Interactive Online Shopping is the future of E-commerce

I love to shop. I love going to the mall with my friends, browsing through my favorite shops, and seeing what new trends there are to try out. I'm also very picky and sometimes indecisive — sometimes holding a dress in my hand for an hour and then just before check out changing my mind for whatever reason. So when Malls and stores were closed due to Covid-19, I started shopping less than ever before. I was never a fan of online shopping and in my experience, I would spend an hour on a website, fill up a cart, and then just never follow through with the purchase. I was overwhelmed by the options and missing the excitement of trying on clothing and bringing them home that same day.

Unsurprisingly however Ecommerce saw a boom in 2020 since online shopping was the only way to shop with most businesses closed or operating with restrictions. I can’t say that I personally did a lot of it but I also was studying and working from home so I didn't really feel the need to buy anything new.

The shift to Ecommerce

Even before 2020 fashion brands were pushing to increase online sales as it allowed the companies to cut back on the cost of maintaining a physical store. In 2017 clothing retailer Bebe made the choice to close all 175 stores in the US. They stated, “it was in the process of exploring strategic alternatives for its business, amid much speculation the company would transition to an online-only model”. A few years later we can see that they might have been on to something with the rise of exclusively online retailers like FashionNova and NastyGal gaining market share and brand awareness quickly by using digitally-focused strategies.

We have seen the online shopping experience evolve in the US to go beyond just static images in a catalog online. Brands are trying out new features including size comparisons, video listings, and personal stylist consultations online. Fashion brands are doing anything they can to add value and improve the online shopping experience to increase their sales as well as customer loyalty.

Virtual Style Concierge Services

When I was checking my email the other day I saw one from Guess, the iconic all-American denim brand that has been around for almost 40 years. They are an established brand with quality clothing.

As a member of their loyal customer program called the Guess List, I was invited to check out their new concierge program which included various Guess Services. The new features include Personalized monthly styling boxes, virtual consults with professional stylists, and what I was intrigued with most — Live Virtual Events. I decided to check it out as I have recently been looking for new spring and summer outfits.

They had 4 events on their page, all of which have passed already but were available to replay. The live events reminded me of what feels like the outdated shopping networks like HSN and QVC that I used to watch as a child, which upon further research have also seen an increase in engagement and sales in 2020.

The live events have models showing off different looks with a host talking about the product or collection. As the looks are shows there are images that pop up on the top left corner for the viewer to be able to shop the look without leaving the virtual event. There is also a chat box where viewers watching live can interact with Guess representatives and ask questions.

In addition to seeing the fashion and accessories in the virtual events. There are also highlights or educational content in the middle relevant to the theme of the event. For example in the Spring Fashion event, Guess brought on a florist from Wildfloraldesign.com to show viewers how to make their own flora arrangments at home. I can see this format growing as they do collaborations with celebrities and lifestyle influencers in the future which will drive more traffic to their events.

Increasing Revenue Online

Just like most fashion brands, Guess is looking to the future in hopes to expand its online sales. In their 5 year plan, they are looking to increase their revenue by 200 million dollars, with the majority coming from their e-commerce growth initiatives. This would mean that their revenue from DTC sales would just 10% from 13% to 23% in five years.

Live Shopping is Cool again!

There has been a reintroduction to live shopping since QVC, with it becoming more common thanks to social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Live shopping has generated $60 billion in global sales in 2019 with the US making up just $1 billion. Amazon has its own Live shopping platform and many other brands are beginning to integrate the technology either on social media or on their own platforms like Guess. I am intrigued to see how this trend and integration evolves as it solves a lot of problems I personally have with online shopping, and I'm sure many others do as well. There is a level of authenticity and excitement that the traditional online shopping experience just doesn't have.