THEfutureBy Paul McGregor

TREND

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THE FUTUREOF ONLINERETAILFOR FASHION BUSINESSES

How we can analyse current trends to plan for the future. Establishing an online presence is critical in todays market, and today I’m going to highlight some future trends to consider.

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ABOUT ME

WHO ARE YOU?Do you own an online business? Do you own a bricks and mortar store? Do you prefer to shop online or do you prefer to shop at the highstreet? On average how long would you say you spend a day online?

• I FOUNDED THE ONLINE RETAILER BRIGHTERMAN.COM BACK IN 2009

• I’M A FREELANCE FASHION JOURNALIST, WRITING FOR VARIOUS ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

• I ESTABLISHED MFM BACK IN 2010, THE ONLINE FASHION MAGAZINE FOR MEN

• I’VE CONSULTED VARIOUS ONLINE RETAILERS REGARDING BUILDING AN ONLINE PRESENCE

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DEFINING THE FUTUREWhat I suggest within this presentation are only viewpoints generated from the following:

STATISTICS ON PAST GROWTH

CURRENT RISING TRENDS

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3 TESTS INTO THE WAY WE REACT

- How online retail has grown over a certain amount of time

- Which trends are arising in todays climate?- What can we analyse from these trends?

- How does the average person like to shop online TODAY?- Buying behaviours

PLEASE SIGN HERE ………………………………….What I suggest today has a good chance of becoming

the future of online retail. But if I could predict the EXACT future, I’d be on a beach right now…

JoeBloggs

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THE PAST

PAST GROWTHHow has online retail changed in the past 10 years?

People never used trust BUYING online. Today, technology and banking security measures have allowed us to trust shopping online

£49bn was spent online in Britain in 2009. According to the latest IMRG Capgemini eRetail Sales Index, British online shoppers spent £68bn in 2011.

In 2000, I played Snake 2 on my Nokia 3310… Today I can buy anything online using my smartphone.

Technology advancements and the increase in security measures has meant that the growth of online retail has increased dramatically.

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DEALING WITH FUTURE CHANGESYou only need to look at the growth in the past 5 years to discover how quick time is changing. WE NEED TO:

CONSISTENCYAHEA

DDon’t wait for future growth, THINK AHEAD and act upon it

Become an innovator and create the next trend. Implement technology into your online store which will attract an online buzz…

Be A Trendsetter

ACT NOW

THINKKeep your USP consistent across every platform. Portray the same message…

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InnovationA new method, idea, product: "technological innovations".

YOUR MESSAG

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DEALING WITH FUTURE CHANGESAs a new online trend arises, or a social media platform gains popularity it’s important to keep the same message. Don’t change the way your brand or retailer is viewed across a wide range of platforms. Keep the message your brand/retailer portrays consistent…

SPREAD ACROSS MULTIPLE PLATFORMS

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WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING ON STEROIDS

SOCIAL INTERACTION

Interact with customers via Social Media. More retailers are embedding social media buttons and realising the importance of social interaction…

Think about traditional word of mouth marketing and how you can establish that through online platforms. Create competitions on social media platforms, offer benefits to customers who share their experience online and make it easy for them to share your site.

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BRAND OUT

Technology

Yoursite

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Web Presence

USP

Get Specific

Implement technology which will make your retailer stand out. Virtual Fitting Rooms, Augmented Reality, and Personalised Suggestions are all options.

How you market yourself online plays a huge part in standing out. Think outside the box and create a unique online marketing plan. Social Interaction, Online Video Personal Branding and Collaborations are all options.

What’s the one thing that makes your online retailer different from your competitors around you? Cheaper prices? Unique product ranges? Fast delivery? Define your USP and spread that message across multiple social platforms…

In todays market competition online is huge. It’s not as easy as creating an online store, launching it and receiving sales. Narrow your market and get specific with what you sell. If your product inventory is large, narrow it down and target one category in particular…

PERSONAL BRANDING VS COMPANY BRANDING

JEREMY HACKETT

Owner of Hackett London, runs the blog JeremyHackett.com – Regularly attends Hackett Press Days and has an Ask Jeremy section built into Hackett’s website. Calls himself Mr Classic…

HACKETT LONDON

A brand known worldwide, with a reputation for quality luxury designer clothing for men. Founded in 1983 Hackett London now has over 70 stores worldwide and has a strong online presence.

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HOW CAN WE ESTABLISH A PERSONAL BRAND AND WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

Personal branding is going to become a main focus in the future, as we tackle information overload.

