Selling Fashion Online

Online product testing - the secret to a winning season

Most merchants do conduct some types of pre-season product testing through their brick-and-mortar stores, It's often to gauge the consumer’s response to appetite for styles, designs, colors, prices and other variables. This gives direction to guide merchants in getting the collection right and to better plan and buy for the season. Ultimately, this would translate into higher sales and profitability while minimizing inventory risks.

The online retail store presents an opportune environment for product testing. Not only can results can be easily quantified and quickly tabulated — often in real-time — but, if you're like most large retailers, the online customer base you're sampling is much larger than the traffic through your largest brick-and-mortar store.

Unfortunately, the online channel is often underutilized for testing and development purposes. Often this is due to the independence or the separation of the product and e-commerce organizations and the fact that merchants are used to conducting product testing in brick-and-mortar stores only.

Merchants such as stevemadden.com and ninewest.com have been actively conducting online product testing through their pre-order program. The largest specialty online apparel retailer such as victoriassecret.com has been previewing some of their key collections much earlier. The lead time gained allows the merchant to better plan their buying and adjust their collections and assortment.

Winning multi-channel retailers understand the strategic value of e-commerce. They don’t just set up an online version of their brick-and-mortar stores. Instead, they utilize the e-commerce channel to unleash the overall growth potential of their brands. Online product testing is just one more example of this thinking.

Online product testing is particularly effective testing key items that would impact a significant percentage of the sales. Variables that merchants might consider testing include:

• Color
• Design
• Material
• Size
• Fit
• Name
• Price
• Image/Photo
• Description/Copy
• Feature color

Product testing involves many different business functions and, as a consequence, can disrupt your existing product development and e-commerce production process and timelines. With most of 2012 still before us — and well ahead of the big fall and holiday seasons — now is the perfect time to build a product-testing protocol within your organization. Establishing a testing protocol and defining key metrics are the most useful tools to ensure you can successfully impact your pre-season planning and buying as well as in-season optimization. 

 

Follow us on Twitter. 

Like us on Facebook. 

Follow us on Linkedin. 

Online merchandising - 12 steps to drive conversion rate

Driving conversion rates is the key challenge of online retailing. But conversion rates remain in the low single digits for the majority of retailers.

It is the conversion rate that ultimately translates into sales, the only real measure of success for any retailer. 

In the brick-and-mortar store, conversion is all about turning shoppers into buyers, in online retailing, it's exactly the same - help shoppers find whatever they're looking for, engage them with your product and brand, and finally, turn them into buyers.

The online merchant can accomplish these goals by taking many of brick-and-mortar's merchandising best practices and adapting them to the online environment. These strategies and tactics include: great assortment and pricing, exciting promotions, comfortable store ambiance, helpful sales associates and more. While they are certainly limits to the online environment, online merchants can successfully implement a wide rage of successful, time-tested brick-and-mortar strategies. 

Almost all retailers today - regardless of their size and market share - have access to some very advanced e-commerce solutions to power their sites. What will distinguish the winning online fashion retailer is their skill at using smart online merchandising practices to drive conversion rates. 

This is what we do at KSL eConsulting, Inc, sharing our core competency and hard-won industry know-how in online merchandising with our retail partners.

For example, the data collected from customer's click-path combined with demographic data and purchasing history can be used to enabled personalized offers. Complete and detailed product information is one distinct advantage to online retailers - copy descriptions can be far more thorough and knowledgeable than the help offered by the average sales associates in the brick-and-mortar world.

Here are 12 steps to optimize conversion rate:

