2. THE FUTURE
OF ONLINE
RETAIL
FOR 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.
1
3. ABOUT ME
• 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
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?
2
4. DEFINING THE FUTURE
What I suggest within this presentation are only viewpoints generated from
the following:
1 STATISTICS ON PAST GROWTH
- How online retail has grown over a certain amount of time
2 CURRENT RISING TRENDS
- Which trends are arising in todays climate?
- What can we analyse from these trends?
3 TESTS INTO THE WAY WE REACT
- How does the average person like to shop online TODAY?
- Buying behaviours
JoeBloggs
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 3
beach right now…
5. THE PAST
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
PAST GROWTH spent £68bn in 2011.
How has online
retail changed in In 2000, I played Snake 2 on my Nokia
the past 10 years? 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.
4
6. DEALING WITH FUTURE CHANGES
You only need to look at the growth in the past 5 years to discover how
quick time is changing. WE NEED TO:
THINK CONSISTENCY
AHEAD Keep your USP
Don’t wait for consistent across every
ACT
future growth,
THINK AHEAD
and act upon it
platform. Portray the
same message… NOW
Be A Trendsetter
Become an innovator and create the next trend. Implement
technology into your online store which will attract an online
buzz…
5
7. Innovation
A new method, idea, product: "technological innovations".
SPREAD ACROSS
YOUR * MULTIPLE PLATFORMS
MESSAGE
DEALING WITH FUTURE CHANGES
As 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…
6
8. SOCIAL INTERACTION
WORD OF MOUTH
MARKETING ON
STEROIDS
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. 7
9. BRAND OUT 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
Technology and Collaborations are all options.
Implement technology which will
Web Presence
make your retailer stand out. Virtual
Fitting Rooms, Augmented
Reality, and Personalised Suggestions
*
are all options.
Yoursite
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
Get Specific 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 USP
with what you sell. If your product inventory is
large, narrow it down and target one category in
particular…
8
10. PERSONAL BRANDING VS
COMPANY BRANDING
JEREMY HACKETT HACKETT LONDON
Owner of Hackett A brand known
London, runs the blog worldwide, with a reputation
JeremyHackett.com – for quality luxury designer
Regularly attends Hackett clothing for men. Founded in
Press Days and has an Ask 1983 Hackett London now
Jeremy section built into has over 70 stores worldwide
Hackett’s website. Calls and has a strong online
himself Mr Classic… presence.
9
11. PERSONAL
BRANDING
Personal branding is
going to become a main
focus in the future, as we
tackle information
overload.
HOW CAN WE ESTABLISH A PERSONAL BRAND AND
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
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.
10
12. MOBILE
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.
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…
11
13. CAPTURE THE M-COMMERCE
OPPORTUNITY
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…
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).
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.
12
14. Consumers today are able to connect online and engage with retailers
through multiple Digital Platforms.
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…
13
15. DELIVERY SPEEDS
Trust 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…
Already something we’ve seen implemented by larger corporations.
IN 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
STORE depots will allow smaller retailers to allow in store pick up.
PICKUP
For a more expensive price we can guarantee next day delivery in
todays market, which is trackable by the customer. But will delivery
SAME DAY times improve yet again offering same day delivery? A variety of third
DELIVERY 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
INTERNATIONAL now doing 10-20% of their sales outside of their own
country”. Other big name retailers like Zara and Top Shop are
DELIVERY building out their online business to reach International
shoppers, even as the store base grows more slowly.
GUARANTEES
If 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
14
morning, and receive it in the afternoon how could I complain
16. VIDEO
Video 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.
Video Strategies:
• Product Videos - Asos
• How-To Videos
• Brand Marketing – Blendtec
• Internal Communications
• User-Generated Product Reviews
• Video Reviews - Zappos
• Customer Service Videos – Google
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…
15
17. TECHNOLOGY IN THE
FUTURE
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…
Personalised Shopping
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 BodyMap Technology
a USP.
Augmented Reality Bodymap technology is similar to
Augmented Reality. Bodymetrics new
Augmented Reality (AR) is a term for a live
technology lets customers virtually try on
direct or indirect view of a physical, real-
internet purchases to ensure satisfaction
world environment (such as a camera on a
and minimize returns. StyleGun have just
mobile phone) whose elements are
launched with a feature including
augmented by computer-generated sensory
BodyMap technology.
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 16
18. LESS FLASH, MORE FUNCTION
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…
RECEIVE
BROWSE
PURCHASE
IMPLEMENT TESTED TECHNOLOGY BUT KEEP
THE CONSUMER EXPIERENCE SIMPLE…
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…
17
19. ONLINE AUTHORITIES
The 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…
Creating A Celebrity Status
Blogs and the ability to create content for the
internet allow us to express our opinions to a
wide audience – BryanBoy, Lookbook.nu,
Aaron Marino
Online Endorsements
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 18
20. 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
21. 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.
20
22. GET IN TOUCH !
twitter.com/paulrmcgregor
www.whoispaulmcgregor.com
*
PaulMcGregor
facebook.com/paulrmcgregor www.brighterman.com
www.mensfashionmagazine.co.uk
THANK YOU
FOR
LISTENING 21
23. Brought to you by :
PaulMcGregor *
www.brighterman.com
SEE YOU SOON...
Back