Luxury Goods | Digital Commerce 360 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/topic/luxury-goods/ Your source for ecommerce news, analysis and research Thu, 11 May 2023 15:48:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/cropped-2022-DC360-favicon-d-32x32.png Luxury Goods | Digital Commerce 360 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/topic/luxury-goods/ 32 32 Beauty brand helps consumers find what they need, then automate replenishment https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/05/12/beauty-brand-helps-consumers-find-what-they-need-then-automate-replenishment/ Fri, 12 May 2023 13:45:24 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1044139 When ecommerce beauty brand Furtuna Skin launched in 2019, it had just one product: its face and eye serum. The rest of the collection was supposed to launch in March 2020, said Chrissie Jemison, vice president of digital. As with much of the world, the pandemic changed that. With a full product assortment available, Furtuna […]

The post Beauty brand helps consumers find what they need, then automate replenishment appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>
When ecommerce beauty brand Furtuna Skin launched in 2019, it had just one product: its face and eye serum.

The rest of the collection was supposed to launch in March 2020, said Chrissie Jemison, vice president of digital. As with much of the world, the pandemic changed that.

With a full product assortment available, Furtuna Skin had to cover its ecommerce bases and make sure it had a strong enough conversion rate and average order value. It launched a skin care quiz to help with that.

Guiding the shopper

Jemison said Furtuna Skin has a 9% conversion rate among users who complete the skin care quiz and make a purchase. It helps grow AOV, too, she said.

“After taking a number of these myself, it got to the point I would see results and think, ‘well, you’re just trying to sell me on everything,’” Jemison said. “Our goal is to really get the right products in our customers’ hands.”

So the brand uses its quiz to offer a “hyper-curated” assortment that’s typically two or three products, Jemison said.

“We want to guide users to the items that will help them with their skin concerns,” Jemison said.

Moreover, rather than trying to sell a full-size product, Jemison said Furtuna Skin offers shoppers a “custom sample set.” Shoppers can pick any four items, which the product recommendations from the quiz help them select, and buy sample-sized versions of them to test.

We’re giving them two to three recommendations and saying test them out; see for yourself. Buy a discovery set,” Jemison said. “It is a lower-priced item because it’s a sample set, but that’s where we’re seeing greater success rather than just in lifting AOV.”

Learning the basics about loyalty and ecommerce subscriptions

By February 2021, it was time to focus on retention, Jemison said. That’s when Furtuna Skin simultaneously launched its loyalty program and auto-replenishment. Furtuna Skin’s full collection had launched in June 2020, but items had only been available for one-time purchases.

“Skin care is one of those categories that lends itself so beautifully to a subscription program,” Jemison said. “So we knew there was opportunity there.”

Furtuna Skin uses retention marketing platform Yotpo for its loyalty program. But the platform Furtuna Skin used to power its subscriptions wasn’t the best fit, Jemison said.

The subscription provider at the time, Recharge, required Furtuna Skin to duplicate its product catalog to identify which products were selling for one-time purchase and which sold for subscriptions. This was especially a problem for Furtuna Skin, Jemison said, because all its products are produced from ingredients in the retailer’s private estate in Sicily, Italy. The 800-acre estate —with a farm and wild terrain where its employees forage for ingredients it uses in its products — is also where sister brand Bona Fortuna’s products come from.

“That means we do small batches of products,” Jemison said.

She added that from an operations perspective, that means producing a new SKU for every new batch. Swapping out SKUs constantly, and having to create duplicates for each one in the online product catalog, was too much for Jemison’s “very lean” team, she said.

Moreover, shoppers would check out with a subscription product on Furtuna Skin’s website and get “kicked over” into a different checkout experience. Jemison referred to this as “hijacking” the cart in the checkout page.

This was a problem because, for example, when consumers were going through the checkout process while Furtuna Skin offered a promotion of a special gift with purchase, Jemison would have to set up the promotion on two separate platforms for the shopper to redeem it: Shopify (which hosts the brand’s ecommerce website) and Recharge.

Subscription switch

Furtuna Skin replatformed from Recharge to Ordergroove in summer 2022. Since then, its subscription orders more than doubled, to more than 7% of sales now from 3% before making the switch. Jemison said she projects subscriptions to account for 10% of total sales by the end of the year. She said the long-term goal is to get that up to 15% to 20% of total sales.

