May 1, 2008
Shopping Online to Look Like a Celebrity
By Bernice Hurst, Managing Partner, Fine Food Network
Online fashion retailer asos.com has built its business on one simple principle: helping consumers dress like celebrities. The idea, as The Guardian explained, is to have models parading down the catwalk wearing outfits similar to those seen on the famous so that the not-famous can choose a style they would like to emulate at a fraction of the cost.
The site actually links fashion looks to faces. Customers can click on their favorite celebrity/pop star and view clothes that look a bit like things they have been pictured in. Victoria Beckham, Lindsay Lohan and Jennifer Lopez have proved to be particular favorites. Another unique feature is the ability for consumers to then see the item on models parading down the catwalk.
The site now carries 250 brands including big names such as Balenciaga and YSL. Targeting women aged 18 to 34, Asos claims some 1.7 million registered users, according to The Guardian, with 180,000 potential customers browsing each day and 200,000 orders at an average £60 each month. Menswear makes up 15 percent of sales, beauty and cosmetics three percent. Each of the 8,300 items is photographed and stock turned (replaced) every nine weeks.
Since starting the business in 2000, founder Nick Robertson has seen it grow to an £80m ($160m) annual turnover with shares having increased in value from 5p each when it was first listed on AIM four years ago to 282p today.
Mr. Robertson explains that his site shows clothes better than retailers’ own websites, especially because of the catwalk feature. Several chains are adding their products to those already on Asos but he would eventually like to have them all, making Asos a virtual fashion mall. He also hopes to make the site more intelligent so that each shopper is recognized on entry and shown only relevant products.
Other ideas include expanding the Asos magazine, creating a marketplace where customers can sell their own clothes and offering designer end-of-lines at knockdown prices. Soon everyone will look like a celebrity.
Discussion questions: What do you think of asos.com’s use of celebrity connections and catwalks to sell fashion apparel? Is Asos taking celebrity connections to online fashion retailing to a new level? Should department stores and fashion boutiques pursue similar techniques to capitalize more on celebrity and designer connections?
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By way of postscript, Asos has just announced turnover for their year to end of March up by 90% with pre-tax profits topping analysts’ forecasts at approximately £7m ($14m).
Of course this is a very smart move. The wannabes in the world will dress and unfortunately, act like the rich and famous. That’s the same reason people pay $500 plus for a purse and accessories. Congrats to them for thinking of a creative way of exploiting the situation.
I have not visited the site, but if it also lets you select a price point for achieving your look it could really be a brand killer. It is almost like walking the NYC sidewalks to buy your Rolex. You know you are not buying the real thing but you hope it can at least keep time. The challenge for the shopper is product quality.
Everyone knows celebrities get their clothes for free. They may even be getting endorsement money for wearing them. My personal reason for wanting to emulate them is that I still believe that stripes and checks go together and that the “power tie” is bright yellow. As a consumer, a site that lets me create a contemporary look without spending extra for a brand name makes all the sense the world. As a brand owner, I would be concerned.
The concluding clause in the discussion prologue reads, “soon everyone will look like a celebrity.” Is that a panacea? Once the world was waiting for the sunrise, but that didn’t sell enough clothing, cosmetics or basketball shoes. Is it now time to shuck the “sunrise” and further idolize and dress like any manner of folks referred to as celebrities? Is this a progressive world we live in or what??? Whatever, good luck Asos.
In a celebrity-obsessed society, this is a great idea. The site is simple and easy to use. The fact that they turn over stock every nine weeks adds freshness to the site. Chalk up another reason to shop online.
Asos, like so many other successful retailers, proves that many great retailers are strong editors. They don’t try to please everyone or even the majority or even a large minority. They just need to please a targeted group profitably. Who’d a thunk folks would spend money buying plastic diamonds on TV? Who knew that millions of people would enjoy wearing jeans falling off their rear ends? Why do some folks want to resemble celebrities of no accomplishment? Beats me, but shoppers vote at the cash register.
I just spent some time on this fantastic British site. I can clearly see why it is so successful. The ability not only to see clothes that a preferred celebrity either wears or might wear, but also to see it modeled on a catwalk with music is very cool. The brands shown are good quality and the sections with premium brands and independent designers take it to another level. There are site navigation issues, but overall it is a great experience and one which clearly resonates. A version to be seen in the US soon? I think it could work with a retailer already thought of as cool, but maybe even Macy’s or Penney’s should give it a try.
