Fashion Futures @ Pure London

On Monday 14th February 2011 I went down to the Pure London AW11 buyers exhibition in Earls Court and Kensington Olympia. The event involved trend seminars and catwalks, merchandising tips and eCommerce advice, as well as brands exhibiting their ready to wear collections and accessories to buy.

The exhibit was contemporary and fresh, offering insight into up and coming independents and also giving guidelines and workshops for starting out in fashion retail by some of the key companies in forecasting and media which including Drapers and WGSN.

As a digital planner for drivebusiness, I was interested in attending the ‘How to look good online’ and eTail futures seminars to report back on any emerging trends in this sector.

Key points that were spoken included best practice, obstacles many fashion etailers have had to overcome and consumer engagement.

Pure London - The eCommerce Seminars Part 1

How to Look Good Online: Steve Spear & Paul Lewis

To have a great brand presence online, a retailer needs to mirror the personality and traits of their brands offline by reflecting values, design similarities and tone of voice. Consumers need to understand a retailer’s brand as quickly as possible once they arrive at the homepage of an eStore; otherwise chances are they will leave to shop elsewhere. In a similar way to window shopping, if the consumer likes what they see, they will enter the store and work their way to the products they want. Therefore in the eStore, the homepage needs to act like that shop window, displaying what the brand has to offer but not allowing too many obstacles to slow the consumer’s journey down.

‘Good usability is like good manners, it makes for a pleasant experience’ – Paul Lewis

One of the most important aspects to analyse when planning development of an eStore is the consumer’s perception of the brand. From this the framework of the store can be built so that it includes intelligent navigation, great product pages and a pleasant checkout experience for the consumer.

The best thing to do is get the fundamentals right. Once they are all included, brands can then start thinking about differentiating themselves from the rest by experimenting with design, layouts and content. However, don’t change the fundamental aspects of the eStore if it will give users a less engaging experience. Only break the rules if you are going to do it with confidence.
Paul Lewis’ eCommandments:

- Clear Proposition
- Clear Navigation
- Use Conventions
- Global & Intelligent Navigation
- Don’t Force Registration
- Use The Screen Width
- Large Photos / Limited Fonts
- Keep it Social
- Test Prototypes

Pure London - The eCommerce Seminars Part 2
eCommerce: Tomorrows World : Steve Spear & WGSN

Technology combined with the internet has enabled eCommerce to advance to new heights, and after two decades of life this is only going to continue. Consumers now shop via mobile and tablet devices, which has had a great effect on the buying and research of products. Check in applications now alert consumers to the offers they can take in their surrounding stores via geo location technology, and QR codes allow retailers to inexpensively give out behind the scenes content about their brand on clothing tags, posters and online.

The eCommerce market has grown by 15% each year, which is an important figure considering physical store growth has only been 3%. With this in mind it is clear that retailers need to start embracing technologies in store and online to engage consumers and gain return sales. Retailers can’t be afraid of moving forward with technology, it is essential for them to grow as a brand to gain more awareness and sales.

So what is expected within the next year or so?

Consumers will start to expect WI FI connections in store so they (can) use their mobiles to scan, research, or compare products. Surprisingly, consumers like visiting the website whilst in store so by allowing them to use their mobile or to have a tablet device like an iPad instore, they can share products with friends or save to view at a later date.

Even though mobile applications are good for brands to differentiate themselves over different platforms, consumers will be expecting to browse mCommerce sites on their mobiles rather than having to download applications. Developing a mCommerce site that covers all platforms will be more user friendly then an app that can only be downloaded by a fraction of consumers.

Facebook stores and shopping communities online will be used by many more consumers. Retailers wanting to gain extra revenue will start to use aggregated shops online through one marketplace and group deal e-mail offers will move into apparel.

Thinking Ahead

Retailers need to exploit mobile to their advantage.

The future is personalisation. Consumers will be expecting a more tailor made experience when shopping online.

There are now virtual fitting rooms and customisable mannequins that aim to reduce returns and increase consumer engagement with products online.These are currently very expensive and it is up to a retailer to decide if this type of service is right for them at this point in time. This might be an idea that needs a bit more time to ripen.

Retailers shouldn’t panic about new technologies and services; they should know what is best for their consumers and therefore only produce services for which there is a demand.

Pure London - The eCommerce Seminars Part 3
Presenting your Brand Online: Steve Spear & pod1

When providing an eCommerce store, retailers need to consistently refresh their content through product or editorial to keep consumers interested. The key rule to engagement online is to never make the consumer think too hard. To do this retailers need to find out what the ‘hot spots’ are on their websites as well as knowing who their consumers are and evaluate personas in order to provide the best experience. It is good to track KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for an eStore to see what consumers are really engaging with, whilst highlighting any areas that may need improving or re-analysing.

Retailers should use image and text above the fold to tease consumers into scrolling down the page, signing up for newsletters, and reading the blog to find out more about a brand. Facebook ‘Like’ buttons enable consumers to share and discuss items with people in their social circle, and recommendations provide second opinion information so consumers feel more confident about buying into a product.

The platform a retailer uses for an eStore needs to be flexible and customisable to enable updates and quick changes. The use of subtle and sophisticated detail is what an eStore needs; 360 photography gives consumers a better idea of what a product is like without touching it, and the basket and checkout need to be as seamless and enjoyable as possible.

When thinking about marketing, retailers can have landing pages to save consumers time when searching for specific brand products via Google and SEO gives visibility to a retailer’s brand online even if their eStore isn’t live yet.

To find out more about the Pure London Events visit: http://www.purelondon.com

Image from Pure London Google