Furtuna Skin shares how its checkout page looks before and after replatforming to a different subscription vendor.

Furtuna Skin shares examples of how its checkout page looks before and after replatforming to a different subscription vendor.

Moreover, since making the switch, Furtuna Skin boosted its subscriber count 103%, and 50% fewer subscribers abandon their subscriptions. Furtuna Skin retains more than 30% of its customers too, and she said that number is still growing.

“A significant reason for our success with Ordergroove is that they were more flexible with their UX and UI options for us to present on our product detail page to make it very, very clear that you can make a one-time purchase or do auto-replen, and here’s your offer for doing auto-replenishment,” Jemison said.

She said Ordergroove’s platform integrates with Yotpo without issue. It doesn’t “hijack” checkout, and Jemison doesn’t have to duplicate her product catalog.

Ordergroove also allows Furtuna Skin to offer different incentives for one-time and subscription purchases, she said. Furtuna Skin currently offers 10% off the first order of a subscription product. It offers 15% off for every recurring order thereafter. Those recurring orders also build up loyalty points, which consumers can later use toward subscriptions as well.

Do you rank in our database?

Submit your data with this quick survey and we’ll see where you fit in our next ranking update!

Sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the ecommerce industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News.

Follow us on LinkedInTwitter and Facebook. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.

Favorite

The post Beauty brand helps consumers find what they need, then automate replenishment appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>
Committing to curbside pickup — or breaking up with it https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/05/08/committing-to-curbside-pickup-or-breaking-up-with-it/ Mon, 08 May 2023 16:37:06 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1044183 The pandemic forced Daniel’s Jewelers to change its sales approach.   Daniel’s Jewelers, founded in 1948, was almost entirely an in-store retailer in 2019. 0.001% of its sales came from its ecommerce website that year, says Sam Sarullo, head of ecommerce and marketing.    It launched a new ecommerce website in early 2020, just two weeks before […]

The post Committing to curbside pickup — or breaking up with it appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>

The post Committing to curbside pickup — or breaking up with it appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>
eBay GMV and active users decline for eighth consecutive quarter https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/ebay-sales/ Wed, 26 Apr 2023 19:45:00 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?post_type=article&p=884263 EBay Inc. said its gross merchandise volume, which is the value of all goods sold on the site, fell 5% to $18.4 billion in the first quarter of 2023, the eighth consecutive period in which that key metric number dropped. The number of active buyers on the marketplace also fell — dropping 7% to 133 […]

The post eBay GMV and active users decline for eighth consecutive quarter appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>
EBay Inc. said its gross merchandise volume, which is the value of all goods sold on the site, fell 5% to $18.4 billion in the first quarter of 2023, the eighth consecutive period in which that key metric number dropped.

The number of active buyers on the marketplace also fell — dropping 7% to 133 million during the period ending March 31, 2023. That too is the eighth consecutive quarterly drop.

Revenue rose 1% to $2.51 billion from $2.48 billion a year earlier.

EBay ranks No. 6 in the 2023 Digital Commerce 360 Online Marketplaces Database. A drop in eBay sales in recent quarters pushed the San Jose, Calif.-based marketplace from the No. 5 slot it held in the 2022 Database.

CEO Jamie Iannone is trying to reduce expenses to align with declining sales. In February, eBay announced it would cut about 500 employees, or 4% of its workforce.

EBay aims to sell more luxury items like watches to boost revenue while also offering refurbished items to appeal to price-conscious shoppers. In an effort to lure collectors, eBay provides a service to trade and authenticate trading cards, collectible sneakers and other items. It has been building climate-controlled vaults to store them.

In March, it announced a new “verified condition” badge for used heavy construction equipment sold on the site to assure buyers the machinery has been inspected.

eBay sales: Q2 outlook

EBay said it expects sales growth in the second quarter. The marketplace forecast revenue between $2.47 billion and $2.54 billion, an increase from the $2.42 billion reported in the same period a year ago. Analysts had estimated $2.43 billion in revenue in Q2.