The Catwalk feature is a great feature for fashion apparel. The music and the video should have a significant impact on conversion rates. Without respect to the celebrity tie-in, simply enhancing the site in this way is a great step forward.
Deriving fashion and trend direction from celebrities is normal and usual method of aspirational identification. The “style” embodied by a celebrity builds confidence that the look will be well received. There’s nothing wrong with this. Building confidence is an important part of delivering value. The more confidence a person has in their choice, the more value they will get out of the purchase. This is a great thing.
Having said all that, this site can actually be substantially improved. Clicking on the add to cart takes the user to the cart…this is no longer a best practice. Individual items are supported in the Catwalk, but outfits are not. You can shop by “trend” but there are only two of them for Women’s, and virtually no information on what the “trend” is.
ASOS has struck the tip of the iceberg. This site could set the online fashion industry on its ear with some additional enhancements which build on the consumer need to identify with and feel confident about the purchases they make.
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By way of postscript, Asos has just announced turnover for their year to end of March up by 90% with pre-tax profits topping analysts’ forecasts at approximately £7m ($14m).
Of course this is a very smart move. The wannabes in the world will dress and unfortunately, act like the rich and famous. That’s the same reason people pay $500 plus for a purse and accessories. Congrats to them for thinking of a creative way of exploiting the situation.
I have not visited the site, but if it also lets you select a price point for achieving your look it could really be a brand killer. It is almost like walking the NYC sidewalks to buy your Rolex. You know you are not buying the real thing but you hope it can at least keep time. The challenge for the shopper is product quality.
Everyone knows celebrities get their clothes for free. They may even be getting endorsement money for wearing them. My personal reason for wanting to emulate them is that I still believe that stripes and checks go together and that the “power tie” is bright yellow. As a consumer, a site that lets me create a contemporary look without spending extra for a brand name makes all the sense the world. As a brand owner, I would be concerned.
The concluding clause in the discussion prologue reads, “soon everyone will look like a celebrity.” Is that a panacea? Once the world was waiting for the sunrise, but that didn’t sell enough clothing, cosmetics or basketball shoes. Is it now time to shuck the “sunrise” and further idolize and dress like any manner of folks referred to as celebrities? Is this a progressive world we live in or what??? Whatever, good luck Asos.
In a celebrity-obsessed society, this is a great idea. The site is simple and easy to use. The fact that they turn over stock every nine weeks adds freshness to the site. Chalk up another reason to shop online.
Asos, like so many other successful retailers, proves that many great retailers are strong editors. They don’t try to please everyone or even the majority or even a large minority. They just need to please a targeted group profitably. Who’d a thunk folks would spend money buying plastic diamonds on TV? Who knew that millions of people would enjoy wearing jeans falling off their rear ends? Why do some folks want to resemble celebrities of no accomplishment? Beats me, but shoppers vote at the cash register.
I just spent some time on this fantastic British site. I can clearly see why it is so successful. The ability not only to see clothes that a preferred celebrity either wears or might wear, but also to see it modeled on a catwalk with music is very cool. The brands shown are good quality and the sections with premium brands and independent designers take it to another level. There are site navigation issues, but overall it is a great experience and one which clearly resonates. A version to be seen in the US soon? I think it could work with a retailer already thought of as cool, but maybe even Macy’s or Penney’s should give it a try.
The Catwalk feature is a great feature for fashion apparel. The music and the video should have a significant impact on conversion rates. Without respect to the celebrity tie-in, simply enhancing the site in this way is a great step forward.
Deriving fashion and trend direction from celebrities is normal and usual method of aspirational identification. The “style” embodied by a celebrity builds confidence that the look will be well received. There’s nothing wrong with this. Building confidence is an important part of delivering value. The more confidence a person has in their choice, the more value they will get out of the purchase. This is a great thing.
Having said all that, this site can actually be substantially improved. Clicking on the add to cart takes the user to the cart…this is no longer a best practice. Individual items are supported in the Catwalk, but outfits are not. You can shop by “trend” but there are only two of them for Women’s, and virtually no information on what the “trend” is.
ASOS has struck the tip of the iceberg. This site could set the online fashion industry on its ear with some additional enhancements which build on the consumer need to identify with and feel confident about the purchases they make.