Styling an omnichannel strategy in fashion marketing

Omnichannel may be the cornerstone of modern marketing, but it’s complex. So, how is the fashion sector rising to the challenge as brand and consumer expectations grow around delivering seamless and consistent experiences?

This was the theme discussed by a panel at our recent Fashion Afternoon in Paris. Moderated by CJ’s French Country Manager, Veronica Costantino-Bazin, the panel comprised Roberta La Terza, Head of Ecommerce at Italian luxury retailer Tessabit; Bethan Salmen, Brand Partnerships Director from the global fashion shopping platform Lyst; and Zelene Zhang, Client Development Director at CJ.   

Recognising the challenges of an omnichannel approach

For a publisher, education is critical, so clients recognise its role in a customer journey. After all, shoppers have multiple touchpoints before making a purchase, whether that’s engaging with something they've seen on our social media, using an app to home in on their perfect item, or making a purchase in-store. Publishers play their part in making the sale happen, but as they’re not the conversion channel, they don’t receive commission for it.

Raising awareness of the value they bring is essential, alongside helping advertisers find new ways to integrate themselves within the shopping journey by controlling the messaging and storytelling. When it comes to luxury fashion, buyers value time, whether that’s online or in-store.

For Tessabit, international tourists visiting its stores are a key audience, and this presents its own challenges. Why? Because these buyers face two different checkout procedures – one for their purchase and the other to register for tax-free shopping. Extra complexity means extra time, making it a priority to work with partners to merge registration, checkout, and tax-free into a single touch and reduce this negative experience.

And while low friction across routes to market is important for consumers, this constant channel hopping presents measurement challenges. The fluidity means linking all of these to attribution is difficult, making it hard to pinpoint which channels are driving the outcomes.

Building better customer journeys

But when it comes to these more fluid customer journeys, affiliate marketing is proving successful in connecting marketing channels to presenting brands and products in high-intent environments. Interestingly, it’s also becoming valuable at every stage of a buyer’s journey.

While affiliates have always played a key role in conversions, this is being expanded as they are increasingly used to drive upper-funnel opportunities.   Now, affiliate marketing is very much a growth channel that addresses the entire customer journey. We’re seeing affiliate content designed to raise awareness among an audience being reinforced with shopping guides or comparison tools during the consideration phase, then supported by promotional offers to drive conversions. As a result, affiliates are having more open conversations with their partners about their goals and how they can support them.  

Tapping into the authority that affiliate partners have with their local online audiences also accelerates the move from awareness to consideration. Success comes down to taking the time to understand the approach that best fits the audience you’re trying to reach, then aligning with the right affiliates to support your efforts in moving your audience from awareness to sale.

“Social has been a huge channel for us, where we don't necessarily convert the purchases, but it's increasingly important for our partners to show up on our socials.”
Bethan Salmen, Brand Partnerships Director, Lyst

The impact of the influencer marketing

Like affiliates, when it comes to influencer marketing, it’s horses for courses. Each market has its own intricacies, which call for different influencers to tailor the journey. And Tessabit's experience is that what works in one market can be ineffective in another. It found, for example, that while live shopping performs well in APAC, in Europe, they had no return on their investment.  And influencers can be used in different ways depending on the objective, which is how Lyst approaches it.

By tapping into a wealth of leading publications and creators, it has leveraged their platforms to draw attention to its rich data, whether that’s getting them to share Lyst’s quarterly index of fashion's hottest brands and products with their audience or developing content around it. 
They’ve also used influencers for brand awareness by connecting with shoppers in a consideration mindset and educating them on Lyst’s value proposition: helping people find the right product for them.
Additionally, Lyst has built its own authority in the market, and increasingly, partners are looking to use it as an influencer in its own right to create content for them.

“Plan a tailored strategy. Look at the impact that you want to have on which KPI. Then select the market and select the creators.”
Roberta La Terza, Head of Ecommerce, Tessabit.

However, while content creators and influencers play a crucial role in connecting fragmented customer journeys, success ultimately lies in their ability to help brands achieve their goals. And this comes down to how success is measured. 

Measuring for success 

Average Order Value (AOV) is important, whether you’re looking at single-channel or omnichannel buyers. While its omnichannel audience is small, Tessabit is finding that most growth is occurring here, with AOVs for this group increasing by 15%. And building up this audience is where future value lies, as omnichannel buyers deliver greater lifetime value. For Tessabit, they are 182% higher than its single-channel clients. 

But it’s not just about that initial purchase. Yes, for Lyst, delivering higher-spending customers for its partners through content that changes their minds or makes them consider the brand for the first time is essential. However, it’s also about identifying if these customers continue to spend with the brand and how they can encourage them to do so with their partners throughout the year.    
And let’s not forget new user acquisition costs and return on investment. As the global economy remains challenging and budgets get squeezed tighter, marketing spend must be invested where it’s most effective, and these help monitor this.  

The complexities associated with delivering an omnichannel strategy extend to measurement, and affiliate marketing plays a crucial role in this process. By acting as a connector across a customer journey, affiliate marketing who engage customers at multiple stages can better track and attribute conversions for brands. This makes the channel critical for delivering the measurable omnichannel impact advertisers demand.      

“The nature of affiliation is that it can drive performance and close out the whole customer journey. This solves a key challenge of omnichannel, specifically around attribution.”
Zelene Zhang, Client Development Director, CJ.

Words of wisdom  
So, what advice did our panellists give for success in today’s omnichannel market? Well, it comes down to three Cs.

Don’t be afraid of complexity. Remember that everyone is in the same boat and struggles with this. Just ensure that you tailor your approaches and channels to your target audiences to unlock real value and results. 

Focus on consistency. This is critical for long-term partnerships. Doing small things won’t move the needle. However, having consistency in messaging, storytelling, and focus is where you’ll see an impact. But don’t shy away from testing. Ask your partners for advice and communicate your objectives, and they’ll support you in finding the best solution.

Ensure your channels are connected.  It’s all about integration. When your channels, partnerships and content work together, that’s when customers get a unified experience. Then, brands can really drive insights from their data and put in place the correct measurements to drive success.  

Learn more about what the panel had to say by watching this video.