In 2016, a survey by firm comScore and UPS showed that consumers are buying more online than in stores. This should not surprise anyone as nowadays technology is developing fast enough to provide people with the possibility to get a 360° online shopping experience through different technology devices from smartphones to laptops.
These days online shopping is becoming the fastest and easiest way of purchasing. The process is very simple, the first step is to select the product desired and finally choose the way of payment preferred, from payment at the delivery to credit cards. On the websites, it is possible to see photos and videos of the objects which are generally very realistic, all details and sizes are expressively explained on the description of the product and this facilitate the procedure.
A factor that influences the new mindset of costumers is free shipping and no hassle returns, adopted by the majority of online shops, in fact this is a valid solution for possible problems of size.
Yoox, an Italian online fashion retailer founded in 2000 by Federico Marchetti, delivers to more than 100 countries. On Yoox, it is possible to acquire items of more than 37 fashion designers, from Armani to Elisabetta Franchi, from previous collections and at a lower price, generally with a minimum of 20% discount from the original price. In 2015, the revenues of the group were around 1 billion euros; compared to the previous year the group had doubled its revenues, and because of this it was named the “Amazon of the fashion world”.
The growth of shopping online has given birth to a new trend, the online outlet. Privalia is an online fashion outlet that operated across Italy, Spain, Brazil and Mexico. The mechanism is a little bit complicated but the discount is much more than 20%. At the beginning of every week there are some offers from different designers, as it respects the rules of a general outlet, the products sold are always from previous collections. The offers are time-limited, they are usually around 5 days, and then they switch with new ones.
As fashion designer need to be up to date to world’s changes, starting from last year, a lot of fashion designers and the luxury store Luisa Via Roma are giving customers the opportunity to buy catwalks’ items immediately after the runway both on the internet and in boutiques. This “see now, buy now” is a sign of adjustment to technology and globalization of the fashion industry. Christopher Bailey, the president and chief creative officer at Burberry can be considered the forefront of this innovation with the launch of the service “runaway made to order”. On the contrary, other fashion groups such as Dolce & Gabbana and Tod’s consider this trend a truly nonsense as it deprives the exclusivity of high fashion items and the time of production that such products require.
A lot of boutiques and small shops are getting prepared to new customers’ attitudes. The main successful example is, without any doubt, Luisa Via Roma. The famous Florence boutique launched its e-commerce in 1999, the decision to open the online store in a moment where technology was growing is the key point of the success of Luisa Via Roma. Thanks to the relevant marketing strategies and the fact that Luisa Via Roma is able to provide its client not only products but even experiences the revenues of the group are around 90 million euro, an incredible result to consider for a boutique.
by Beatrice Bolis
