Keeping your fashion eCommerce business successful means prevailing in a competitive market. You need to have digital strategies that drive growth, scale revenue and make your brand stand out from the rest. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving this, however there are some key strategies that can help you grow.
Define Your Brand
Your brand value is what can make you stand out from the crowd. The stronger your brand, the more recognisable you are. Shoppers know why it is that they are coming to your store as opposed to all of the others.
When you are distinguishable, it means that you can compete based on price. Your marketing and image will give you a competitive advantage; people want to buy from you for this reason. If there is nothing unique or individual, shoppers may simply look for other stores with lower prices. The uniqueness of your brand gives you the upper hand.
On top of that, a strong brand fosters an emotional connection between the shopper and the brand. They feel loyal to you, they align with your values, and they want to keep returning to you. It is for this reason that making pledges about your values such as eco-friendliness and inclusivity is so important.
Shoppers won’t just be spending money with you because they have to, but because they want to. They desire to spend their money in a company with a similar ethos to them.
Go The Extra Mile
Shoppers in fashion are looking for an experience, not just the product. This can be achieved through many different ways;
- Personalized email and SMS marketing
- Advanced intuitive AI recommendations
- AI driven chatbots
- Discounts on certain items
- Strong social media presence
Giving your shoppers these kinds of extra experiences will make all the difference. They know that when they come to your store they are treated well. They are given the care and attention they expect, and this is great. This is a surefire way to improve customer experience and satisfaction.
Priorotize Customer Retention
Retaining customers is a more cost effective and efficient strategy than trying to achieve new customers. In the fashion world, making sure that your shoppers come back for more is as important in any other industry. So how do you maximise customer loyalty?
Firstly, you need to make sure that your customer service exceeds expectations. Shoppers need to know they are getting the best treatment possible. This means:
- Clear product descriptions
- Clear sizing guides
- High quality accurate images
- Clear returns and delivery policy
- Multiple payment options
- Customer loyalty programs
If you have all of these in place, shoppers will know they can take you seriously. Having extra steps such as AR (Augmented Reality) features which take advantage of growing AI can also make all the difference. Give customers a reason to return back to you.
Ensure Data Privacy
As data privacy regulations strengthen across the eCommerce world, the fashion industry is no exception. Restrictions on data collection means that your merchandising and marketing strategies need to be creative, finding ways to still offer personalized experience and relevant targeted ads.
Audiences, or personalization at scale can help solve this solution. This uses real-time click profile data to make sure that campaigns are targeted to set groups within your assigned parameters. Similarly collecting zero or first party data can help, that shoppers have consented to. There are multiple platforms that facilitate this.
Make sure your shoppers know that your data is being handled well, within regulations. It’s a good idea to make a statement about your data privacy rules, in order to help the customers feel respected.
Know Your Customers
Making sure you know your customers needs is important to keep your business moving in the direction it should be. Make sure you collect all data from application dashboards or google analytics to know what is in demand. Statistics from your site search also allow you to know what customers are looking for.
If all shoppers are searching for a particular product, for example; ‘red dress’ and you don’t stock one- maybe you should! Understanding your customer behavior will give you key insights into how to make your business forward.
Also, A/B testing is a great way to make sure that you are optimizing your site to the full potential. Without A/B testing there is a chance that you are missing out on conversions, or other room for improvement. Read here to find out how often to run A/B tests.
Conclusion
Fashion is one of the most competitive eCommerce industries. There are many variables, and many things to consider when trying to take your business to the next level. These strategies are a great place to start. They centre the customer, whilst at the same time meeting business needs. Understanding data, going above and beyond and creating a strong brand will all help take your fashion business to the next level.