Using Bazaarvoice's social commerce platform, French Connection will urge customers to rate products and share reviews with peers, enabling them to make a more informed purchase decision, to reduce the number of returned items.
The insight gained from customer reviews will be used to inform how French Connection presents and describes its products online.
The retailer is also planning to expand its site to allow customers to upload product videos. It will also explore other forms of digital engagement and will launch a fashion-based "mini-series" on YouTube at the end of August.
The CRM activity coincides with the start of French Connection's second ad campaign under the strapline, "The man and the woman" today. Short online films will showcase key pieces from the autumn collection and users will be able to click to buy products featured.
Jennifer Roebuck, French Connection's director of ecommerce and digital marketing, said: "Capitalising on customer enthusiasm can reveal many hidden truths and increase the likelihood of a customer buying online.
For example, in any given season we stock 12 different dress styles and each of those has a different fit. So a customer could find that a size eight works best in one style and a size 10 might be best in another.
"Unlike our high street stores, shoppers don’t have the opportunity to try on an item of clothing before they buy. So giving customers a chance to share those insights post purchase will help others to make a more informed purchase, help reduce the number of returns, and encourage brand loyalty."
