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Shop style In the year It started in 2007 with an innovative idea: to create a search engine focused solely on fashion. fifteen years and two Discovery later, the landscape of market-focused search engines is crowded, with many new startups and major technology players alike. Google And Pinterest They all want to get into action. As e-commerce expands, there is a need for centralized platforms that collect and curate the ever-growing product slate available for purchase online.
But ShopStyle, while not alone in its mission to be the first stop in shoppers’ online journey, has a head start. As he prefers to be called the “style discovery platform”, he now boasts more 100 million consumers every year and 1.6 million Loyalty members. And while other players are seeing sales and visits drop as the pandemic slows ecommerce growth, shopper traffic has increased on ShopStyle. 11% YoY in April 2022, and brands’ investment in the platform is over. 47% Until this year.
ShopStyle’s continued dominance in the fashion realm reflects its ability to evolve with its customers’ needs. It has also been shaped by different owners of the platform over the years – first, the lifestyle media empire Pop sugarIt has folded the editor of ShopStyle and has now given Rakuten (The former Ibats) with expertise in e-commerce and membership mechanics.
And ShopStyle will continue to evolve. It has expanded into new categories like home and pre-owned, recently launched a new shopping experience and is constantly looking for new ways to integrate with the unique ShopStyle Collective, a network that connects creators and brands.
“ShopStyle is about creating an inspiring shopping experience that helps people discover their personal style,” said Alison Stiefel, general manager of ShopStyle. “Individualism and people’s desire to express themselves has expanded, and it’s exciting to be able to cater to them and drive retail business.”
Stifel sat down Retail TouchPoints To talk about where ShopStyle fits in today’s growing ecommerce ecosystem and why Curing will be the key to continued success..
Retail Touch Points (RTP): How would you describe ShopStyle – do you consider yourself a marketplace?
Alison Boots: We are similar to a marketplace, but I would say we are more. Our core technology is search and discovery and [unlike a marketplace] Most sales are made on the retailer’s site, not at our retailers. What we do is to define our search function and all our data and evaluate trends and agreements together.
We are like the MoMA of fashion and homeWhere we choose the best products and brands for you to experience [on ShopStyle]We connect you directly with the retailer so you can have the relationship from purchase to purchase. I say we are. More of a social commerce platform than a marketplace.
RTP: Who do you consider your competitors?
Stifel: We are in a unique position. Search engines like Google have a part of what we do, and some social platforms have a part of that discovery and content; [but] We are in a unique position to have both [search and discovery].
Unlike Google, we don’t want to offer everything. It can be very difficult. We really focus on the best-in-fashion and home-furnishing. We also offer a point of view – we’re in the business of discovering new brands and bringing them to the forefront for consumers to learn about. For example, in the last few years DE&I [diversity, equity and inclusion] It is a big priority for us, therefore We’ve been finding and developing Black and Asian and Latinx and LGBTQIA+ brands and telling their stories.
Yes, we have a lot of products, but we’re doing it in a curated way by offering everything to everyone and allowing the consumer to filter and go to what they want.
RTP: What role does content play in your ecosystem?
Stifel: ShopStyle’s core is fashion and search technology, and curating trending content using what people want. For example, one of our latest initiatives is “Clothes,” where we apply machine learning to merchandise. Sometimes you know what you want, you want it and we have it. Clothing is the way to look at a jean jacket and then realize, “Oh, I can wear that jean jacket with sweatpants or a dress.” It’s about giving people that inspiration on how to adjust their style, or as we like to say, “creating a new perspective on style.”
Where we’re going is to be at the forefront of customer behavior – Using implicit and explicit data points based on people’s preferencesthat selection by brand, selection by size or style, and using that you’ll see a customized experience for you when you come to ShopStyle.
RTP: How does ShopStyle Collective fit into the mix?
Stifel: ShopStyle Collective is our B2B influencer business. It connects influencers with their retailers to promote and market retailers and products on social platforms. We share the ShopStyle catalog and search data to share trends with our influencers [conversely] We will see what it is [happening with those influencer programs] To show new trends. So we see what’s happening from our influencers and use that information to create experiences on the consumer side. You can see this in clothing – we partner with fellow influencers to showcase their clothing on ShopStyle and sell those clothes to shoppers with the products we have.
RTP: Is most of your traffic through the website?
Stifel: Our website is more new traffic, people come to find us and learn about what we have to offer, and then Our app is our membership experience.. We have very high fidelity in our app as the entire app experience is curated. When you download the app and go on-boarding, we’ll ask you differently. Choice questions So it is chosen based on what you want when you land on the Home tab.
Our membership is great because there are so many benefits to being a member. Everything you do to give you more information about brands and products is saved [you love]. We will send. SalesSo you can make a whole product “favorite”. five Different stores, and you will be the first to know that Gucci The clothes you want to invest in are on sale. We also provide. Money response Powered by our parent company Rakuten. Some brands never go on sale, so our cashback offer allows members to get discounts on high value items.
RTP: What do you think are the key elements of a winning ecommerce experience today?
Stifel: There are so many new players and it’s amazing – People are actually looking for a niche. Distributing that content from retailers to more. [centralized] Platforms like YouTube or TikTok or ShopStyle are critical to helping retailers capture sales in the social commerce space where people are looking for inspiration. This is how brands reach new audiences. But that’s one of the challenges. Matching the inventory with what the retailer has. The great thing about ShopStyle is that we started with search, so we’re really good at that part.
RTP: What’s next for ShopStyle?
Stifel: We want to get a little personal, especially around size. So often I find something interesting online and then I click and use it and it’s not my size. In our app we are really working about the consumer, so if there are certain sizes that you like in different styles, you can choose to make it. [search results] More relevant to you.
[Livestreaming] Definitely on the radar and on our roadmap as well A lot of people sell at a higher level these days. We’re a bit of a luxury right now, which is fantastic, but we also see an opportunity to enter Expansion into more modern and value markets. To reach other audiences and help consumers customize clothing at different price points.
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