• Start from the numbers. The saying "if you can't measure, you can't manage it" is very true. Review enterprise and web analytics reports to understand what is selling, what is not selling, what is in-stock, what customers are looking for, what is working and what is not working. This will guide the online merchandising agenda and priorities.
• Ensure of the assortment and availability. This is the foundation of retailing. Merchants must have the products that their customers want. This has not changed since the barter system existed. One key reason for customers to shop online is because online is fast and convenient. When you are out of stock, another website is just a click away. Partner with product development, buying and planning to have the right products at the right timing.
• Offer competitive pricing and compelling promotions. Online, customers can easily compare prices by going from one site to another or through shopping comparison sites. This is particularly important when selling third-party brands that are not exclusive to you. And sometimes, shoppers just need that extra nudge of a promotion to make the purchase. Gift with purchase and free shipping are among the proven winners.
• Be the authority to tell your merchandising offers. Take the authoritative and proactive steps to tell customers about your most exciting merchandising offers - whether it is a sale, the hottest trend or a must-have item - and support your offers with a strong call-to-action. Do not wait for the customer to search and dig through the site to find the item. They may not find it.
• Distort to key items and top sellers. Distort and emphasize the key items that you have invested in both the inventory and marketing efforts. Key items typically have a mass appeal that ensures higher conversion rates. As for top-sellers, they are the winners "voted for" by the customers and you will not go wrong by distorting to them. Make the top seller even bigger.
• Optimize on-site search. Half of your shoppers already have in mind what they're shopping for when they come to your site. For this group of customers, it is important to make sure your on-site search function is optimized to your merchandise and guide customers to find what they're looking for. 
• Optimize shopping navigation. The other half of your shoppers - the browsers - are open to being seduced by something that catches their eye and desire. It is important to take the customers through the merchandising funnel and call out the merchandising excitements.
• Optimize search result page. Search result page for a category can consist of many pages. The product that are shown on the top pages are more visible than those on the bottom pages. It is key to distort to the top sellers, key items and new arrivals on the top pages. Either your product sequencing is manually set-up or an automation within the content management system, sales performance, inventory position, price points, newness are among the key factors to be taken into account in sequencing the products. 
• Present your product at its best. When shopping online, shoppers rely on the product photography and copy description to make a purchase decision. In presenting product online, it is crucial to ensure that all critical views of a product are shown and all critical product information is provided.    
• Make it easy to buy. One top reason for shopping online is because of the convenience. Make sure your site is easy to use. Customers have no patience for a site that doesn't work well, has technical problems or just plain bad design.
• Up-sells, cross-sells and impulse-sells. Never leave money on the table. Take the opportunity to up-sell on the product page to drive margins; cross-sell in the shopping cart to drive higher average order value; and impulse-sell at the check-out to drive higher average order value and average item ordered. 
• Fast and secure checkout. Ensure that checkout is fast and secure. Allow customers to checkout as a registered customer or as a guest. Never subject a customer to a required registration - doing so will be a perfect scenario for shopping cart abandonment.

Are you satisfied with your site conversion rates? What are your best practices to drive site conversion rates? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comment section below.

Thanks!

 

Follow us on Twitter. 

Like us on Facebook.

Follow us on Linked-in. 

10 last minute tips to win-at holiday

This year appears to be much the same as last year - the economy is tight and so are the consumer's purse strings. 82 percent of those surveyed by America's Research Group planned to spend less or the same as last year. Therefore, the merchant who fully prepares and optimizes to successfully compete at the holiday season is also more likely to wrap up a successful financial year. 

Ideally, holiday planning should begin in the first quarter - at the very latest, by the second quarter - as this will provide merchants adequate time to plan and implement seasonal merchandising assortments. For merchants who have not started the process yet, it's not too late. Here are the 10 last minutes tips to help you win-at holiday:

• Holiday launch date. Determine the kick-off date for your online holiday season. Most customers begin their holiday shopping starting in October and continuing all the way up to the holiday.
• Site freeze. Prioritize and get the crucial projects going in time for the holiday season. Try to avoid launching major projects around the holiday peak season. 
• Holiday self-purchase merchandise versus holiday gifting merchandise. Product launch cadence is key. Prioritize between "for me" and gifting merchandising as customers tend to buy "for me" first and then for others.  
• Gift cards and e-gift cards. These are particularly effective in capturing demand from customers who shop too late for shipping to guarantee holiday delivery. Promote gift cards throughout the holiday season and emphasize e-gift cards once it is too late to guarantee holiday delivery. 
• Hang up some holly. As in a brick-and-mortar store, online customers expect a store look-and-feel that conveys the holiday experience.  
• Gifting center. Provide customers with an easily located, convenient, and compelling gift center complete with gifting ideas, gift wrap, gift cards and more.
• Holiday services. Provide an easy access to holiday services, especially information on holiday shipping and last-day-to-ship to assist customers in planning their shopping.
• Post-December 25th. Kick-off the liquidation strategy, promote gift card redemption and begin to introduce resort or spring preview.
• Sales and specials. This season, more than ever customers are looking to get more and pay less. Incorporate sales and specially priced merchandise into the holiday offering.
• Social cause events. Tie the holiday season to social cause events that resonate with your customers. Spread the words on your social cause events on Facebook and other social media sites.

