For this edition of Let’s Talk, Depop partnered with adidas Originals to ask “Who is sustainable fashion for?” From accessibility to information sharing and all the things we still don’t understand about what sustainable fashion means. This roundtable series explores the good, the bad and the confusing parts of fashion in 2021.
Depop
Tag: Retail
Isn’t this brilliant? I thought so. It’s from a few months back now but no they aren’t a client, lets get that out of the way first.
To announce and promote their customer loyalty programme Sprize, the GAP store in Vancouver, BC completely flipped everything upside down and adhering to their tagline rather nicely of turning shopping on its head. This I like. So all of the mannequins, displays and signs were flipped, as well as some cars and a hot dog stand outside of the store. Brilliant.
It seems to me like a clever customer retention tool and keeping those existing customers happy. I think its only open in Canada at the moment but they can sign up for a free Sprize account at participating Gap stores for an opportunity to collect SprizeMoney. Put simply, if you buy a shirt at £25 and within 45 days it goes down in price then you get credited to your account the difference. Now thats something I’d sign up to for sure. Isn’t it annoying when you buy something full price for it to be discounted some weeks later?
This is smart because the idea / hope is that people will return to GAP more often to see what they can get for their Sprizemoney and undoubtedly pick up a few more purchases than they had intended. Potentially increasing footfall and volume of purchases.
Since there’s no cost to signup its pretty much no risk for the customer. Thus, Gap will be making a return customer out of any new customer, while keeping loyal customers happy.
Nice.
This post was originally going to be entitled ‘A picture speaks a thousand words’ and simply put up the image below but felt like it deserved a bit more than that..
Reading this is probably the best place to start.. then come right back..
I’ve been keeping half an eye over the weekend on the steadily building #Amazonfail which is incidentally the top trending topic on Twitter and there are this minute more mentions than even Easter. (For an example of it’s talkability factor, in the past hour there’s been a further 700+ mentions since I carried out the original search.)
It’s starting to also garner mainstream coverage now as the traditional press catches up but it is something as far as I know started on Twitter and then made it’s way through the blogosphere shortly after.
What’s happened since then? #Amazonfail was being mentioned 4 times a second barely an hour after the first tweet. A petition was started (which over 15,000 people have signed) a Google Bomb took place, and no I formerly had no idea what one of them was either but it sounds pretty damaging. A Facebook group ‘Boycott Amazon’ has been started. A poll was created with the question being ‘Can Amazon redeem/repair their reputation after #amazonfail?’ A list has popped up featuring all the affected titles – here. Some internet hackers are claiming it’s all their doing whilst the names and numbers of the Board of Directors at Amazon HQ have been published. The CTO has been also been ‘unmasked’ (and remains quiet on the whole debacle). Clearly, this is an issue that’s not going to just disappear overnight.
I’ve rounded up a few posts below. One question that everyone at one stage appeared to be asking was do Amazon have a PR manager in the UK or otherwise to deal with freak happenings like this? The advertisement to my right that I coincidentally spotted in the back of the most recent issue of PR Week would suggest otherwise. I put up the picture on Twitpic and soon after @girlonetrack (an affected publisher) retweeted it to her followers.
A few questions for you..
Do you think this is going to affect Amazon’s reputation at all? Has their silence thus far helped or hindered the situation? What do you think their response should be?
Roundup –
Blogs and Twitter coin Amazonfail by Wall Street Journal
Amazon feel the web’s wrath by Zoe Margolis
Amazon sees censorship decisions magnified through the social web magnifying glass by Becky McMichael
Amazonfail – Easter PR Disaster by Matt Churchill
Amazon = FAIL by Alas, a Blog
#Amazonfail – Timeline of WTF by Anastacia
Amazon Follies by Mark Probst
AmazonFAIL discussion thread at Metafilter
Amazonfail: A call to boycott Amazon by Edward Champion
Amazonfail – Malice or Bumble by Jessica Gottlieb
Amazon has removed it’s customer based reporting of books by Brutal Honesty
Amazon blames a glitch by Los Angeles Times
So I’m taking a bit of a diversion away from the small, friendly, local pub that I call Twitter for one post and trying out something new. I wanted to see what the world was like outside (great view!) so if you’re expecting a dose of social media musings, come back again soon 😉
As part of my work related media diet, along with NMA, Marketing and PR Week, I subscribe to Revolution magazine. It’s undergone a bit of an overhaul recently, it looks fantastic and it’s always got some thought provoking articles. One of which forms the crux of this post. The covers in the last few months really have been beautiful. I actually now look forward to my copy dropping through the letter box once a month.
