Ahead of London Fashion Week, Emily Buckman, Global Strategic Consultant, at Urban Airship, a digital growth company, looks at how the event has evolved, and the mobile strategies retailers should implement in order to take advantage of this five day event.
Gone are the days when London Fashion Week (LFW) was for the elite. The proliferation of smart devices means consumers can now not only live stream all the runway shows while on the go but also gain backstage access to the event.
Brands like Topshop are now taking consumers backstage with exclusive interviews and previews of their collections. While last year Burberry introduced the ‘Catwalk to Checkout’ service, allowing customers to purchase its collection straight off the runway. LFW has transformed to offer a fully immersive experience for everyone.
With UK shoppers expected to spend £27 billion via their mobile devices this year, and with last year’s figures revealing that London Fashion Week generated £269 million in income, it is vital for brands to optimise their mobile strategy to ensure they take advantage of this lucrative shopping period.
Brands looking to increase sales through their mobile applications during LFW should incorporate rich push notifications. Research found that push notifications with rich media such as images or video can increase direct open rates by up to 56 per cent. To stand out from the crowd during this competitive time, brands must utilise images of their current collections, upload GIFs and runway videos to capture the consumer’s attention and encourage them to browse their products.
A great tactic for increasing footfall in-store during the week is to introduce a ‘Deal of The Day’, which can be accessed through the LFW mobile wallet pass. The pass can be updated each day with a new offer that the customer can redeem in-store or online. The benefit for the retailer is that the wallet user is recognised as a new customer, and the pass will sit on the customer’s device which will aid ongoing conversation with the consumer.
Providing a personalised and mobile-friendly shopping experience during LFW ensures that customers who may previously have felt disengaged from the week can now also feel part of it. Retailers should also recognise that these experiences are an opportunity to capture new customers and revenue streams from the week.
By Emily Buckman
Global Strategic Consultant