CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2 MAKING THE MOST OF MULTIPLE CHANNELS
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THE RISE OF SHOPPABLE CONTENT
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PUTTING THE ‘PLAY’ IN DISPLAY ADVERTISING
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PERSONALISING THE USER EXPERIENCE
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MOVING TO MOBILE 11 EXPANDING INTO NEW TERRITORIES 13 A NEW LOOK FOR MEN 14 DIGITAL BEYOND THE WEBSITE 15
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Fashion retailers are now setting rather than following trends in digital commerce. Discover what we think about the top areas of innovation in this exciting industry.
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Fashion consumers are increasingly opting for the efficient option of shopping online, increasingly through a range of devices.
“Fashion has always been a key driver of online sales growth in the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index since it was launched in 2000 – but digital has become so fundamental to the way people shop that the actual story is far more complex than just being about growth. Whereas price used to be the determining factor, customers now increasingly seek out and expect high-quality, cross-channel experiences and increased levels of engagement from brands. Competition in this space continues to increase amid an apparent downturn in online sales revenue.” ANDY MULCAHY EDITOR, IMRG
Fashion works brilliantly in a digital context. Brands and retailers can update stock information more quickly online: helpful where lines change quite frequently. They can make use of (now widely available) design tools to make sure items are presented beautifully and totally ‘on-brand’. The evolution of video for use on ecommerce websites allows shoppers to immerse themselves in products, just as they would in a store – but with more ease, both for themselves and for the retailer. Furthermore, personalising content based on consumer preference is far easier. You can’t lay out a store differently for each person who walks in; this is eminently possible on digital channels. Consumers are not neglecting bricks and mortar stores; rather, they are relying on both online and offline information to make a purchase. With a smarter application of technology at every touch-point, we believe fashion retailers can help consumers discover, compare, purchase, and become advocates for brands in more and more innovative ways.
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Fashion and digital commerce
MAKING THE MOST OF MULTIPLE CHANNELS
All this explains why the clever fashion retailers are not only investing in SEO for their own product pages, but also ensuring that their products reach more consumers by distributing product data to other marketing channels… and making it abundantly easy for users to convert from those channels.
Fashion retailers, arguably more than merchants in other verticals, have benefited from the changes to Google, whereby consumers searching for words and phrases with clear purchase intent (“Red skinny jeans”) are presented with adverts (PLAs) for merchant products, as well as the usual list of web pages that are relevant to the keywords.
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Fashion and digital commerce
With Google Shopping growing in prominence, retailers are looking for new ways to stand out from competitors. Google Promotions Feeds allow brands to highlight special offers and promotions on products in Google Shopping – a great way to revitalise marketing efforts in this popular channel.
Now, Facebook is following Google’s lead, offering dynamic product ads that can showcase a retailer’s entire inventory. With Custom Audience targeting, it will be easier than ever for marketers to send the message to the ideal consumer, rather than casting the net wide and hoping for the best.
“Facebook dynamic product ads create a great opportunity for fashion brands. Two of our high-end retail clients are planning to test Facebook PLAs, as the advanced targeting features mean they can reach their niche audiences with compelling product images in a cost-effective and straightforward way.” AMY WILSON FOUNDER, W DIGITAL
As well as reaching more consumers, making use of more digital channels opens up new means of measuring shopper behaviour. If fashion retailers are savvy, they will be using digital touch-points as a way to collect data on consumers, and further optimise (and personalise) their marketing and sales approach as a result.
“When considering multi-channel marketing, it’s important to ensure you can present products consistently: this can make or break the customer’s digital experience of your fashion brand across channels. Data distribution should be managed from a central source, updating and optimising the data to fit the channels as required. A good tip is to automatically exclude out-of-stock and low-margin products, as these can waste precious PPC budget.” ADRIAN OTENG-OWUSU HEAD OF PRODUCTION, FUSEPUMP
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Fashion and digital commerce
THE RISE OF SHOPPABLE CONTENT One of the main areas where we have seen our fashion clients invest and see strong results is in ‘shoppable content’. Retailers are taking their marketing assets – including the editorial content that appears on-site or in a separate blog – and making them all more sales-focussed. By integrating product information with softer content, they entice readers to spend… and existing customers to spend more.
