Customer Experience in Online Fashion Retail is Key

In the past weeks, many countries across Europe lifted the COVID-19 restrictions. This also meant the reopening of retail stores, causing e-commerce to take a hit throughout most categories of goods. However, according to Klarna, online fashion retail remained unharmed compared to the preceding weeks. This supports earlier research which showed that even traditional consumers got used to shopping online. A significant percentage claims to keep shopping online after the pandemic. The customers are there, so how does one win them over to choose you?

Customer experience is key 

It has been known that “mobile-first” is the way to go. However, it is no longer enough only to have a mobile version of your website, including an AMP version. Tailored experience based on the device used is crucial. Those who provide it will reap the benefits of an increased mobile conversion rate, which is still behind desktop.

For all platforms, the technical possibilities are moving forward fast, and so are the customers’ expectations. For example, links to related products or product reviews are a necessity. The need for clear and relevant product information and photos goes without saying. And with new technological trends emerging, the importance of high-quality product content will further increase. It remains the foundation for the implementation of these technologies.

The fashion industry tends to be an early adopter of new trends. Personalization has been around for quite a while. However, it is crucial to balance providing a personalized experience and maintaining the consumer’s privacy. Social commerce is mainly successful in China, but projections suggest global growth by 29% annually till 2028. The same applies to live shopping. Which is a concept where products are showcased in a live video while product links appear. In October 2020, a popular Chinese influencer Viya live-streamed to over 149 million people on Alibaba, and her audience spent over 719 million dollars on the products she showcased. The potential of this trend is therefore undoubtedly huge. As the aim is to nudge the viewers to visit the mentioned product pages in real-time, quality product content on the landing pages remains crucial for online fashion retail as well.

Katerina Kadlecova

Online Marketer at Icecat N.V.