Why baby and nursery retailers and suppliers need to deliver a 360-degree online purchasing experience

By Choukri Zerhouni, Co-Founder and Vice-President of Sales, Claimlane

The online shopping revolution has impacted all retail sectors across the UK, influenced by many factors, including technological advancements, changing consumer behaviour, and external events like the COVID-19 pandemic.

To satisfy this growing demand for online shopping, companies of all sizes across all retail sectors have had to work hard to enhance the customer experience, streamline operations, and remain competitive. The baby and nursery sector is no exception. Retailers and suppliers have had to take a long, hard look at recent trends and ensure they are providing what their customers and clients want.

However, the online purchasing experience is not without its risks. Are baby and nursery retailers and brands really putting 100 percent effort into perfecting their online stall?

The online impact on the baby and nursery sector

Online baby and nursery sales in the UK have turned the sector on its head.

Even though an exact valuation varies based on which statistics you turn to, the consensus places the total value – UK online and instore purchases combined – in the region of £800 million to £1 billion in 2023.

Online sales are believed to represent a massive portion of this, with estimates suggesting that around 60-70% of purchases are made online. This translates to online sales for the baby and nursery sector in the UK being valued at up to £600-700 million annually.

The online shopping experience

Purchasing baby and nursery goods, whether furniture, clothes or other sundry items, is an emotional experience for many people.

However, despite an often-rigorous research process, as with all online shopping experiences, there will sometimes be problems. Buyers often look for specific colours, sizes and styles for baby and nursery equipment. As a result, there is a real risk that the parent, family member or a friend will change their mind once the item arrives, and they see it in person.

Goods may also get damaged in transit, despite the best efforts of all parts of the supply chain, which will also involve the item needing to be returned.

Therefore, despite an often-smooth initial shopping experience, for many customers and clients alike, the returns process will need to be just as smooth – and this is often far from the case. Many retailers and brands handle returns manually, often using cumbersome and manual tools such as email, paper forms and spreadsheets. Some use inadequate solutions not designed for product claims and complex returns.

This approach can lead to long resolution times, errors, and a lack of visibility into the status of customer issues. Problems include an increased administrative workload, slower processing times, and – perhaps the most damaging – a potential loss of customer trust due to inefficiencies in managing returns and claims.

The need for this becomes even clearer when you understand the other pressures the sector faces. For example, parents expect high service levels and quick decisions. If a baby’s stroller breaks, it soon becomes impossible to live without it, which leads to demands for a quick resolution.

From an operational perspective, the baby space is home to a massive variety of products. This adds more complexity to the returns process – it is not always as simple as returning a t-shirt, especially where big pieces of furniture are involved. Some of these products also face intense use – which can lead to lots of warranty claims. 

This often results in huge amounts of back-office communication between retailers and brands to sort the issues and handle credits.

In today’s era of online reviews and instant social media criticism, all against a backdrop defined by an ongoing cost-of-living crisis and businesses needing to monitor their headcount, are these long-winded processes really fit for purpose anymore? Especially when you consider that the latest software can turn these processes on their head?