Brand reputation in ecommerce: Why it matters more now than ever
Corinne D'Andria
·December 19, 2025
If you’re trying to win over customers from your competitors this peak season, you won’t do it by slashing your prices. That’s a race to the bottom, and you’ll just end up bleeding your profit margins dry.
Instead, focus on a metric that will stand the test of time: your brand reputation.
Before shoppers are willing to get out their credit cards, they’re more than likely to Google you, or ask ChatGPT how you compare to other options. And if they don’t like what they see, that’s the end of the line.
Negative customer reviews, TikTok videos, Instagram reels, and Reddit posts can cause untold damage to your business. They can turn away new prospects and erode trust among existing customers, hurting your retention rates. In fact, one study found that a single less-than-stellar review (3 stars or under) led to a decrease in purchase probability of over 51%.
So how can you build a brand reputation that wins customers over instead of turning them away? Delivering a superior customer journey is crucial.
Let’s explore how best-in-class brands can build compelling customer journeys that result in five-star reviews that increase conversions and boost customer loyalty for the long haul.
Focus on clear, transparent communication
Before a shopper places an order, they need to know that they can trust your brand. That means it’s critical to set clear expectations up front – around product quality and sizing info, shipping timelines, and delivery costs – and stand by them.
Here’s how some top brands do it:
In-depth product pages
Latico Leathers, a purveyor of full-grain leather purses, totes, and wallets, provides detailed landing pages for each item that give their shoppers an up-close glimpse at the products, with photography from multiple angles, product specs, and videos showing the products in motion. They also include a section for user-generated content and reviews, which features star ratings, written content, and photos of the bags and wallets in the customer’s own environment – making it easier for shoppers to get a sense of how each product would fit in their own daily life. Each page also features a “You May Also Like” section that includes recommendations for other products, making it more likely that shoppers will increase their order value through upsells.
Branded order tracking
CurrentBody, an online retailer for LED therapy and other beauty tech, gives its shoppers peace of mind around their orders with real-time order tracking. When checking out, shoppers receive a “get it by” date for their product, ensuring that they know when to expect their order. From there, they’ll receive regular order tracking updates over email and SMS, including proactive updates in case of any shipping delays.
This transparent approach to communication around deliveries has helped the brand reduce “where’s my order?” customer support inquiries by 83% – and increase its order shipping tracking accuracy to nearly 100%.
By giving shoppers accurate information around order tracking and delivery status through automated messaging, CurrentBody can relieve anxiety around deliveries in progress without draining customer support resources that should be committed to higher-level inquiries. Branded order tracking keeps customer engagement high during the period of time before your shopper receives their product – and can even lead to upsells from the order tracking page.
Curb policy abuse without hurting the customer experience
Brands lose thousands of dollars each year due to returns fraud and abusive practices like bracketing or wardrobing. But by making your returns policies too stringent, you’ll alienate good customers who appreciate flexibility around product returns.
How can you strike the right balance to deliver a best-in-class experience without hurting your profit margins?
Use smart fraud detection
Loop Intelligence draws from data from over 30M customers to detect key indicators of potential returns fraud – helping you monitor for fraud in all your returns transactions, and halt approvals of suspicious returns. These fraud tools empower your brand to set up controls for fraud without introducing friction for your honest customers, and help you preserve profits that you’d otherwise lose to abuse: Our tools catch $87 of every $100 in fraud attempts.
"Loop’s fraud tools have been super helpful and we have been utilizing them daily,”
Says Joe D’Alesio, Head of Shipping Operations and Customer Experience at GORUCK. The tools help GORUCK preserve thousands in otherwise-lost profits each month.
Set up customized returns workflows
Returns don’t always fit the same model – and it’s important to set up customized returns policies that help you retain the full value of your returned items, so they don’t end up in landfills.
By using Loop’s Workflows to build segmented returns policies that can apply to particular product categories or sales events, you’ll be able to safeguard your profit margins. For instance, swimwear and intimates may require a more stringent returns process (hygiene strip still intact, manual inspection required) compared to your other items – or if an item is marked as final sale, you can eliminate it from your returns workflow entirely. Workout apparel brand Vitality was able to use Workflows to set different returns criteria for a sales event, marking specific items as final sale – which saved their customer support team time on responding to non-eligible return requests.
Give your shoppers more options
A great customer journey doesn’t force your shoppers down a single path – it gives them choices about where to go based on their own unique needs.
After making a purchase, if the customer isn’t happy with their item, they should be able to return it easily, no questions asked – but they should also be able to exchange one item for another just as painlessly, even if it’s a different price or item category.
Loop’s Instant Exchange and Shop Now & Later features empower your shoppers to choose the right next step on their own buyers’ journeys. Rather than simply issuing a refund, you’ll be able to help your shoppers exchange an item that doesn’t work for them for one that does – helping you generate upsell revenue and driving higher customer loyalty rates.
At active gear company DUER, the brand has transformed its returns process with these features. After switching from a manual returns process, they’ve been able to retain 36% of their revenue via exchanges and store credit – capturing over $80,000 in upsell revenue from shoppers who opt for more expensive items.
Build your brand reputation with a great CX
By building automation, flexibility, and transparency into your customer journey, you’ll be able to curb the common hassles associated with the online shopping experience – resulting in a superior experience that will win your brand glowing reviews from your shoppers.
With a great brand reputation to back you up, you’ll be able to generate more trust, command higher prices, and build a business that will be around for the long haul.
Ready to learn how Loop can help drive repeat purchases and improve your brand's reputation? Get in touch!
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