I read an interesting blog last week concerning swing tickets from a company who spend a lot of time creating beautiful label designs and producing swing tickets for garment manufacturers and leading clothes retailers. These labels are typically sent to the factory manufacturing the garment and attached before being shipped to the retailer ‘pre-priced’ and ready for sale.

The blog did a great job at raising an important issue – how packaging and ticketing can effect sales and that with online retail continuing to dominate the fashion industry, it is becoming more challenging for fashion retailers to offer individuality in an increasingly saturated market.

It also cited some interesting figures, and it’s these numbers that got me really thinking – According to Help Scout (a customer service software provider), 91% of consumers will turn to a competitor if they have an unhappy experience with a retail business. Worryingly, 95% of customers say that damaged or poor quality packaging would negatively impact their perception of a retailer which brings me to my point…

WHY DO FASHION RETAILERS INSIST ON VANDALISING THEIR SWING TICKETS COME SALE TIME?!

Some will suggest it’s to create the sense of a bargain – something cheap, but to me it undoes in a pen-stroke all the hard work that went into creating the ‘Wow’ factor in the first place – in my view it devalues the product, its quality and negatively impacts the brand (both retailer and manufacturer) in the process. Hand writing reduced prices on original (or additional) swing tickets simply doesn’t look professional and in most other retail environments would be seen as an area for exploitation by unscrupulous customers – what’s to stop them writing their own prices on a ticket? I’m sure they already do.

Putting the aesthetics of a defaced ticket to one side for a moment, I also wonder whether  Fashion Retailers are missing other tricks to maximise sales, improve profits and realise the opportunity to up-sell to customers.

With many UK swing tickets including the price in both Euro and Sterling, the ability to adjust prices (to account for currency fluctuation perhaps) or simply to maximise profit potential because the garment has become the ‘must wear thing this season’  is something that never happens because rarely does the retailer have the ability to regenerate swing tickets in-store.

Also, why does the swing ticket have to stop selling once its left the store (or the warehouse for those trading both or solely online)? A smartly placed QR code would enable customers to be directed to accessories or other garments that go with the item the customer has bought and if the retailer chooses, to offer exclusive discounts to encourage up-selling.

Fortunately RMS have a wealth of thought leadership in these matters and a solution to all the challenges above – Print Controller has the ability to regenerate high quality swing ticket labels on-demand, on-brand and in-store. If you really want a hand-written font, then we can do that too and at least then reduced tickets will look consistent making it easier to spot any ‘made up’ prices. With the ability to create unique QR codes for individual garments, you can decide what else you you want to offer the customer even after they have left the store.

To find out more Call: +44 2380 816000 or Email: Print@retail-manager.com.

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