“The average order value for someone who visits our The Journal is higher than a non-reader. Therefore, we want to make it as easy as possible for consumers to go from content to product to basket, and achieve true content and commerce integration.” MATT POLLINGTON SENIOR PERFORMANCE STRATEGIST, MR PORTER
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Fashion and digital commerce
“Fashion brands frequently use content marketing to reach a wider audience, but are not always taking advantage of this exposure by tying up content with product data feeds to help people buy. Polyvore has been a useful channel for some of our fashion clients, who have been able to reach high-value customers (at every stage in the funnel) who are discovering and sharing fashion products through this community-driven platform.” SAM HODGES HEAD OF MULTI-CHANNEL, FUSEPUMP
Within social media channels, brands can monetise their own content and the content of fans, as Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter talk about introducing a ‘Buy’ button, and new technologies emerge to help brands use Instagram as a commerce tool.
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Fashion and digital commerce
PUTTING THE ‘PLAY’ IN DISPLAY ADVERTISING Fashion marketers are using dynamic data more creatively in display channels, with product-led targeting (or retargeting) that encourages greater levels of engagement and higher conversion rates. Accurate product information is essential within display and retargeting, for numerous reasons. Clicking through to an item with the wrong price can really destroy the user experience, and erode trust in the brand.
“It’s all about using product attributes creatively to tell a story about your brand and your products. Using data feeds and smart design to power display and retargeting adverts does encourage users to click and convert, because they feature key product attributes, accurate data and a clear call-to-action.” OLIVER HARKNESS HEAD OF FUSEPUMP DIGITAL
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Fashion and digital commerce
PERSONALISING THE USER EXPERIENCE Proper personalisation – tying consumer and transactional data with the stock and pricing data surrounding your products, combining that with the right design, layout and user experience, and replicating it for as many consumers as possible – is hard to achieve, but has been shown to generate a 7.8% increase in conversions. Fashion-savvy shoppers in particular will want to feel that they are receiving a personalised or bespoke experience, similar to what they may receive in a shop.
“Personalisation is expected by today’s hyper-connected consumers across every touch-point: in store, on their mobiles, during phone interactions, and in the packages they receive at home. Fashion brands that can unify and use consumer and product data at scale—in real time—will not only succeed at recommending the most relevant item at the right time to consumers, they will inspire engagement and trust over the longer arc of a customer relationship.” MATTHIEU CHOUARD VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL MANAGER, EMEA, RICHRELEVANCE
One way retailers have approached this is with a more creative application of product data, categorising products in more interesting ways. On top of a search function, and the basic filters (colour, gender, size, price) you would expect, fashion sites are presenting quizzes that ask for information about the consumer’s personality or preferences, before recommending products. Asking users to select an occasion, a body shape, a favourite hobby or colour palette allows you to use standard attributes in a more creative way. It’s a good idea to present related products when a user is on a product page, to aid cross-sell and up-sell (shown to make up an average of 10% to 30% of ecommerce revenues). Personalisation should rely on data around margins as well as consumer search trends and buying habits, or you could be missing out…
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Fashion and digital commerce
“One of our clients recently switched the focus of their homepage from jackets to tops, and this was no doubt a large factor in their average basket value dropping 42% in just one week, which of course in turn led to a dip in overall website revenue. Just because we create and optimise search filters it doesn’t mean customers aren’t influenced by what’s presented to them on the homepage. It’s critical to use that space and other on-site merchandising features wisely.” AMY WILSON FOUNDER, W DIGITAL
“Fashion websites often show visitors how to ‘Complete the Look’ – a superb way to take the consumer from the awareness to the purchase stage of the cycle as quickly as possible. However, many don’t realise that these related products and recommendations can be used to improve the customer experience in other channels, if the data is managed and optimised properly. For example, tools like LookBook, apps, and social media widgets can be powered with product feeds containing ‘related’ products, helping with that very valuable up-sell element.” SAM HODGES HEAD OF MULTI-CHANNEL, FUSEPUMP
While high-end brands often struggle to translate the quality instore experience to a consistent but efficient online purchasing experience (something we have explored previously) there are great examples to be found. Last year, Burberry presented Instagram followers with a real-time photo feed during its September London runway shows, and tweeted animated GIFs of scenes from backstage.
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Fashion and digital commerce
MOVING TO MOBILE
Yeah, we know, everyone is using mobile devices. Schuh has told us that 49% of their site visitors come from mobile; a further 21% from tablet – so only 30% are visiting from a desktop computer. But did you know that there are 16% more people using mobiles for fashion purchases than other online retail transactions? It’s clear that mobile isn’t something worth neglecting if you are a fashion marketer. According to L2, 80% of fashion brands now have a mobile site, compared to less than half in 2012. The use of mobile commerce adoption has increased too: 67% of brands have m-commerce capabilities compared to just 55% in 2013.
