Abstract
Online clothing retailing is a well established sales channel in most
developed countries. In 2008 clothing was the fastest growing category of
products to be sold online in the UK and the USA. And in China and France it
was the largest category in terms of value.
Online retailing offers distinct benefits for shoppers and retailers. From the
point of view of the shopper, comparisons of products can be made quickly and
easily from the privacy of the shopper' s own home. At the same time, retailers
can offer a broader range of products than they are able to do in physical
stores. Also, the cost of running an online store is only a fraction of the
cost of running a physical shop - especially in terms of rent, rates and
staffing. In addition, online shopping provides companies with the opportunity
to expand into new markets without needing to invest in physical retail sites.
There are, however, a number of challenges for online clothing retailers to
overcome - including the fact that customer loyalty is notoriously hard to
retain. Also, online selling results in a much higher level of returns than
retailing via physical stores - which is largely due to the fact that online
shoppers can not try on the clothing before buying.
Broadly speaking, the strategies of online retailers can be grouped into two
categories: multi-channel retailing and online-only retailing. Multi-channel
retailing is the most common strategy among large clothing retailers. It
allows a firm to use its website as a marketing tool, and enables customers to
browse items before trying them on in a physical store. Examples of
multi-channel retailers include USA-based Gap, the UK' s Marks and Spencer
(M&S) and India-based Future Bazaar - owned by Future Group, the proprietor of
Pantaloon Retail.
Online-only retailing involves selling branded clothing exclusively via the
Internet. Examples of onlineonly retailers include UK-based Asos, and
Italy-based Yoox. Online-only retailers are characterised by the fact that
they offer vast ranges of products - because they are not limited by physical
shelf space.
In addition to these strategies, a number of clothing companies have made a
foray into online retailing by forming strategic partnerships with established
e-commerce companies, such as Bivolino, in order to minimise risk.
Table of Contents
- Benefits of online retailing compared with shopping via conventional stores
- Factors contributing to technological developments in online clothing
retailing
- Product returns
- SELECTED STRATEGIES OF ONLINE CLOTHING RETAILERS
- Multi-channel retailing
- Online-only retailing
- Strategic partnerships with other companies
- GAP
- Development of Gap' s e-commerce business
- Recent e-commerce initiatives
- Overview of e-commerce strategy
- E-commerce products
- Geographical markets
- Online supply chain management
- Customer care
- Online financial performance
- Outlook
- Development of Asos' s e-commerce business
- Overview of e-commerce strategy
- E-commerce products
- Geographical markets
- Online supply chain management
- E-commerce marketing strategy
- Customer care and special offers
- Financial performance
- Outlook
- Development of Yoox' s e-commerce business
- Overview of e-commerce strategy
- E-commerce products
- Geographical markets
- Online supply chain management
- E-commerce marketing strategy
- Customer care
- Online financial performance
- Outlook
- Online clothing retailing: profiles of six companies
- Development of Marks & Spencer' s e-commerce business
- Overview of e-commerce strategy
- E-commerce products
- Geographical markets
- Online supply chain management
- E-commerce marketing strategy
- Customer care
- Online financial performance
- Outlook
- Development of Future Bazaar' s e-commerce business
- Overview of e-commerce strategy
- E-commerce products
- Geographical markets
- Online supply chain management
- E-commerce marketing strategy
- Customer care
- Online financial performance
- Outlook
- Company overview
- Development of Bivolino' s e-commerce business
- Geographical markets
- Online supply chain management
- E-commerce marketing strategy
- Customer care
- Online financial performance
- Outlook
List of figures
- Figure 1: Gap' s home page
- Figure 2: Gap' s Facebook page
- Figure 3: Gap' s StyleMixer applications for the iPhone
- Figure 4: Asos' s home page
- Figure 5: Asos' s community webpage, Asos Life
- Figure 6: Yoox' s home page
- Figure 7: Yoox' s home page
- Figure 8: Diesel' s home page
- Figure 9: Emilio Pucci home page
- Figure 10: Emporio Armani home page
- Figure 11: Marks & Spencer' s home page
- Online clothing retailing: profiles of six companies
- Figure 12: Selected pages from Future Bazaar' s online store
- Figure 13: Future Bazaar' s information centre in Dombivli, Maharashtra,
India
- Figure 14: Demonstration of Future Bazaar' s website in the information
centre
- Figure 15: Bivolino' s Made to Measure Shirts webpage
