How Jones Road Beauty partnered with Loop to retain over $3.1M in a challenging market

Learn more about Jones Road Beauty:

Jones Road was founded by makeup artist Bobbi Brown on the philosophy that the world doesn’t need more beauty products. It needs better beauty products. Clean, strategic, high-grade formulations that work on every skin type and tone—and that are as simple to use as they are to master. Jones Road is a lifetime of beauty knowledge, distilled.

The manual challenge

For direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, particularly those in the beauty industry, the online shopping experience hinges on trust and ease. Customers purchasing makeup online often face uncertainty about color matches and product suitability. For Jones Road Beauty, a brand built on simplifying beauty with high-quality, clean ingredients, providing a seamless post-purchase experience is paramount to fostering brand loyalty and driving sustainable growth. Recognizing the limitations of manual return processes as their order volume surged, Jones Road Beauty partnered with Loop in April 2021 to reimagine their returns management as a conversion tool, all while elevating their customer experience.

"Before Loop, everything was manual," explains Cody Plofker, CEO of Jones Road Beauty. "As our order volume grew, our team was handling a significant number of 'where's my order?' inquiries and manual returns. We needed a solution that could automate the process, offer a fantastic user experience for our customers, and ultimately free up our team's valuable time."

The search for a robust returns management solution led Jones Road Beauty to Loop, a platform known for its customer-centric approach and powerful features. "We want to work with the best of the best," states Plofker. "Loop stood out as an industry-leading tool with a great team that we knew would support our growth."

Almost four years into the partnership, the impact of Loop on Jones Road Beauty's operations and customer satisfaction is undeniable. Since implementation, Jones Road Beauty has automated processing for over 208,715 returns, transforming a potentially cumbersome process into a strategic advantage.

Retaining Revenue and Cultivating Loyalty

A key objective for Jones Road Beauty was to not only streamline returns but also retain revenue and encourage product discovery. Loop's advanced exchange capabilities and the "Shop Now" in-app feature have proven instrumental in achieving this. By offering customers the option to instantly exchange items for different shades or products directly within the return flow, Jones Road Beauty has successfully retained $3,119,613 in revenue to date.

Furthermore, Loop has become a powerful engine for new revenue generation. The seamless exchange process and the ability for customers to explore other offerings have resulted in $197,200 in new revenue since the partnership began. This highlights how a well-managed returns process can become an integral part of the customer journey, fostering further engagement and purchases.

Elevating Customer Experience in a Challenging Market

In today's turbulent economic landscape, Jones Road Beauty acknowledges the increasing challenges of customer acquisition and retention. Providing a superior customer experience becomes even more critical. Loop plays a vital role in bolstering customer confidence and mitigating the risk associated with online makeup purchases. "Loop makes our return process really easy, and that's incredibly important to us," Plofker emphasizes. "We've tested this extensively, and clearly communicating our free and easy returns has made a significant positive impact on conversion rates."

By highlighting the ease of returns and showcasing positive customer testimonials, Jones Road Beauty leverages Loop as a trust-building tool. "Most people shopping for makeup in person normally take a little bit of a risk when shopping online. Loop helps us de-risk that and ensures the return process is super smooth," says Plofker. "We've seen large increases in conversion anytime we've actually called out how easy it is and shown quotes and testimonies. It's definitely really important to us to provide a seamless return experience to give customers the trust, especially in this really hard macroeconomic environment where it's a lot harder to fork over cash. We have to do everything we can to help make it a good experience and help customers feel confident in doing so."

But don’t just take it from us: Jones Road Beauty has an outstanding return CSAT average of 4.87/5. Customers note the ease of returns as one of the primary reasons they continue to shop with Jones Road Beauty:

• “The return was a breeze! I will buy more from Jones Road confidently.”
• ‘Thank you so much for taking my return with such ease, it makes me appreciate your company even more and I will shop for something else, besides just the [foundation].”
• “I am so impressed with my first interaction with Jones Road...I am eager to get [the] right products and continue buying from your company. Thank You sooo much for the ease of finding the right shade and your return policy.”
• “Amazing! This process is unbelievably simple (and you guys are very gracious!)"
• Thank you so much for making this so easy! I can’t wait to get my WTF!!!”

Beyond Returns: A Comprehensive Solution

Loop's value extends beyond simple returns and exchanges. Jones Road Beauty leverages a suite of features to optimize their post-purchase operations:

• Fraud Tool: Protecting their bottom line, Loop's fraud detection capabilities have identified and mitigated 182 confirmed fraud cases, saving the company approximately $35,501.
• Workflows: Automating various return scenarios and actions, streamlining internal processes and improving efficiency.
  • To mitigate fraud, Jones Road Beauty set up a workflow to flag return count > 9 for manual review
  • Or, if a customer has returned 3+ times, limiting them to Store Credit and Exchange outcomes to reduce loss
• Ship by Loop Worldwide: Facilitating international returns, expanding their reach while maintaining a consistent customer experience.
• Seamless Integrations: Connecting with other key platforms like Klaviyo and Attentive for enhanced communication, Shipbob for efficient logistics, Recharge for subscription management, and Gorgias for unified customer support.

When asked what advice he would give to someone considering Loop, Plofker's response is clear and concise: "If you look at almost every large D2C brand, they use Loop and there’s no comparable experience."

Looking Ahead

As Jones Road Beauty continues to navigate the evolving market, their partnership with Loop remains a strategic asset. By prioritizing a seamless and customer-centric returns experience, powered by Loop's innovative features, Jones Road Beauty is not only retaining revenue but also building stronger customer relationships and fostering long-term loyalty.