If you win-at holiday, you are more likely to win-at the entire financial year. That is how important the holiday season is. So, what do you do to win-at holiday? Please share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

 

Follow us on Twitter. 

Like us on Facebook. 

Follow us on Linkedin.

 

Tactics to deliver the fashion brand voice online

Fashion brand voice is a key to success for most fashion retailers. Through fashion brand voice, J.Crew brings to us preppy American and Victoria’s Secret brings us forever young, sophisticated and sexy. In the brick-and-mortar store, fashion brand voice is communicated through the mix of merchandise, window and store displays, the approach and personal style of sales associates, store ambiance and other, less tangible factors. In the online environment, many retailers are still finding it a challenge to communicate a cohesive fashion brand voice. This creates a gap between the channels: the brick-and-mortar store is perceived to be delivering a richer branded experience, while the online store is seen merely as a cash register.

Selling fashion online needn't be a dry, transactional experience. Successful multi-channel fashion retailers have been able to deliver a rich, branded, cohesive online experience that successfully conveys a fashion brand voice that engages the customers. Here are some of the tactics:

• Fashion and trend features 
• Collection callouts
• Branded style guide 
• Shop by look or by outfitting solution
• Up-sells and cross-sells
• Runway fashion show
• "As seen on" fashion media content
• Editor’s picks
• Other editorial contents

Now, let’s hear from you. What does your brand deliver the fashion brand voice online? How is it working for you? Let’s have your thoughts in the comment section below. Thanks!

 

Follow us on Twitter. 

Like us on Facebook. 

Follow us on Linked-in. 

10 most important merchandising tactics to create a winning homepage

Over the years, many have asked me what is the single most important consideration in merchandising the homepage. My answer has always been: “A clear, consitent, end-to-end branded experience that is right for the company, the brand, and the customers. Here are 10 important things to keep in mind:

1. Call out the value proposition. Clearly state the value proposition of the brand or site, particularly for brands that are less known. If yours isn't a widely known brand, overcome the shopper's understandable caution by giving prominence to guarantees and risk-free returns and exchanges.
2. Provide quick, easy and organized access. Provide customers with key links on the header and footer. Keeping navigation simple avoids the risk needlessly frustrating visitors and potentially losing a customer to a competitor's site.
3. Optimize global navigation. Expand the menu options to include the key departments. Allow the menu to be expanded as necessary to support events such as sales and clearance, holiday gifting and special launches or campaigns.
4. Front-and-center offers and promotions. Call out offers and promotions such as free shipping, gift with purchase (GWP), purchase with purchase (PWP), and others prominently. These are key conversion drivers.
5. Expand on the homepage real estate. Maximize the homepage real estate to support to the key merchandising, marketing, branding and multi-channel initiatives.
6. Merchandise for the broadest appeal. Until you arrive at personalization or one-to-one targeted messages, broaden the merchandising features to include the key categories, products, trends, and other merchandising initiatives to serve all your key segments.
7. Develop compelling copy. Copy must manufacture the intended feelings and create an immediate call-to-action and get users to click on the features.
8. Support the shopper's multi-channel requirements. Not everyone comes to your site to buy—some may be researching a retail purchase. It is crucial to understand what your customer wants to do on your site and design to accommodate the different customer segments.
9. Distortion. The more important a features, the more prominent it should be. A feature's importance for your site could be potential sales, higher margins, number of customer served, cross-channel support, etc.
10. Test, test, and test. It is necessary to conduct on-going version or multivariate testing in order to improve the effectivenessof the homepage.

How do you merchandise on the homepage? Are you satisfied with the homepage? How do you measure your success? What are your best practices? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comment section below.

Thanks! 

 

Follow us on Twitter.

Like us on Facebook. 

Follow us on Linked-in. 

