Tower London: Owning the customer experience at every step of the shopping journey
A third generation shoemaker founded Tower London in 1980 to celebrate the youth culture. To this day, it remains a family owned independent retailer of stylish footwear. This ownership structure has ensured that its employees’ values and its mission towards its customers and the broader society has remained consistent. It places customers at the center of all its strategies and keeps up with their changing tastes. Finding that its customers are increasingly concerned about sustainability, it introduced vegan shoes that are made without any animal material. Unlike big retailers, it owns (rather than leases) its real estate portfolio including company headquarters, warehouses, and its stores thus controlling every step of its in-store customer experience. With a goal to expand how customers can access its footwear, Tower London has actively invested in selling online through its website since 2010. It seeks to expand its online presence beyond the United Kingdom (UK) to not just Europe but globally and yet continue to seek ways to improve customer experience.
Business Challenge: Seeking solutions to improve customer experience in an increasingly ‘mobile’ world
Tower London recognised that its customers seek instant gratification; they want to be able to research, choose, and buy footwear on the go. With more than 60% of Tower London orders being through mobile, it sought to reduce friction in the purchase process. While exploring alternative payment services to improve the checkout experience, it decided to offer Amazon Pay as a payment option to its customers because it was a trusted global brand. Asking customers to populate their payment (credit card number, expiry date etc.) and personal information especially when they are on the go was now history. Customers could use their familiar Amazon login credentials and the payment information stored in their Amazon account to seamlessly purchase footwear from the Tower London website. An additional incentive to Tower London was their access to the Amazon customer base, which is one of the largest in the world.
Our customers are increasingly buying from our website using their smartphones. We don’t want them to painstakingly type their payment and personal information when they are on the move. Amazon Pay was a way to remove this obstacle. Everyone recognises Amazon and many times they are logged into Amazon when they visit our website, so it makes their purchase experience through Amazon Pay pretty much one-click.
– Rink Bindra, Head of Omni-channel
Business Impact: Improved customer experience, Increased global trust, Multi-currency capabilities
Tower London has observed immediate results with Amazon Pay. Amazon Pay orders have grown 53% from April to July 2019 to constitute 30% of all orders through the Tower London website. This growth is testament to the trust customers place on Amazon Pay. Tower London plans to ride this trust to expand globally. It specifically points to Amazon Pay’s A-to-z Guarante1 as a trust booster. Customers (especially ones in countries where Tower London is new) feel confident purchasing from Tower London because they know that Amazon Pay protects their purchases and that they will receive their footwear in the promised time and in the promised quality. Tower London is also protected from unnecessary chargebacks as it believes Amazon Pay delivers customers who are more credible.
We are a well-known brand in the UK. However, customers in other countries might not be as familiar with our brand. That’s where we think Amazon Pay helps. Payments is one of the most important factors for customers. Amazon is a trusted brand in all countries. When customers see the Amazon Pay button on our website, they feel secure. That gives us the credibility we need to push faster into other countries.
– Rink Bindra, Head of Omni-channel
Beyond Amazon Pay’s trust, its multi-currency capabilities have also helped Tower London serve its global customers. Amazon Pay’s multi-currency2 feature has enabled Tower London customers to pay in the currency of their choice and avoid currency conversion charges. It further decreases the chance of chargebacks or refunds because Tower London customers are less likely to discover any hidden charges. Tower London has observed an increase in ex-UK European revenue post Amazon Pay adoption.
Tower London’s adoption of Amazon Pay has not only resulted in a positive business impact but has also delighted customers. Customers acknowledge the ease of use and security that comes with paying with Amazon Pay on the Tower London website.
I was looking for a pair of pink Tommy Trainers and found them on this web site. I had never purchased from this site before. So was a little nervous. Absolutely nothing to worry about as I placed my order and paid via Amazon. I was informed via email every step from order to delivery. First class service.
– Tower London Customer
Good service. Accidentally ordered two of the same items and the refund was issued the very next day, along with a nice email confirming the same. Easy to purchase using my Amazon account and prompt delivery with status messages on order and dispatch
– Tower London Customer
Amazon Pay and Tower London are passionate about delivering an omni-channel experience to customers. This shared passion to helping customers find ‘what they want, wherever, and however they want it’ is likely to make this an enduring relationship.
1 Applies only to eligible purchases. Please review this link for details on the A-to-z Guarantee
2 Please review this list to determine the currencies that Amazon Pay supports