For Impressions Customers, Everyday is Payday Thanks to Zip’s Buy Now, Pay Later Platform
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About Impressions
Impressions Online Boutique is a labor of love, literally: the brand was founded in 2012 by owner Ashley Milliren, whose husband Matt Milliren now serves as its Director of Operations. With an aesthetic of “everyday chic fashion with a southern flair,” the husband-wife team jokes that the boutique has become a fourth child to them (alongside their three human kids!).
Since 2012, Impressions has expanded from its original brick-and-mortar location to serve a larger eCommerce audience, focusing on high-quality photography and compelling product imagery that resonates with customers. The brand offers competitive pricing and free shipping in the U.S. on every order.
The Challenge
Among Impressions’ unique benefits is its personalized approach. Customers often come to the brand seeking a simple recommendation, such as a pair of shoes to go with a top they own.
To accommodate these requests, the boutique offers complete styled looks and suggested pairings on its eCommerce website. However, the brand ran into some friction in the sales process for customers who came looking for one item and ended up with a complete styled look at a higher price point.
An interesting pattern emerged: the brand noticed a consistent uptick in sales on Thursdays and Fridays, even with no day-to-day changes to the brand’s marketing strategy. Because the brand’s products tend to fall in the category of “treat yourself” rather than essentials, customers were waiting until payday to take the plunge on items they’d been eyeing.
The Solution
Already familiar with the concept of buy now, pay later as a consumer, Matt Milliren realized that Impressions could leverage this payment model to encourage customers to invest in its styled looks.
Zip emerged as the clear buy now, pay later frontrunner based on the team’s communicative approach and the ease of integration with Impressions’ Shopify eCommerce platform. The partnership kicked off in October 2018.
“Our IT team handled the integration, and it took about 30 minutes for them to add the Zip code into our Shopify platform and get it live as an available checkout option,” says Matt Milliren. “The whole process was a painless blip on the radar.”
The Results
Since the integration, Impressions has seen an overwhelmingly positive response from shoppers. “We’ve received multiple phone calls and emails from customers who love the option to buy now and pay later,” Matt Milliren attests.
Notably, sales levelled off day to day after Zip was introduced as a payment option on the brand’s website. It seemed that customers who would otherwise wait until payday to make a larger purchase were now taking the plunge immediately.
The numbers support this theory: Impressions has enjoyed a 34% lift in average order value for purchases made with Zip versus its other payment options, and Zip now represents 20% of all orders made on the Impressions eCommerce site. The Zip repeat customer rate is 50%, showing just how much buy now, pay later is resonating with the brand’s customer base.
“We’ve been really happy with the Zip partnership. It’s been a positive relationship and we’re looking forward to continuing to grow our business together.”
Matt Milliren, Director of Operations
Impressions has also benefited from a close relationship with the Zip team. When it comes to the less glamorous aspects of running a retail business, such as chargebacks and financial reporting, the Impressions team reports that Zip has been responsive to their feedback and has tirelessly worked to optimize every aspect of the partnership.
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