Editorial as a driver of conversion — the new emerging e-commerce paradigm

Attraction is where it all begins. Attraction ultimately leads to conversion and retention. Unfortunately, most retailers are still trying to figure out how to attract the customers online. Traditional offer and promotion tactics have been exhausted. Now, new technologies such as tablet computers, mobile technology and social media are changing how we live and how we shop. These technologies have made it even easier and cheaper for online fashion retailers to create editorial content as never before — and use that content to create attraction. 

Despite which, the majority of today’s fashion website remain dry, transactional, cash-register-like retail websites. This is because fashion websites were first created by cataloguers such as Lands’ End. JCrew and Victoria’s Secret. What do these retailers have in common? The need to create an electronic version of the mail order transaction to lower the cost of doing business.

But things are changing. A new breed of innovative fashion retailers are hiring fashion editors to create editorial, visual, audio, video contents to create attraction, making shopping for fashion online the way it should be — more fun and more social.

The results? Net-a-porter is making a splash with its Magazine, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton with Nowness, and Ralph Lauren with its Style Guide. And that’s to name just a few.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, media publishing companies are becoming retailers. Publishing companies are best at creating the attraction. They are now venturing into e-commerce to drive conversion and retention. Just recently, citing Fishbowlny, Editor-in-Chief of Esquire, told a crowd at the Publishing Business Conference and Expo that the magazine is readying an online retail site called Clad. 

What we are now witnessing is the hybridization of digital publishing media and e-tailing. Publishing company are becoming retailers and retailers are becoming media companies. For consumers, this will make shopping more fun and more social while acquainting them with a much more compelling and more authoritative fashion point-of-view. For the industry, this is how selling fashion online will be going forward.

For brands that are still positioned as online cash registers, it is time to blend editorial content in with your pure merchandising selling — whether merchandise content, fashion-related content or lifestyle content.

Now is the time to test and sort things out is now — because this is evolving at a rapid pace and you can’t afford to miss. Editorial content will soon be the king in selling fashion online.

To succeed, retailers will also need to look beyond the usual metrics of sales and profitability and include media-based metrics.

Now, let’s hear from you. Do you produce editorial content today? How is it working for you? Let’s have your thoughts in the comment section below. Thanks!

 

Follow us on Twitter. 

Like us on Facebook. 

Follow us on Linkedin. 

 

5 winning tactics to optimize shopping navigation

Within a department, shopping navigation is often the most clicked-on section of any pages and is a key conversion driver. Here are 5 winning tactics to optimize shopping navigation:

• Provide clear grouping. Place like categories under the same heading, so customers know what to expect by clicking on each navigational point. For example, petite and tall are grouped under special sizes.

• Avoid jargon. Industry terminology or your internal categories may not be understood by your online shoppers. In this example, the term “social separates” could leave customers scratching their heads, meaning different things to different people. 

• Provide multiple ways to shop. Offer different merchandising entry points such as shop by category, shop by collections and shop by size. 

• Create the merchandising distortion. What is listed on top is often more important than what is listed below, as we tend to read (and we certainly scroll) from top to bottom. 

• Never miss a chance to brand. The names given to your navigational points are a great opportunity to communicate your branding. For example, the word "rugged" is a vivid and brand-appropriate adjective for a retailer specializing in outdoor fashion. 

 

Follow us on Twitter.

Like us on Facebook. 

Follow us on Linkedin. 

This Just In! Are your new arrivals pulling their weight?

Almost every fashion retail Website has a section to house all the new arrivals, often under a heading such as New Arrivals, What’s New, Just Arrived, Just In and many more variations.

New arrivals is one of the most important sections for a fashion retail brand and a fashion retail Website. For fashion merchants, it's important to properly communicate newness for positioning purposes and to drive full-margin sales — especially at the beginning of a season. As for shoppers — people not unlike you and me —we're attracted to and want to know about new fashion, new trends, new silhouettes, new design, new colors and so on. We want to get it fast and hope that merchants will facilitate the process for us.

Unfortunately, most merchants don’t spend the time and effort required to merchandise new arrivals. This is often due to the fact that conversion rates in the new arrivals section is often lower in comparison to sections for product category such as t-shirt, tops, dresses, and, of course, SALE. But merchants need to take a careful look at how they weigh the numbers when evaluating the relative importance and effectiveness of new arrivals.