PERSONALBRANDING

Consumers react better to a personal story rather than a company story. A personal brand which is seen as an expert within a specific field will have more authority over consumers than a company brand. People like to get personal, and they react a lot better to a personal story or recommendation than a company story or recommendation.

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TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENTS NOW ALLOW CONSUMERS TO SHOP VIA THEIR MOBILES…Online holiday shopping in 2011 showed substantial growth in mobile shopping activity, with both traffic and sales on mobile devices more than doubling their volume over the same period a year earlier, according to research from IBM. During the holiday shopping season, 14.6 percent of all online sessions on a retailer’s site were initiated from a mobile device (up from 5.6 percent the year before), and sales from mobile devices reached 11 percent versus 5.5 percent in December 2010. Clearly, more consumers are becoming comfortable shopping and buying from retailer web sites using their smartphones…

STILL HASN’T REACHED IT’S FULL POTENTIAL… the total time online via a mobile device already exceeds the amount of time spent online via traditional desktops and laptops.  This is largely because the web browsing capabilities of mobile devices and mobile apps have improved dramatically over the last few years.

MOBILE

1. One-Click Checkout: As exemplified by Amazon, nothing beats the one-click checkout experience for online shoppers. The more steps we put between the consumer and the final transaction, the more we risk them dropping off (which, many times means the consumer never returns). 

CAPTURE THE M-COMMERCEOPPORTUNITY

2. Mobile Security: Security is an issue whether you’re shopping online using a laptop computer or a mobile phone. However, consumers are more likely to lose a mobile phone than a laptop or desktop and they are less likely to have password protected the phone than the laptop or desktop. Consumers need to know that if they lose their phone or it gets stolen, their credit card information is secure. 3. Websites that are fully optimized for the mobile shopping experience: If a consumer has to pan around, pinch and expand things in order to make a purchase, they’re likely not going to do it. Without a site and shopping experience that’s fully optimized for mobile, retailers risk losing the consumers who are shopping on their phones. The average consumer prefers to shop via a retailer’s m-commerce site than their downloadable APP.

It’s a proven fact that more time is spent browsing the internet via a mobile device than a computer. The real opportunity for us as retailers is in converting those browsers – who are growing by the day – into purchasers. Here’s some KEY tips on how to capture the m-commerce opportunity…

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THE WAY WE SHOP ONLINE IS CHANGING, AND IT’S IMPORTANT US AS RETAILERS ACT ON THIS.As retailers it’s expensive to keep adapting to technology changes. Creating branded Apps cost, developing mobile sites cost and enhancing our websites cost. Consumers like speed, and it’s important that we focus on technology which has already advanced. Monitor the market and monitor buying behaviors of consumers, and invest money in leveraging the correct digital platforms…

Consumers today are able to connect online and engage with retailers through multiple Digital Platforms.

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DELIVERY SPEEDSTrust for delivery has increased, and delivery speeds are A LOT faster! Consumers will be more receptive to online shopping when Delivery becomes Instant or Same Day…

GUARANTEESIf you can offer fast, cost-effective delivery with a simple and fast return policy why wouldn’t we shop online? If I can order a blazer from a website in the morning, and receive it in the afternoon how could I complain

INSTORE

PICKUP

SAME DAYDELIVERY

INTERNATIONALDELIVERY

Already something we’ve seen implemented by larger corporations. Delivery online can be picked up in your local store and some retailers goes the step further bringing your goods out to your car. Pick Up depots will allow smaller retailers to allow in store pick up.

For a more expensive price we can guarantee next day delivery in todays market, which is trackable by the customer. But will delivery times improve yet again offering same day delivery? A variety of third party distribution centers may make this available to smaller retailers

“There’s been an accelerating trend in international or cross border e commerce, and smaller niche online retailers are now doing 10-20% of their sales outside of their own country”. Other big name retailers like Zara and Top Shop are building out their online business to reach International shoppers, even as the store base grows more slowly.

VIDEOVideo is becoming better received by consumers than photographs. High speed online streaming and the ability for anyone to make high quality videos means Video is something we should all be looking to. User-generated videos is something which we’re seeing on retail sites. Retailers are letting customers upload video clips modelling new clothes or using a new purchase. Rewards can be offered for customer reviews via video, uploaded to the product page.