For the fiscal first quarter ended March 31, 2023, eBay reported:

  • The eighth consecutive quarter in which both GMV and active users fell.
  • Revenue of $2.51 billion, an increase of 1% year over year.
  • $841 million of operating cash flow and $709 million of free cash flow from continuing operations.

Percentage changes may not align exactly with dollar figures due to rounding. Check back for more earnings reports.

Bloomberg News contributed to this report.

Sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the ecommerce industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News.

Follow us on LinkedInTwitter and Facebook. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.

The post eBay GMV and active users decline for eighth consecutive quarter appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>
Watch reseller offers cryptocurrency at checkout to entice international shoppers https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/04/11/watch-reseller-offers-cryptocurrency-at-checkout-to-entice-international-shoppers/ Tue, 11 Apr 2023 13:00:38 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1041660 Luxury watch reseller WatchBox has received more than $10 million in cryptocurrency payments since adding it in 2021, says David Kaplan, chief operating officer. It is a small percentage of the retailer’s total $500 million in sales. “Single digits,” he says, but it is an important option. The average order value for cryptocurrency-paid orders is […]

The post Watch reseller offers cryptocurrency at checkout to entice international shoppers appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>
Luxury watch reseller WatchBox has received more than $10 million in cryptocurrency payments since adding it in 2021, says David Kaplan, chief operating officer.

David Kaplan, chief operating officer, Watchbox

David Kaplan, chief operating officer, WatchBox

It is a small percentage of the retailer’s total $500 million in sales.

“Single digits,” he says, but it is an important option.

The average order value for cryptocurrency-paid orders is $80,000, Kaplan says.

“[AOV] is skewed by several high-dollar transactions,” he adds.

WatchBox’s median cryptocurrency transaction is $20,000. This “is similar to non-cryptocurrency transactions — but the average is way higher,” Kaplan says.

“We have clients that have spent seven figures in cryptocurrency with us. Then we have the normal run-of-the-mill $10,000, $20,000 or $50,000 transactions,” Kaplan says. “I woke up this morning and we had one $40,000 cryptocurrency transaction overnight.”

WatchBox sells its authenticated watches online and in retail stores.

“We lead with our website, but buying a watch is a very personal kind of sale,” Kaplan says. “We found that having locations and staff in the biggest watch markets in the world help us catalyze those markets.”

WatchBox ranks No. 264 in the Top 1000. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of North American online retailers by web sales.

What it costs WatchBox to offer cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency processing charges are less than credit cards, but more than wire transactions.

“It’s a relatively low transaction cost for us,” Kaplan says. WatchBox uses third-party bitcoin payment services provider BitPay. BitPay allows merchants to accept payments from cryptocurrency users.

Domestic outgoing wire transfer fees range from $0-$35. International outgoing wire transfer fees fall between $35-$50, according to Bankrate.

BitPay fees for monthly transactions:

  • Less than $500,000: 2% + $0.25
  • $500,000 – $999,999: 1.5% + $0.25
  • $1 million or more: 1% + $0.25

Fighting fraud

From a fraud standpoint, cryptocurrency is also a plus, Kaplan says.

“Because as a [retailer], you’re on the hook for fraud,” he says. Whereas, for credit card transactions, WatchBox has spent a “lot of energy” following up with credit card transactions, he says.

“If we get into a dispute with American Express, they almost always side with the client,” Kaplan says. “The transactions are reversible. With cryptocurrency, once you have the money, you have the money.”

BitPay takes on the risk. It accepts the cryptocurrency payment and deposits cash into WatchBox’s account the next day.

Much of the cryptocurrency transactions are in digital currencies like USDC, he adds. Stable coins are a type of cryptocurrency where the value of the digital asset, or, digital coin, is fixed to another form of currency. This includes currency like the U.S. dollar or a precious metal, such as gold. Stable coins are considered more likely to retain their value compared with cryptocurrencies. Other cryptocurrencies can be volatile. Value can rise and fall dramatically within any given day.

Concerns about cryptocurrency instability

The heyday of cryptocurrency in 2021 ended in 2022. A series of selloffs and the collapse and arrest of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, as well as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, fueled further volatility. In March 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission told cryptocurrency payments vendor Coinbase that it will file a lawsuit because it believes the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange violated investor-protection laws.