There are two numbers merchants ought to pay special attention to when it comes to new arrivals. Number one is page views. This measures the interest level among your customers in the newness of your products. Number two is average order value for those who viewed the new arrival section compared to those who did not. Does a visit to new arrivals add to the average spend and overall spending across channel? Do customers visiting a category in new arrivals then make a purchase from the respective category among existing styles? And do customers visit the new arrivals section and then purchase offline?  

The answers to these questions should guide you in term of the effort level required to merchandise your new arrivals section effectively. 

Most merchants expend almost no effort merchandising their new arrivals section. Products are automatically added to and remove from this section based on a set of rules that usually involve a time frame — typically, a week or a month from the date an item is added to the catalogue. And most retailers are content to leave it at just that.

However, newness can be defined deeper to deliver added value and to guide the shopping behavior of your customers. Here are a few merchants who merchandise new arrivals rather effectively — and in ways that are "brand right." 

• Landsend.com – Explains the newness through a custom header in the new arrivals section.

• Apartstye.com – Creates custom content to highlight both new trends and new items.

• Netaporter.com – Clearly distinguishes what is new and back in stock.

• QVC.com – Help repeat shoppers or visitors by differentiating new today, new this week, new this month.

• Victoriassecret.com – Recently added a whole new section called "What’s New." Here, shoppers can find trends reports, video, new products and much more.

There are still retailers who do not merchandise new arrivals. REI, for example, does not. This is certainly an opportunity for the brand to communicate with their outdoor enthusiast customers about new products and new technologies in everything from mountain climbing to hiking and camping.

When you think about shoppers, include yourself. When we shop, we recognize what is new to the fashion world — ankle booties, for example. Clearly, new to the fashion category, new to the season and back in stock are distinctly different things. Merchants must, at the very least, distinguish among them.

The challenge remains for merchants is to properly evaluate the effectiveness of new arrivals and customer’s productivity — not just online but across channels with the entire brand. Until merchants can achieve this sophistication, it will continue to be difficult to justify the investment in deeper merchandising through new arrivals, as well as other merchandising contents and themes.  

 

Follow us on Twitter. 

Like us on Facebook. 

Follow us on Linkedin. 

Use your gift guide to boost holiday conversions - here's how

According to National Retail Federation, holiday sales are expected to improve slightly this year. U.S. consumers plan to spend an average of $688 on holiday-related shopping, compared to about $681 last year. And in Canada, according to a survey conducted by Deloitte, 52% of Canadians said they will spend the same amount as in 2009, 44% planning to spend less and only 4% planning to spend more. With these tough market prospects in front of us, every retailer will have to work as hard as they possibly can to have a successful holiday season.

Even though Black Friday is the official kick-off to the holiday shopping season, for many retailers the holiday shopping season is already in full swing. Once again citing to the National Retail Federation, about 34% of consumers will start shopping in November. And my personal visits to some 50 top retail apparel, footwear and accessories sites in both the U.S. and Canada confirm that all the holiday bells and whistles are up and running on almost every retail site.

We can also expect this year's holiday online shoppers to be more demanding than ever. Not only do they want it fast, easy and secure — they also want on-time delivery and the biggest bang for their bucks. Holiday gift guides are created to meet these expectations. All the most exciting offers, most wanted gifts and the must-know holiday services and information should be easy to find and all in one place. A great guide is built to quickly serve and convert a holiday shopper. 

The multi-channel retailers with a strong catalogue background seem consistently to do it better. So what makes for a winning holiday gift guide? Here are the key features that make a gift guide compelling:

• Free shipping offer. On-trend with customer expectation for free shipping this holiday season.
• Holiday services. Clearly call out the holiday delivery schedule, gift-wrap and wish list services to ensure hassle-free and risk-free shopping.
• Gifts for everyone. Creatively developed gifts for everyone on the shopper's gift list, including home and pets.
• Gift for every budget.  No matter what your budget — under $10 or $25 for the thrifty or $1 million for a fantasy gift.
• Win with the key items. These are the holiday gift choices you'll never get wrong: sweaters, pajamas, slippers, scarves and stocking stuffers.
• Free, free, free! Give customers the biggest bang for their bucks with compelling free gift-with-purchase (GWP), purchase-with-purchase (PWP) or even gift cards to drive repeat visit for post-holiday sales.
• Make me feel special. Creative pricing with 2-for or 3-for to drive volume sales.
• Get social. Get the community to do the selling. Merchandise top-rated gifts voted by the community.
• Personalized gifts. There's nothing more special than a personalized gift — you know it was created just for you. Leverage existing products such as tote bags and stocking stuffers to create memorable personalized products. 
• Gift cards. Remember, this is the one perfect gift for everyone. Promote gift cards everywhere.