I’ve always maintained an interest in all things retail working for Argos and HP in their Marketing depts along with dabbling a bit in the running your own business thing when I was younger, so it was an interesting read when reading “Will consumers continue to shun the high street in favour of online shops?” in Revolution. If you missed it I thought I’d republish it here for your viewing pleasure. Before I do that though..
What do you think? Is retail as we know it here to stay? What’s next?
Without further ado, it goes a bit like this.. All credit to Revolution, P22 of the February issue of course..
Bargain hungry shoppers flocked online towards the end of last year, helping retailers including House of Fraser, Next and Marks & Spencer record a rise in e-commerce sales in the run-up to Christmas. Will online shopping continue to boom at the expense of the high street? They put the question out to four individuals. As an FYI, before talk leads to the results, bear in mind that this was published in Revolution, a magazine that’s tagline is ‘Smarter digital marketing’. So when 3 out of the 4 respondents said Yes to the question in the article title, it is perhaps a bit of a one sided argument. Would have been good to hear a bit more from the other side.
1. Andrew Ellison, Digital Controller, Schuh (Yes)
This year will be the first time online retailers will have no guarantee of achieving sales increases. Most online shoppers still use credit cards, and the issuers are increasing their interest rates, no matter what the Bank of England does.
People think online shopping is all about price. It isn’t. Those online retailers that compete on price will find the high street nipping at their heels as clearance sales and all-year promotions become commonplace. Those online retailers that compete on selection and availability will continue to boom as the high street merchandisers trim their ranges of all products that have limited appeal and low margin.
People will still pay for full price for a product they really want – particuarly if they can’t get it at the local shopping centre. (Supply and demand? Simple)
We are all passionate about certain categories of goods, from top end electronics to Sienna Miller’s handbag. Online will soon be the only place for them.
2. Robin Goad, Research Director, Hitwise (Yes)
Online will steal shoppers, but the biggest beneficiaries will be web-savvy high-street retailers. Spending shifted online last Christmas, but more of it is going to familiar names than internet start-ups. During December, the websites of high-street retailers received 32% more visits than their online-only rivals, and this gap will widen in 2009.
Thanks to the recession, consumers are turning to the internet to save money; discount voucher searches have doubled; consumer advice sites have flourished; and the supermarkets are thriving.
M&S experienced its busiest ever day online when it reduced prices by 20% in November. It is the combination of online and offline that has helped brands such as M&S, Argos and Tesco thrive on the web. While a presence on the high street helps, particularly during sales season, the strongest asset for a mult-channel retailer is a trusted brand.
3. David Walmsley, Head of Web Selling, John Lewis Direct (No)
On Christmas day, a strange thing happened. Johnlewis.com had lots of visits and browsing, and a pleasing amount of sales. But conversion was weaker. Customers were researching online before visiting one of our stores.
For us it is genuinely not about increasing sales in one particular channel. The challenge is to keep up with our customers expectations. In 2009 therefore we expect to build on the success of cross-channel propositions, such as Deliver to Store service. We also expect to see an increase in customers researching online before heading in-store, and vice versa.
Our aim is to provide a multi-channel shopping experience (bla bla marketing spiel) that flexes to meet demand so customers only ever deal with one John Lewis. We therefore believe that the future for the high street is a vibrant one. (But then they kinda have to say that, right?)
4. Fadi Shuman, E-commerce Director, Pod1 (Yes)
This online trend will continue for the next few years, and shopping on the high street will never be the same again. Last Christmas, a record number of people experienced the convenience of shopping online, and they will spend ever more of their cash online this year and next.
The fact that websites are getting more secure, coupled with more intuitive interfaces, faster connections and a plethora of other improvements to the internet, means an even more convenient shopping experience that just keeps getting better.
In the next few years, the high street will evolve rather than completely disappear. The new wave of shops will be less about a pure shopping experience and more about a social experience where you can purchase goods while being entertained.