Vice president of marketing at BitPay Merrick Theobald says merchants need to do their due diligence. “Look for red flags,” he says. “If a company is based in the Bahamas, you have to ask why there instead of the U.S. or another country that has tough (cryptocurrency) regulations.”

Vendors like BitPay focus on following all laws and regulations of the U.S., “which tend to be stricter than other countries,” Theobald says.

Customers pay at checkout using their cryptocurrency wallet in BitPay. Merchants do not have to hold onto cryptocurrency which can change value unexpectedly.

Outsourcing cryptocurrency processing is necessary for WatchBox, Kaplan says. It ensures the retailer isn’t breaking any laws, including Know Your Customer (KYC). BitPay monitors anti-money-laundering processing. This is especially important because WatchBox sells portable and valuable items, Kaplan says.

“We have a lot of attention on us,” Kaplan says. “All the countries in which we operate [want] to make sure that we’re following proper money laundering [rules] to avoid sanctions.”

Wire transaction sales have not decreased, he says.

“But I’d say the majority of our cryptocurrency transactions are transactions that would have been wire transfers otherwise,” Kaplan says.

Sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the ecommerce industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News.

Follow us on LinkedInTwitter and Facebook. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.

Favorite

The post Watch reseller offers cryptocurrency at checkout to entice international shoppers appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>
2023 Ecommerce Platforms Report https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/product/top-ecommerce-platforms/ Wed, 15 Feb 2023 18:00:02 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/product/2017-platforms-report/ Analysis of the top ecommerce platforms and the retailers that use them. Includes over 10 charts, a list of the leading platform vendors and analysis on where companies have invested in platforms and the latest trends in platform technology.  

The post 2023 Ecommerce Platforms Report appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>

From opaque pricing and obscure terminology to constantly changing business models, the world of ecommerce platforms in 2023 is a complex and confusing place.

In the next year, 27% of ecommerce companies will be looking to switch their ecommerce platform—making trusted research and expert advice imperative in the long and arduous process of selecting new technology.

Digital Commerce 360’s 2023 Ecommerce Platforms Report is the world’s most comprehensive and digestible analysis on the ecommerce platform industry and a necessary tool for businesses looking to change platform providers and platform providers looking to drive new sales. 

This report is packed with details on where companies have invested in platforms, why many of them are looking to switch providers and the latest trends in platform technology. Read about the battle for tech talent, the emerging concept of composable platforms and follow the journey of several major retail and B2B companies that are gearing up to choose a new platform.

Plus, check out our annual lists of the leading platform vendors to the Top 1000 retailers and the ecommerce platforms used by the Top 500 retailers.  

View the table of contents for full details on what’s included in the report.  

Published February 2023

 

WHAT’S INCLUDED 

Extensive Analysis on the Ecommerce Platform Industry 

Breakout sections on these topics: 

  • How B2B companies are vying with rivals and securing the right teams of digital experts 
  • A dive into composable platforms—what they are and who needs them
  • Why a flexible ecommerce platform matters
  • Building customer personas
  • Top 4 things to consider when choosing a new ecommerce platform
  • Case study on how Konica Minolta is forging a new B2B ecommerce strategy driven by customer needs 

 

 

10+ Data-Packed Charts  

Start visualizing the power of strategies and trends in ecommerce platforms and share critical data with your colleagues and clients.     

 

Leading Platform Vendors to the Top 1000 Retailers  

We’re unveiling our annual list of the leading platform technology providers employed by North America’s Top 1000 online retailers. Here’s a peek at the data:     

 

WHY YOU SHOULD BUY IT 

Understanding ecommerce platforms can be confusing. The technology is complex, and the terminology can be difficult to keep up with.  

Digital Commerce 360’s 2023 Ecommerce Platforms Report is our most comprehensive—and digestible—analysis on the ecommerce platform world. Get a clear analysis of the biggest trends and key players, and a helpful guide to choosing the right ecommerce platform. 