Feel like your holiday gift guide is not up to these retailers? You may still have time to fine-tune it and up your game. If you're already locked into your holiday strategy for this year, at least do some looking ahead and prepare to come back even stronger next holiday season. Which other gift guide features do you find compelling? Let’s us hear from you in our comments.

 

Follow us on Twitter.  

Like us on Facebook.

Follow us on Linkedin.

Gift card - are fashion retailers missing the boat?

According to data from Jevelin Strategy & Research, cited by Internet Retailer, online gift card sales in the U.S. will grow at a compound annual rate of 29% over the next several years, hitting $5.86 billion in 2014. The online gift card is expected to be the sweet spot in the overall gift card market. Key reasons for this projected growth are an expected retail sales increase, a growing online penetration rate and a new, more consumer-friendly federal law setting a minimum 5-year expiration date and putting limits on dormancy fees.

In the last few years, smart online retailers have already positioned themselves to take advantage of this market trend by offering electronic gift card. Following on the explosive growth of social media, smart online retailers are also offering gift cards through social media networks such as Facebook. And, most recently, Amazon.com announced a brand new method of allowing customers to send Amazon.com Gift Cards to their friends on Facebook. This has certainly made gift-giving much more compelling and social.

However, a close examination of the major fashion, apparel and footwear retailers in both the U.S. and Canada reveals fashion retailers falling behind the curve compared with their non-fashion retail counterparts. Roots, for example, does not currently offer gift cards online, whereas American Eagle — one of the most advanced fashion retailers — offers both traditional and electronic gift cards as well as mobile gift cards.

In general, the findings show that retailers can be divided into 6 groups:

• Not available. Retailers in this category either do not offer gift cards online or simply do not offer gift cards at all. If they do, customers are typically directed to purchase at a brick-and-mortar store. Roots is one the retailers who does not offer gift card online. The other retailers in this category tend to be smaller retailers.   

• Traditional gift cards. Retailers in this category offer only traditional gift cards that can be mailed to the customer or recipient directly and are often not redeemable online. Coach is another retailer offering only traditional gift cards. The findings show numerous Canadian retailers — Aldo and Pennington’s among them —offering only traditional gift cards .  

• E-gift cards. By far, the majority of retailers offer both traditional and electronic gift cards. The electronic gift card is a great product for customers who need instant gratification, as it can be emailed instantly to the recipient in any amount and personalized with a message or even a design, making the electronic gift card a great product for special occasions, the holiday season and last-minute gifting.  

• Mobile gift cards.  According to some estimates, about two-thirds of the world’s population has mobile phones. That's around 4 billion people.  Smart retailers like American Eagle are among the very few fashion retailers to offer mobile gift cards. 

• Gift cards on social media sites. With a savvy understanding of the social media trends, retailers such as Sears and Starbucks have been offering gift cards to their Facebook fans. This is an untapped opportunity for many fashion retailers.  

• Social gift cards. With its recent announcement, Amazon has shaken the retail world once again by offering a brand new product — a gift card that can be sent directly to one’s Facebook friends. With this offering, Amazon has clearly demonstrated an understanding of the very essence of social media. 

The future of shopping is not just about having a brick-and-mortar store, Web site, mobile commerce or Facebook page — it is about adapting to where, when and how consumers choose to engage with your brand and coming up with products and solutions that work across channels and across platforms. There is certainly an untapped market for online fashion, footwear and accessories retailers in the gift card business.

So, question for discussion — what do you think is holding back our industry compared to their non-fashion retail counterparts? Jump in and share your thoughts in the comments.

 

Like us on Facebook.

Follow us on Twitter.

Follow us on Linkedin.