-Store capabilities, aligning its inventory pools across stores and Distribution Centres (DCs). By automating order picking based on omnichannel product availability, fulfilment speed and cost, Ellis Brigham was able to reduce Ship-From-Store delivery times from up to 10 days to offer express delivery options.

Post-purchase, Ingrid enabled proactive parcel tracking, allowing the retailer to create brand-rich engagement opportunities after the checkout, while offering shoppers real-time updates on their order, tracking progress from the point of payment to delivery drop-off.  

Enhanced post-purchase communications and real-time tracking visibility have helped Ellis Brigham reduce WISMO (Where Is My Order) enquiries, significantly reducing inbounds to its customer services teams while enhancing shopper experience.  As a result, during its Peak Trading period last year, the outdoor sports retailer saw WISMOs fall by -14%, even as order volumes rose by +24%. 

“By underpinning fulfilment operations with intelligence and building in dynamic deliveries, Ellis Brigham’s post-purchase experiences now mirror the curated, personalised and brand-rich encounters shoppers receive in-store,” said Piotr Zaleski, CPTO and Co-Founder of Ingrid. 

Looking ahead, Ellis Brigham will continue to partner with Ingrid to optimise its delivery operations and is considering how Ingrid’s Returns capabilities could further transform post-purchase experiences and optimise reverse logistics.