 

OTHER REPORTS YOU MAY LIKE 

U.S. Ecommerce Market Report 

Analyzing U.S. online retail data and performance 

U.S. B2B Ecommerce Market Report  

A strategic analysis of the sales, growth and trends shaping the future of B2B ecommerce 

Web Design & Customer Experience Report 

A comprehensive review of U.S. online retail data and performance 

The post 2023 Ecommerce Platforms Report appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>
Rolex reseller online marketplace Chrono24 cuts jobs https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/01/31/rolex-reseller-online-marketplace-chrono24-cuts-jobs/ Tue, 31 Jan 2023 21:59:44 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1036960 Chrono24 GmbH cut about 13% of its workforce after prices plunged for the most sought-after Rolex timepieces. It’s the biggest dedicated online marketplace for luxury watches. Prices plunged on the Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet timepieces. The company eliminated 65 jobs, co-CEO Tim Stracke said. It shifted its operations focus in the U.S. to Miami […]

The post Rolex reseller online marketplace Chrono24 cuts jobs appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>
Chrono24 GmbH cut about 13% of its workforce after prices plunged for the most sought-after Rolex timepieces. It’s the biggest dedicated online marketplace for luxury watches.

Prices plunged on the Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet timepieces.

The company eliminated 65 jobs, co-CEO Tim Stracke said. It shifted its operations focus in the U.S. to Miami from New York, and to Japan from Hong Kong in Asia. It also offered severance packages to some workers at its headquarters in Karlsruhe, Germany.

The reductions underscore the losses faced by dealers who purchased expensive watches during an unprecedented price surge in 2021 and early 2022. Since then, values for the most desirable models have plunged on secondary markets and on resale platforms such as Chrono24.

“We have seen very volatile, you could call it a roller-coaster situation, in the industry,” Stracke said.

The decline in secondhand prices for the top brands has been linked to rising inflation, slowing economic growth in the U.S. and Europe and the crash in cryptocurrencies. The bursting of the crypto bubble erased paper profits for some investors who had turned to luxury watches as a new speculative asset class.

The supply of previously rare pre-owned watches on secondary markets has also increased significantly, driving down values.

Economic realities affecting online marketplace Chrono24

Chrono24 hired about 100 workers last year amid the boom. Stracke said the value of transactions conducted on the platform increased about 28% in 2022. However, growth slowed in the second half.

“We are adjusting to current economic realities,” Stracke said.

The Subdial50, an index compiling prices of the 50 most traded watches by value, consisting mostly of Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet models, has dropped 33% in the past 12 months. UK-based Subdial is a watch trading platform and seller of second-hand luxury timepieces.

Among sought-after pre-owned models, the price of the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in platinum has fallen 28% to about £83,000 ($102,679) in a year, the Subdial data shows. The Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 with a blue dial has dropped 35% to about £84,000, while an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak with a blue dial has tumbled almost 29% to about £57,000.

Chrono24, founded in 2003, has about half a million watches for sale on its platform at any given time. They come from some 3,000 dealers and 30,000 private sellers.

Sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the ecommerce industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News.

Follow us on LinkedInTwitter and Facebook. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.

Favorite

The post Rolex reseller online marketplace Chrono24 cuts jobs appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>
Natori invests in livestreaming to appeal to new generation of customers https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/01/10/natori-invests-in-livestreaming-to-appeal-to-new-generation-of-customers/ Tue, 10 Jan 2023 19:45:54 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1035227 Will livestreaming ever be as big in the U.S. as it is in China?  “Absolutely not,” says Ken Natori, president of The Natori Co. “But, for us, from an ecommerce perspective, it is important to be an early adopter of livestreaming,” he says.   The conversion rate during Natori’s inaugural live selling event on Oct. […]

The post Natori invests in livestreaming to appeal to new generation of customers appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>

Will livestreaming ever be as big in the U.S. as it is in China?  Absolutely not,” says Ken Natori, president of The Natori Co.

“But, for us, from an ecommerce perspective, it is important to be an early adopter of livestreaming,” he says.

Ken Natori, Natori live streaming

Ken Natori, president, The Natori Co.

 
The conversion rate during Natori’s inaugural live selling event on Oct. 6, 2022, was more than double compared to a typical day. This includes shoppers that viewed the stream live or as a replay. The average visitors to the site also doubled during the livestream event (live and replays).
 
