YNAP Look to Become Mobile Only
One of the largest online fashion retailers, Net-A-Porter, are looking to become one of the first mobile-only e-commerce business. E-commerce has become an instrumental feature within clothing brands across the world and Net-A-Porter are looking to pioneer to the mobile-only clothing sector.
Net-A-Porter, a magazine themed website, launched in 2000 and has since become one of the leading online retail brands and has looked to utilise innovation to access millennials and consumers alike. The luxury clothing brand, Net-A-Porter, which also houses Mr Porter, a menswear brand, merged with Milan-based online fashion retailer Yoox in 2015 and has since aimed to utilise the technologically focused aspect of e-commerce.
As the merger between Yoox and Net-A-Porter materialised, founder of Net-A-Porter Group, Natalie Massenet stated: “Today, we open the doors to the world’s biggest luxury fashion store. Its is a store that never closes, a store without geographical borders, a store that connects with, inspires, serves and offers millions of style-conscious global consumers access to the finest designer labels in fashion. A store that provides established and emerging brands with the greatest interactive shop window to the world. Together, with our world-class teams in technology, logistics, content and commerce we are redefining the fashion media and retail landscape. The best way to predict the future of fashion is to create it.”
Photo Credit: Green Pebbles Magazine
Net-A-Porter is a now global titan within the world of fashion. Delivering to customers in more than 180 different countries attributed to sales of $1.88 billion in the financial year which ended in March, an increase from 2015’s revenue total ($1.7 billion) and a substantial increase from the two companies combined 2014 total ($1.3 billion).
In an interview with Business of Fashion, Chief Executive of Net-A-Porter, Federico Marchetti explained; “One of my biggest objectives is to transform the company into mobile-only company”, further saying mobile commerce has become a “new luxury conglomerate” of the digital era.
Furthermore, Mr Marchetti has high hopes for m-commerce, expecting further business to come from mobiles and tablets with an expected three-quarters of total sales to be accounted for from such devices. Currently less than half are utilising devices to shop, but also, of its 2.6 million customers, an average of $366 is spent per order.
Specifically in the online fashion industry, the shift towards mobile-only e-commerce will become more a more prominent feature. As consumers are able to access E-commerce sites via their mobile devices, both at home and on the go, their has been increased attention placed on m-commerce.
Mobile internet access has long surpassed desktop. It seems users are more likely to access the web via mobile devices as opposed to the prior desktop tendencies. This is reflected directly within the way we shop nowadays; in minutes we are able to research, view and purchase an item or a product within minutes.
Mobile commerce has been a growing phenomenon as the majority of the world firmly grasped by the digital age. In 2015 in the US, m-commerce accounted for 30% of all e-commerce, a 5% increase from the year prior. Furthermore, mobile retailers generated an estimated $40.58 billion revenue in the same year – a figure that fundamentally outlines the ever growing standing of m-commerce and its importance within the retail world.
The incorporation of mobile payments such as Apple Pay and Android Pay have helped accelerate the mobile industry and has enabled brands to access their mobile-wielding consumers. The accessibility of mobile payment is an integral part of m-commerce, with users not having to input their bank details, instead of being secured by a fingerprint. We can expect, in due course, brands will look to follow in the footsteps of Yoox Net-A-Porter Group and become mobile-only businesses.
National bank, Barclays have predicted that by 2019, nearly £32 billion of retail sales are predicted to be made via a mobile device. The future of m-commerce presents vast developments within the retail sector, not only within the fashion world but on a much wider scale.
One of the leading features of m-commerce, is the ability for brands to interact directly with individual consumers. If a customer on the app is shopping away, placing items in their virtual basket, to then be distracted by a flow of WhatsApp message. Brands have the ability to contact those consumers via push notifications, notifying them of their absence. Not only that, but brands can market flash sales to individual consumers, targeting their shopping habits and previous searches.
Feature Image Credit: Yoox Net-A-Porter Group