Ace & Tate is proving that a great customer experience doesn’t end when customers checkout. In fact, it’s just getting started.
One of Datitude's team recently purchased a pair of glasses from Ace & Tate and was so impressed with their experience we had to share it. For retailers looking to engage customers more, this is a masterclass in exemplary practice.
From Store to Glasses: Acing the Post-Purchase Customer Experience
1. Seamless In-Store Experience
Ace & Tate had their eye on the details from the moment Sarah stepped into the Brighton store. The store advisor quickly and easily accessed Sarah's customer record through the POS system, including her eye test prescription (completed a few weeks earlier at their Battersea store) and previous purchase history.
In less than an hour, including helpful style and fitting advice, Sarah had chosen and purchased a new pair of glasses. A seamless, personalised experience from the start. Now all Sarah had to do was wait for delivery - whilst no delivery promise was given, ten days was given as a guide.
2. Same Day Order Confirmation with Clarity
An "it's official" order confirmation email arrived swiftly, complete with:
a visual of the chosen frames
key details
a summary of what would happen over the coming days
a link to the order status details in
clear signposting on how to get help.
The email also promoted contact lenses. A neat way to inform customers about other products and upsell.
3. Connecting Emotionally with an Invoice
Ace & Tate's invoice email followed the day after, striking an emotional chord with the phrase “you must be pretty happy”.
It reinforced the positive emotions of the in-store experience and reassured the decision was a good one!
The email included an invoice, attached as PDF, and pre-empted common questions, including prescription queries and how to get help.
4. Reassurance Along the Way
Three days later, a “good news, we’re on it!” email arrived with an update on the order’s progress.
Some might think this email isn’t necessary, but it's important for building confidence in the process; providing an explanation of the time taken from order to dispatch and reinforcing Ace & Tate's commitment to high product quality.
5. Generating Excitement with Delivery
Three days on and another cleverly titled email “get excited” landed to advise the order was on its way. It:
re-confirmed shipping details (whilst customers can choose to pick up their glasses in-store, Sarah opted for delivery, and had changed the delivery address during the process)
included a tracking link
encouraged engagement with the brand on social media.
A masterclass in turning a mundane transactional email into a moment of brand engagement.
The glasses arrived the next day at the correct delivery address.
From store to a pair of new glasses in nine days - ahead of Ace & Tate's estimated timescale of ten days.
Here's Sarah looking very happy wearing her new glasses.
Overall experience? Acing it!
Beyond 20/20: Could anything have been better?
Without a doubt this is a highly impressive post-purchase customer experience. The communications used a fantastic tone of voice: helpful, a little irreverent, consistent and engaging. All emails were titled perfectly, included working tracking links, pre-empted common issues and clearly signposted how to get help.
If there was anything they could do better, two things stand out:
Generic marketing emails: A standard marketing email recommending an eye test was sent just a couple of weeks after purchasing a pair of glasses with a new prescription from an eye test at one of their stores.
This lack of personalisation stood in contrast to the excellent post-purchase communications, highlighting the importance of connected data, a single customer view, and effective use of customer segmentation.
Branded invoices: The invoice format doesn't reflect Ace & Tate's otherwise strong brand identity and is a missed branding opportunity. Even if it is generated from a finance system and needs to contain specific information, small tweaks could quickly turn this from functional to fantastic.
Retailers Take Note: A Blueprint for Best Practice
Ace & Tate’s post-purchase communication isn’t just good - it’s exceptional. Here’s what other retailers can learn:
Be proactive: Pre-empt customer concerns before they become questions
Keep customers in the loop: Regular, well-timed updates create confidence and trust
Inject your brand personality: Even transactional emails can be engaging and on-brand
Make your marketing smarter: Unify data and use a single customer view to personalise experiences
Turn the mundane into a moment: Shipping notifications and invoices don’t have to be boring -use them to surprise, delight, and reinforce brand connection.
Ace & Tate proves that when it comes to customer experience, seeing truly is believing!
About Datitude
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If you need to get more from your data and deliver more customer-centric experiences, talk to us!