The retailer’s second livestreaming event on Oct. 22 featured stylist Engie Hassan, who promoted her favorite looks. Viewers were able to live chat during the session and ask questions about products. While Hassan presented, Natori employees answered shoppers’ questions in real time via chat. 
Natori livestreaming with @Engie Style

During Natori’s Oct. 22 livestreaming event with stylist Engie Hassan, shoppers could chat and ask questions in real time.

Livestreaming to connect with new customers

Hassan has 159,000 followers on her Instagram account, EngieStyle, and has tagged Natori on various posts where her clients are wearing the brand’s items among other designers. 

“It was great to have an outside stylist come on and cross-promote in front of our respective audiences,” Natori says.
 
Online sales were slightly lower than the first livestreaming event. But that was to be expected, Ken Natori says, because the first event featured founder and CEO Josie Natori, Ken’s mother.
 
Average order value did not change much between the two sessions. But, conversion for livestream viewers remained higher compared with non-livestream viewers, Ken Natori says.
 
Natori is investing in livestreaming to connect with a new generation of shoppers. The brand selected video commerce vendor Firework to launch livestreaming. The retailer livestreams events from its own website. Natori continues commissioning social media influencers to help shoppers connect with the brand.
 

Live shopping isn’t a go-to option for U.S. consumers. But that’s starting to change, according to the Digital Commerce 360 and Bizrate Insights post-holiday survey of 1,023 online shoppers in January 2023. 9% of surveyed holiday shoppers watched livestreaming of products. And 4% of respondents said they’d like more livestreaming from retailers in 2023 to lead them to buy more online.

An evolving livestreaming plan

The next phase for Natori is to simulcast live on its own website and via Instagram Live and Facebook Live, he says. This is particularly helpful when appealing to younger shoppers, Natori says.

“These last couple of months have been about getting the technology right and figuring out execution,” he says. “Once that’s more of a smooth running ship, we are certainly going to try to promote it more.”

The retailer wants to expand its brand from its sleepwear, bras and underwear to become an East-meets-West lifestyle brand, Ken Natori says. Influencers are tasked with getting the word out, he says.

“Whether it’s Josie, myself, our employees, or influencers doing livestreams, we’re trying to evolve into more categories,” Natori says. “People don’t know about our men’s loungewear, décor, bedding or footwear.”

Natori launched its Holiday Gift Picks livestream on Dec. 8 featuring Josie Natori.

“It was the best show since launch in terms of sessions and [online] revenue,” he says. “It also had the highest conversion rates.”

The brand plans to feature some of its newer categories, such as footwear, on Jan. 12 and a fine jewelry livestream on Jan. 26.

Sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the ecommerce industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News.

Follow us on LinkedInTwitter and Facebook. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content. Contact senior editor Gretchen Salois at Gretchen@digitalcommerce360.com.

Favorite

The post Natori invests in livestreaming to appeal to new generation of customers appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>
Smaller store-based omnichannel retailers prep for holiday season https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2022/08/31/smaller-store-based-omnichannel-retailers-prep-for-holiday-season/ Wed, 31 Aug 2022 13:17:49 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1026798 At the height of the pandemic, shoppers bought more online and often picked up orders in-store or at curbside to minimize infection risk. Even retailers with just one store gained customers through omnichannel offerings like buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS). For this holiday season, they’re seeking to win repeat sales from their larger […]

The post Smaller store-based omnichannel retailers prep for holiday season appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>

The post Smaller store-based omnichannel retailers prep for holiday season appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>
An Indiana jewelry retailer takes its time growing its online presence https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2022/08/01/moriartys-gem-art-takes-its-time-growing-its-online-presence/ Mon, 01 Aug 2022 21:13:17 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1025682 At the height of the pandemic, shoppers bought more online and often picked up orders in-store or at curbside to minimize infection risk. Retailers gained customers through omnichannel offerings like buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS).  And it’s not just giant retail chains leveraging their physical locations to increase sales and win new customers. […]

The post An Indiana jewelry retailer takes its time growing its online presence appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>
At the height of the pandemic, shoppers bought more online and often picked up orders in-store or at curbside to minimize infection risk. Retailers gained customers through omnichannel offerings like buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS). 

