Noteworthy e-commerce fashion brands

The way to a successful brand is a 360 approach. The following brands have understood the ecosystem in which they work, and have hence successful built effective platforms. Whether it’s their in-store service and experience, or their digital presence and presentation, these brands understand the importance of perception. Marketing is no longer about what you’re selling, it’s about the story to you tell. The only way to semi-control the message and identity projected to your consumers is to master the art of storytelling. Tell YOUR story. Each brand has its own way of portraying its personality.

The millennial age group is the first generation to be overexposed to media messages growing up. Late-millennials (post 1990s births) were brought up with the internet and cellphones. As a result, they are not easily impressed when it comes to ads, communication methods and websites. They want to know who they’re buying from, and they want to know as much as possible. Statistically, the overwhelming majority of millennials are more likely to buy from a brand because they feel emotionally connected to it, than because of the product.

The fashion industry in particular has fallen into a fast-fashion pace. New designs and collections are constantly released. Lifestyle brands add their take on the luxury brands’ design, and round and round it goes. The only way brands can survive in this market climate is to be stand their ground, in terms of their beliefs, values, purpose, artistic approach and voice. In order for their authenticity to remain intact, these brands embed their ethos in their physical platforms as well as their online platforms.

Burberry is believed to be the number 1 digital fashion brand. They stick to their high-fashion, content-oriented and innovative DNA throughout their website. They use their heritage, celebrity endorsement and renown pattern as a way to communicate their luxurious status. Their heritage also serves as their driving force for storytelling. Their values were crafted from their first glimmer of success. Their innovative methods come through in their digital platforms. Always ahead of the curve, their e-commerce is effortless to navigate, and anticipates all its users’ needs.

Acne Studios uses its edginess and exclusivity to drive its brand’s overarching communication. Their quirky aesthetics portray their passion. The connaisseurs see them as front-runners in the industry. Their online experience reflects their quirkiness through imagery, navigational methods, and purposely-jarring concepts. From their font and copywriting, to their check out, their consumers have a full onbrand experience.

Guerlain falls under the luxury brand category. Their established status as a successful brand and heritage helps them stay on top of their game. Similar to Burberry, Chanel, and Dior, their specific heritage fronts their DNA, and therefore leads their communication strategies. From their products design, to their photography, to their presentation, Guerlain remains faithful to their storyline: elegant - historical - French - classic. They play their “ol’ reliable” role well, complemented by very little copy on their e-commerce. They let their product and heritage speak for themselves.

Aritzia’s strength lies in their consumer knowledge. They know aim to communicate efficiently to their target. Their DNA is partly shaped by who buys Aritzia. They defined their age group, and hence built their content, messages and communication accordingly. Confidence - youth - affordable fashion - are three pillars that partly define Aritzia. They picked up on the best ways to sell to their consumers, how to speak to them and stuck to that successful recipe. A notable different would be Aritzia’s in-store experience, that they strive to replicate online.

Everlane’s core identity revolves around their praised transparency. Although their website’s design doesn’t particularly stand out, their brand’s DNA and purpose are compellingly stated. This is an example of a brand created around a purpose rather than the opposite. As such, the communication strategy defined itself around the underlying purpose. The way they portray this solid DNA pillar on their e-commerce is through content (videos and photos), copy, description, and innovative technology emphasizing their main trait. In this case, they have a factory map, which are then redirected to a dedicated page to each factory. They stay faithful to their ethos whilst simultaneously adding value to their brand for their consumer.

Nike is famous for their poignant content, which incidentally grounds the brand’s DNA. They communicate the idea of greatness - professionalism - aspiration through straight-forward content and copywriting. Their established position as a front-runner in the athleleisure category plays a part in their consumer’s perception. They illustrate their greatness and professionalism through their celebrity sportsmen and women’s endorsement. They push boundaries in their ads to convey inspiration and innovation. Through their e-commerce they priorities innovative technologies to better their users overall experience.

Rollie Nation have a clear identity portrayed as a journey on their e-commerce. From their copywriting to their art direction, they remain in synch with their simple, practical and cute identity. Their product description furthers their personality. They anticipate their consumers’ questions and respond in an on-brand manner.

Eugenia Kim’s strongest feature is “showing but not telling”. She demonstrates her success by releasing articles about where her product has appeared, on who, and why. This notoriety adds value for the consumers’ experience, and strengthens brand equity. The selected articles are well distributed to show variety, from events to celebrity shoots to runway shows. The brand’s ethos revolves around being simple, upscale, high fashion and successful. She carries these traits throughout the website, via content, design and copy. She utilizes her qualification as a trend-setter.

Norwegian Rain pride themselves on being high quality and on their craftsmanship. They demonstrate these pillar concepts through the aesthetic of their website, as well as their product knowledge pages. They extensively explain each coat’s characteristics, their new technologies and the implied advantages for consumers. They further the experience by helping the user understand the sizing, their eco-friendly practise, and the care that goes into designing and creating each coat. They extend their sense of privilege to the user’s experience.

Aldo differs from other brands in its strategic incorporation of social media content on the landing page. Aldo’s DNA relies on their ability to have shoes for any occasion. They ground their credibility by incorporating their ambassadors and influencers’ posts. #aldocrew adds value to the consumer, in terms of how to wear the shoes, who’s wearing them, and why. Indeed it enhances their “street-cred”. Furthermore, the influencers will increase traffic to the website.

Nordstrom approaches their e-commerce and website’s function as a platform dedicated to their followers. Their mission statement is consumer-centric, which they emphasize throughout their website’s design and content. They encourage their followers and users to share their Nordstrom experience with their latest campaign’s hashtag. This organically generates UGC (user generated content) which increases added-value. This simultaneously energizes the experience for consumers.