“In the last 3 months alone, over 15% of fashion shoppers have bought items using a mobile device – mobile devices only account for a quarter of online spend, but a third of online growth. These omni-channel shoppers are also very valuable to retailers: shoppers engaged across devices, on average, spend 50% more on fashion than those that only shop in-store and on PCs” SHWETA PAMULA CLIENT MANAGER, KANTAR WORLDPANEL FASHION
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Fashion and digital commerce
…and niche channels As well as optimising the user experience on mobile and tablet, fashion brands should think about using mobile differently. Start-ups like Grabble are taking the fascination with mobile to a new level, offering a Tinder-style approach to shopping – swipe right if you like it, swipe left if you don’t, and save items to a shopping list for later. In fact, they aspire more to be more of a ‘Spotify for Fashion’, learning more about their customer with every swipe. It has become a go-to place for style-conscious but busy people looking to find fashion at their fingertips, at their convenience.
“People use mobile completely differently: it’s all about user experience over driving conversion in an obvious way. Previously, with web, if you could add hundreds of features on your site to keep the customer there, you were a winner, but on mobile people are comfortable having a number of apps and services that do one function, do it well, make it fast, and keep it simple. Until retailers address this shift in mentality, they will continue to be caught out.” DANIEL MURRAY CO-FOUNDER, GRABBLE
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Fashion and digital commerce
EXPANDING INTO NEW TERRITORIES Another trend we’ve noticed with our fashion clients is their willingness to test new and emerging markets – and how simple this can be when you have a strong online offering. It’s particularly handy in a seasonal industry – you will always see demand for summer clothes if you sell in both hemispheres! Search engines and price comparison sites are popping up all over the world at a local level, offering new opportunities to global and growing brands. Yandex in Russia and Bing in the US are key marketing channels for brands to reach a wider audience. People searching for luxury fashion in Russia, for example, are more likely to use Yandex than Google.
“For fashion brands, as with any online retailer, having control of your product data can make international expansion far easier. We help clients try the marketplaces, CSEs and affiliate networks in any territory – we have on-the-fly translation tools, and we can map categories even from websites that are in multiple languages. The question retailers need to ask themselves is: are you ready to take advantage of new channels quickly? Is your data ready?” SAM HODGES HEAD OF MULTI-CHANNEL, FUSEPUMP
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Fashion and digital commerce
A NEW LOOK FOR MEN Working with top men’s fashion retailer MR PORTER, we’ve seen first-hand how much the marketing of menswear has changed, particularly online. With a harder audience to crack, menswear brands have had to work harder, and appear to now be reaping the rewards. With edgy editorial content, clever ways of segmenting the inventory and the ‘gamification’ of retail (such as Grabble), those reticent male shoppers are coming forward in their droves.
According to the IMRG, menswear sales have grown 264% between January 2011 and December 2014 – while womenswear has seen growth of 87% in the same period.
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Fashion and digital commerce
DIGITAL BEYOND THE WEBSITE Great digital marketing doesn’t have to take place online. Topshop used outdoor adverts with a difference during London fashion week, applying several data sets (including trends on Twitter) to showcase the most relevant Topshop products. Consumers could also engage with the brand on Twitter to receive curated style updates – ready-made outfits rather than individual products.
Virtual reality In a bid to convert more store visitors, retailers have experimented with virtual changing rooms that take the hassle out of trying on items, and virtual mirrors that allow consumers to test clothes or make-up simply by taking a picture. This technology also builds in social sharing functionality (“Check out my new look!” sort of thing), further increasing the reach of the brand. iBeacon technology is being used to reward people for trying on clothes (American Eagle are doing this) connecting real-life actions with loyalty programs to retain customers and increase their lifetime value.
“Wearables” One of the big trends in digital commerce is wearable technology… and this leaves fashion marketers with an interesting proposition. Will the product become the marketing? Can we create digital touch-points in the clothes and accessories we sell to customers?
Adidas has already added Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology to their trainers and NFC technology has also been employed to offer ‘interactive window shopping’, for instance by Ralph Lauren on the windows of Harrods.
Technology itself has become more glamorous: no longer the preserve of geeks, fashionistas are keen to be seen with the latest “it” device – your fancy Apple watch is an accessory in itself.
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Fashion is setting trends in digital commerce, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Net-a-Porter’s founder, Natalie Massenet, told the Evening Standard recently that her company’s aim is: “redefining the fashion media and retail landscape”, adding: “The best way to predict the future of fashion is to create it.” At FusePump, we couldn’t agree more.
TO FIND OUT HOW MORE ABOUT STAYING FASHIONABLE IN DIGITAL COMMERCE, SPEAK TO US TODAY
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