And it’s not just giant retail chains leveraging their physical locations to increase sales and win new customers. Even some retailers with just a single store introduced options that catered to consumers shopping more online during the pandemic. Giving customers a choice to shop online or in-store is helping these retailers win new customers and positioning them for post-pandemic success. 

One example is Moriarty’s Gem Art, a jewelry retailer in Crown Point, Indiana, whose online sales increased to 55% of its business today from about 30% pre-pandemic. Many residents who previously would come into the store ordered online for home delivery or requested curbside pickup, which the retailer introduced during the pandemic, says Jeff Moriarty, the family-run business’ marketing manager.  

Omnichannel options give shoppers more opportunities to convert 

Moriarty’s Gem Art closed its only physical store from March 2020 to August that year. That was partly because 40% of its sales come from people older than 50, a demographic that worried about shopping in person early in the pandemic, Moriarty says. 

With its store closed, the retailer focused all its time online, adding more products to MoreGems.com, the retailer’s website, and doing live shows online to display and sell new items, Moriarty says. It was easier to make that online-first push because the retailer had been growing its website for more than 20 years.

Moriarty’s Gem Art launched its website in 1999. It used Microsoft FrontPage as its HTML editor and website administration tool. Although viewers could see the jewelry retailer’s products on its website, MoreGems.com, they couldn’t purchase them online.

“If you wanted to order anything, you had to call,” says Jeff Moriarty, the family-run business’ marketing manager. “It was kind of a difficult process, but people still did. People were finding us. We were getting a sale maybe once every few weeks. It was nothing big.”

Moriarty says online sales started to pick up in 2004 when he began digital marketing. Before Google became the paid search king, Moriarty used paid search players from the era like Overture.com and GoTo.com. That’s when MoreGems.com started getting more traffic to its site and a couple of sales a week. 

Playing the long game pays off

Around 2006 and 2007, the company was making sales on its website almost daily. 

“Now, we’re at maybe four to five sales a day, which doesn’t seem huge,” Moriarty says. “But our average order is probably over $2,000, so it’s quite a large amount.”

Moriarty’s Gem Art’s average order value (AOV) normally drops during the holidays, Moriarty says, as the retailer offers less expensive items to hit a broader market. The retailer has “a ton of $500-range items, which normally sell very well, but of course, drops our AOV,” he says.

And those MoreGems.com customers can complete their purchase online, rather than calling in, as customers would more than a decade ago. Plus, Moriarty’s has a customer list with addresses, emails and phone numbers and that has grown since the website began in 1999. So, the retailer began pushing its online buying experience to local customers during the pandemic.

“We never shipped out so many things to our town,” he says. “We were in Crown Point, shipping to Crown Point addresses, which was kind of strange. Some people also did pickup, so we would bring it out to them, out to their car. That was another option we offered. We tried to make it as easy as possible for people to still shop with us, but not actually have to shop in-store.”

So, too, are North America’s Top 500 online retailers by web sales. Convenient pickup options are becoming more common. In 2020, 69.1% of retail chains in the Top 500 offered BOPIS. Now, 79.4% of them offer it this year, Digital Commerce 360 data shows. Even bigger of a jump: only 10.3% of the retail chains in the Top 1000 offered curbside pickup in 2020, but now 61.8% do in 2022. 

Omnichannel offerings like in-store and curbside pickup are not without reward for retailers. Top 1000 retailers offering omnichannel services had a 3.33% median conversion rate in 2021. That’s higher than the median conversion rate of the Top 1000 as a whole (2.84%), and also considerably more than those that did not have any omnichannel offerings (2.66%). 

“Everything’s connected now,” Moriarty says. “Our in-store inventory is connected with our website. Anything that sells online or sells in-store, it all works together. You can purchase online, pick up in store. We even have customers that come in who purchase in-store, but they want it delivered someplace. It’s all done online through us there, so it kind of goes back and forth.”

Sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the ecommerce industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News.

Follow us on LinkedInTwitter and Facebook. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.

