Reimagining omni-channel buying experience at Lenskart

Written By Priyanjit Biswas, Product@Lenskart

Enabling users to find the perfect pair of glasses is a tricky problem to crack.

The top 2 concerns users face when buying eyewear online are:

• Will the eyewear fit on the face?

Read: how we use an ML-powered online frame size estimation tool to predict frame size.

• Will the eyewear look good on the face?

Read: how augmented reality (AR) is being leveraged to help users visualize how a pair of glasses look on their face.

However, even if we can predict the exact frame size for a user and help envision how it would look on their face, comfort is an extremely subjective emotion to solve for. Few users can love wearing their frames tight, while others can prefer to buy their frames oversized and slightly loose. Therefore, minor alignment concerns may often be the deal breaker between an okay-ish fit and a perfect fit. And these minor alignment concerns, I repeat, are subject to the individual preference of every buyer.

Buying online and getting frames delivered to the home can therefore often lead to the user returning the product if it is not comfortable due to minor alignment concerns. As a matter of fact, we found out that users buying online were 3–4X times more likely to return a product vis-a-vis when buying offline, largely because comfort can be assessed by the user right away when making a purchase at an offline store. Furthermore, there’s dispensing done at the stores in presence of store experts. What is dispensing? In short, it is how our store experts are able to tighten or loosen a piece of eyewear as per the buyer’s wish and comfort, to ensure the best alignment and fit.

So here we are, presented with a dilemma of sorts.

• Buying online is convenient and gives users access to a huge catalog with all the latest designs.
• While buying offline often ensures that the comfort and fit is perfectly in tune to the user’s wishes.

This is where we embarked upon a journey to reimagine the ideal omni-channel buying experience at Lenskart. What if we could combine the best of both worlds — allow users to still shop from a massive online catalog but opt to pick up these orders from the nearest Lenskart store where they can be aided by our experts for any and all concerns. Most importantly, with 1000+ Lenskart stores across India today and new stores coming up every week, this would mean that a user gets to choose from a store pick up point less than a kilometer away.

Having said that, building a true omni-channel buying experience from scratch can be a monumental task, spanning multiple systems and stakeholders.

Some of the key action points include:

• Identifying and passing orders placed online as pick up at store orders.
• Syncing pick up at store orders, with SCM (supply chain) and POS (offline store) systems.
• Actualizing logistics from Lenskart warehouse to store chosen by the user for pick up.
• Enabling clear order tracking for pick up at store orders on store systems, used by store staff.
• Defining clear SOP for order handling at stores, to ensure quality checks and smooth handover.
• Setting up user communication (SMS, emails etc.) regarding order status at all touchpoints.
• Setting up post-handover processes such as NPS surveys, customer experience calls.
• And of course, training all store staff, customer support, operational teams on new SOP.

This had to be coupled with a clear GTM strategy to ensure that we run successful pilots before scaling steadily across locations.

At present, we have 800+ Lenskart stores serving as pick up points for users buying online. The results are extremely promising. We are witnessing a substantial bunch of our online users (DAU) who are eligible for choosing pick up at store, opting for the same during purchase. Furthermore, users choosing pick up at store are much less likely to return their purchase, compared to those choosing home delivery thereby driving higher user satisfaction (demonstrated by higher NPS numbers) and higher gross-to-net revenues. (Quick tip: Net revenue = Gross revenue — Returns)

But what are these forces driving users to opt for pick up at store and enabling fewer returns?

Both through data and conversations with our customers, we have derived the following 4 reasons:

1. Users get to choose from a massive online catalog of options, from the comfort of their home.
2. At the store, they get to try on in person and get a real feel of the tangible product.
3. Store experts help them with dispensing to ensure the best possible alignment, comfort and fit.
4. In the worse case where the user is not happy, store experts help them get through a hassle free exchange process. This is a win-win for all customers, stores and Lenskart. Customers aided by store staff, go back with a pair of glasses they are happy with. Stores achieve goodwill and incentives for helping out customers the best way. Finally, Lenskart manages an exchange when for home delivery, the same customers are more likely to simply return (and not exchange).