YouTube is the third most popular website online and is seen as the second largest, search engine. Video’s can be easily generated via a smartphone or an affordable camera and should defiantly be something you look to utilise into your online business…

Video Strategies:

• Product Videos - Asos• How-To Videos • Brand Marketing – Blendtec• Internal Communications• User-Generated Product Reviews• Video Reviews - Zappos• Customer Service Videos – Google

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TECHNOLOGY IN THE FUTURE

Augmented Reality

Personalised Shopping

BodyMap Technology

Augmented Reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment (such as a camera on a mobile phone) whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. Due to recent innovations in scanning technology, real objects and people can now be scanned and placed into AR apps. This gives the ability to have, for example, three dimensional images of objects placed into a room or on a person. Watch This

It’s as simple as asking the customer a series of questions and offering product recommendations related to their answers. A LOT of websites are embedding personalised results, and trying to gather data on what customers like to wear. This works great for retailers which a large amount of products, and gives the user a “personal shopping experience”. – Sites like StylistPick use personalised shopping as a USP.

Bodymap technology is similar to Augmented Reality. Bodymetrics new technology lets customers virtually try on internet purchases to ensure satisfaction and minimize returns. StyleGun have just launched with a feature including BodyMap technology.

Technology will improve the way we shop online, and implementing technology into our retailers can offer a unique experience to the consumers. Here’s some advancements in technology taking the fashion world by storm…

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LESS FLASH, MORE FUNCTION

IMPLEMENT TESTED TECHNOLOGY BUT KEEP THE CONSUMER EXPIERENCE SIMPLE…

Flashy features on site are GREAT if implemented well. If they slow down your site, and draw attention away from purchasing they’re not worth it. Focus on creating an online retailer which is based upon function, easy to use and quick to purchase…

Consumers are busy people. Us as retailers need to keep things as simple as possible. It needs to be easy as 1,2,3 – Browse, Purchase and Receive. As quick and efficient as the online world allows us…

BROWSE

PURCHASE

RECEIVE

ONLINE AUTHORITIESThe internet now allows anyone to create an authority and hold an influence on a huge number of people. Celebrity endorsements used to be the only way to get people with a huge authority over people to promote your product or business, and this method tended to be expensive and hard to achieve. The internet has opened up a new way to target online authorities, and create a celebrity status for ourselves…

Online Endorsements

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Creating A Celebrity StatusBlogs and the ability to create content for the internet allow us to express our opinions to a wide audience – BryanBoy, Lookbook.nu, Aaron Marino

The above can be reversed engineered. The internet allows people to create an online celebrity status, and us as retailers can target these people to promote our products or business. More online platforms will be created which allow people to express their opinions or share their interests, creating a personal brand.

LOOKBOOK.NU CHICTOPIA YOUTUBE TWITTER BLOGGERS

THINGS TO LOOK FOR…• Daily Deals and Flash Sales - This may seem like a very

crowded playing field, but sites offering daily deals and flash sales are reproducing at a furious pace. Product comparisons can be made easily online in todays market, so making sure product prices are competitive and you stock unique products are hugely important…• Retail Based Social Networks - This is one trend experts don’t expect to happen at any large level but is defiantly something to monitor. A lot of retailers are looking to build a social network of its own. Facebook really owns this space in todays market, but it can be achieved if you keep it specific. ASOS have launched Fashion Finder, which allows users to interact, post looks and create outfits along with sell personal goods. • Strive To Stand Out – The online market is getting larger, and competition is getting vast. In the future it’s going to be more and more important for online retailers to offer something special to stand out. Whether that’s going the extra step when it comes to Customer Service, Unique Products or created a unique feature on your retailer website it’s important to go that step further. Creating a typical retailer, with nothing which makes it stand out from the rest will simply not be good enough in a few years time… 19

CONCLUSION• Personal Branding – Consumers will continue to respond better to personalitys

and personal stories than company branding…

• Mobile Technology – More and more people are browsing via a mobile, it’s time we caught up and offered an online retailer perfect for m-commerce…

• On Site Technology – Augmented Reality, Personalised Shopping, BodyMap Technology and Social Interaction are all options to improve the online shopping experience. Until on site technology can be implemented smoothly, focus on function over flashy features… • Brand Out From The Crowd – Online competition is extremely competitive within the fashion industry. Focus on getting specific, creating a USP, and offering some different.. • Innovation – In the future we’re going to see a rise of new innovative ideas such as social networking sites, and ways to market your business online. Define a message for your retailer which separates your brand from the rest and spread it across multiple platforms…

• Delivery Speeds – Cutting down delivery times will dramatically enhance the online shopping experience…

• Online Authorities –The internet has multiple platforms where anyone can share their interests or opinions to a worldwide audience. We’re seeing a huge rise of online celebrities and targeting online authorities within the fashion industry is a great way of creating a web presence.

• Video – Photographs are always good but video is being preferred by consumers. Look to implement product review videos, viral videos, how to videos and customer service videos onto your retailer.

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