Favorite

The post An Indiana jewelry retailer takes its time growing its online presence appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>
Blue Nile expands its physical presence to win new customers https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2022/05/24/blue-nile-expands-its-physical-presence-to-win-new-customers/ Tue, 24 May 2022 19:00:49 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1021800 Fine jewelry brand Blue Nile Inc. built its business selling diamond engagement rings online. But buying an engagement ring on the web isn’t for everyone, says David Olsen, Blue Nile’s senior vice president of strategy, analytics and retail. In late 2020, Blue Nile (No. 143 in the 2022 Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000 ranking) shifted its business model […]

The post Blue Nile expands its physical presence to win new customers appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>
Fine jewelry brand Blue Nile Inc. built its business selling diamond engagement rings online. But buying an engagement ring on the web isn’t for everyone, says David Olsen, Blue Nile’s senior vice president of strategy, analytics and retail.

In late 2020, Blue Nile (No. 143 in the 2022 Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000 ranking) shifted its business model by opening showrooms in California, Colorado, and Illinois. As of last month, the retailer had 18 stores, including a newly opened “flagship showroom” at the Houston Galleria mall.

The Houston location is its flagship showroom and its second store in Texas. Nationally, the retailer plans eight more stores in 2022 and another 10 to 20 in 2023.

“We want people to interact with Blue Nile any way they want,” Olsen says.

The best way to do that, he says, is to adopt an omnichannel model, allowing shoppers to interact with Blue Nile’s people and products on their own terms.

Stores’ roles keep evolving as born-on-the-web brands like Blue Nile use physical shops to reach new customers and deepen relationships with current ones. Stores have evolved into distribution hubs and staging areas for orders placed online for shipping, pickup and on-demand local delivery.

Blue Nile’s case for opening stores

Olsen says Blue Nile stores serve several purposes for the brand. First, he says, the physical locations give the retailer’s customers an opportunity to interact with Blue Nile’s personnel and products firsthand. It’s an option many customers find more engaging than buying online without help or scheduling a virtual appointment.

Blue Nile

A rendering of the Blue Nile flagship store in Houston.

Diamond engagement rings make up more than half of the jeweler’s sales, Olsen says. That can be an emotionally laden, personal experience for couples. So, it makes a lot of sense to give customers the option to see and handle products before buying.

Because no two natural diamonds are alike, stores give customers the chance to consult face-to-face with jewelry experts who can explain their options and how diamonds are priced. Those personal contacts, he added, provide customers with a place to go for jewelry repairs and cleaning.

Another purpose for opening stores, Olsen adds, is marketing. Stores, he says, can help raise brand awareness and increase consumers’ confidence in the products for sale.

“It is effectively a billboard for Blue Nile,” Olsen said about the Houston Galleria flagship store.

That’s important, Olsen says, because, on average, customers “touch” Blue Nile — on its website, in stores, on social media and elsewhere — about 20 times before buying a piece of jewelry.

Flagship status

A Blue Nile spokesperson says the Houston Galleria store is different in several ways from its other stores. For example, at 2,200 square feet, the Houston Galleria location is approximately 50% larger than the jeweler’s other showrooms. The extra size allows clients to browse a much wider assortment.

“The extra space also allows Blue Nile to also have more personal jewelers in the showroom room to deliver on expert advice and guidance for clients,” the spokesperson says.

The larger footprint also allows the Houston Galleria store to offer a lounge area — a space the spokesperson describes as “a beautiful, comfortable, private space where we can celebrate a client’s special moment” — and consultation rooms offering more privacy than at other locations. The Houston location is not the first Blue Nile store to offer private consultation rooms. However, the Galleria consultation rooms are “in a space that is separated from the open showroom,” the spokesperson says.

The additional showrooms planned in 2022 will open in the following shopping centers:

  • Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota.
  • Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta.
  • Garden State Plaza, Paramus, New Jersey.
  • SouthPark, Charlotte, North Carolina.
  • Brickell City Centre, Miami.
  • Mall at Millenia, Orlando, Florida.
  • Roseville Galleria, Roseville, California.
  • NorthPark Center, Dallas.

In addition, Blue Nile plans to relocate its store in Tysons Corner, Virginia, to a larger location with updated branding. In 2023, Blue Nile will continue to open showrooms in 10 to 20 new locations.

Sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the ecommerce industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News.

Follow us on LinkedInTwitter and Facebook. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.

Favorite

The post Blue Nile expands its physical presence to win new customers appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

]]>