People buying Uniqlo clothing and other merchandise online can now pick up their purchases up at more than 7,000 7-Eleven convenience stores across the country, the Korean unit of the global SPA brand said.
Customers can also return clothing through the stores.
Uniqlo Korea recently launched the “Smart Pick Service,” allowing its shoppers to pick up and return online purchases at stores of one of the nation’s largest convenience store franchises, attracting keen attention from fashion industry analysts.
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The latest delivery service is part of the firm’s online to offline (O2O) strategy to bring greater convenience for online shoppers and remove barriers between online and offline markets.
The Smart Pick Service allows shoppers to pick up their online purchases at the time and location of their choice. Once a purchase is made with Uniqlo’s online store, customers can choose to collect the order at one of the 7-Eleven stores.
If they want to return clothing and other merchandise, they can also drop them off at any store with a purchase receipt, she said.
“For Uniqlo, innovation has been at the heart of its corporate culture when introducing not only products, but also sales and customer service infrastructure,” the spokeswoman said. “Our business strategy has and will continue to reflect this value. We expect the Smart Pick Service and other omni-channel services will bolster our online sales.”
Since opening its first store in Korea in 2005, Uniqlo has changed the way people perceive clothing by offering high-quality products at reasonable prices, she said, stressing it has continued to bring innovative changes to how it conducts business.
“We have been strengthening our digital sales and customer service platforms, and overhauling our business structure amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In this sense, our competitors are no longer H&M, Zara and other SPA brands. They are Google, Amazon and other online giants,” the spokeswoman said.
When most fashion brands were offering their products via multiple, scattered online channels, Uniqlo created an integrated sales platform by launching its online store and mobile app in 2009 and 2013, respectively, the company said.
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In addition, its online store has been offering petite or plus size merchandise, since July 2016, for those having difficulties in finding their sizes at offline stores. It also provides next-day delivery for orders placed before noon the previous day.
Since 2012, Uniqlo has been delivering useful shopping and styling tips to nearly 3 million registered users of its Kakao Talk Plus, one of the most successful digital communication cases in Korea, the company said.
The figure is the highest among the companies using the online messenger service as a communication tool.
(Source: Korean Times )