Partnerize Marketing Director Miriam Tremelling has authored an article in TotalRetail that looks at how online apparel retailers can use the power of partnership to their advantage. Whether you’re looking to expand your use of influencers or find other creative ways to grow share of sales in the category, this article offers some good advice. Here is an excerpt:
Online apparel is an extremely lucrative category. Experts predict that the worldwide e-commerce segment of fashion and apparel will grow from $408 billion in 2017 to more than $706 billion by 2022. As you might expect, with opportunity comes competition. According to one study, 26 percent of the top 1,000 e-commerce sites are dedicated apparel retailers. The same study suggests that while Amazon.com continues to dominate e-commerce, 75.1 percent of online clothing sales come from retailers that specialize in clothing, accessories or shoes.
With nearly 56 percent of consumers saying they buy at least some of their apparel online, there’s a massive consumer base up for grabs. Here are four creative ways that apparel retailers can leverage the power of partnerships to grab a bigger piece of the action:
1. Leverage emerging partner channels.
Another recent research report found that many retail brands see significant revenue coming from emerging partnership channels like influencers (17 percent) and brand-to-brand partnerships (13 percent). With the category and definition of partnership broadening, apparel brands can use these types of partners strategically to strengthen sales.
Influencers can be an extremely valuable channel in the apparel world. Consider that Gen Z will outnumber millennials this year, and of all generations, Gen Z seeks the opinions of their social community more than any other. Sixty-eight percent of Gen Z internet users say they read three or more reviews before making a first-time purchase. Both celebrity endorsements and reviews from other influencers impact these young people in impressive ways.
When seeking influencers for your brand, keep in mind that massive followings aren’t always the key to success. Find influencers who speak to your core audience or to shopper segments you’d like to acquire as new customers. Through mutual trust, they can be your strongest advocates and even provide feedback on new apparel and accessories.
2. Use seasonality to your advantage.
The holiday season and key shopping days can be make-or-break for apparel retailers. In 2018, holiday apparel retail sales grew 7.9 percent, the best growth since 2010. Similar to other categories, apparel brands depend on revenue lift through gifting growth in the key December period. By strategically deploying offers and placements throughout gift guides on affiliate sites and with influencers, brands can drive the revenues they want to see around days like Cyber Monday.
This is also a time when direct brand-to-brand relationships can enable powerful holiday campaigns. Imagine the appeal to consumers of being able to decrease the time spent holiday shopping through smartly bundled products.
While the December holidays immediately spring to mind when considering seasonality, there are other times of year when leveraging partnership can make even more sense. Summer vacation and back-to-school are two shopping periods that present unique brand partnership opportunities. Travel and summer clothes go hand-in-hand, as do school supplies, gear and new clothes. There are lots of potential partners that attract outstanding traffic with content dedicated to these topics.
Read the rest of the article in TotalRetail.
