Fall/Winter Fashion Campaigns: How Brands Are Capitalizing On High Interest in New Collections

With fashion month in full bloom in the world’s four most glamorous cities, retailers and luxury brands are capitalizing on the collective excitement for all things sartorial to showcase their new Fall/Winter looks online. And judging by our findings, consumers are more than ready to give their wardrobes a makeover and explore new styles…

In this article, we examine the effects of Fall/Winter apparel campaigns on digital customer behavior and their impact on revenue. 

Methodology 

To paint a clear picture of how US consumers respond to Fall/Winter collections campaigns, we analyzed data from 24 global fashion brands (including luxury and mainstream brands), focusing on their US sites. Our analysis runs through a month and a half worth of data, representing 98 million user sessions, spread out over 510 pages.

As part of our analysis, we compared the performance of Fall/Winter campaigns (or “new collections”) with that of the end-of-Summer 2019 campaigns (or “old collections”). 

Let’s learn more.

Fall/Winter 2019 Launches Increase Overall Revenue

The happy news for retailers is that the recently-launched Fall/Winter collections reaped larger average carts across all 3 devices. In fact, overall revenue was up 6.74% from the end of the summer campaigns, with the most impressive leap observed on tablet (+6.56%).

Conversion rates, however, did not follow the same upward trend — not on two device types, that is. . Desktop conversions on new fall collections stagnated at 2.19%, signaling no change in the conversion rate between the old and new collections. Tablet conversions lessened by 3%, further handing the victory torch to the end-of-summer collection in terms of conversion rates.

On the contrary, new collections on mobile outperformed old ones, with a 4.43% rise in conversions.

While the mobile conversion rate increase is slight, it nonetheless signals a significant opportunity for retailers, and a clear indication that consumers are willing to shop for new looks on their smartphone. Brands should thus not neglect capitalizing on their mobile UX

In fact, they should design with a mobile-first approach to digital. Aside from holding stock in revenue, mobile continued its high traffic trend. It was the most-trafficked device in BOTH old and new collections, hovering at around 72%, dwarfing desktop and tablet usage, which came in at 22.5% and 6%, respectively. 

Increased Acquisition Spend Leads to Higher Traffic

Now that we shined light on what is arguably the most important impact of Fashion Week, let’s veer into the beginning of the user journey: how visitors entered the websites we surveyed. 

According to our data, paid acquisition campaigns around the new collections paid off (pun intended). Brands primarily relied on paid sources to draw more users into Fall/Winter looks, including paid search campaigns (display ads) and paid social campaigns.

These paid acquisition campaigns resulted in traffic increases across all devices, with a whopping 289% growth in traffic from display ads and a sturdy 178% growth from paid social ads. It seems that if a brand is willing to put money behind ads for Winter/Fall fashions, customers are more than willing to click. 

Visitors Seek Fall/Winter Inspiration On The Homepage 

A high-level view of the digital customer behavior on the homepage reveals that, by the time the new collections roll in, visitors are eager to discover new trends and styles. 

The new styles drive a peak in customer interactions, with a higher click rate on the homepage slideshow (64% up from clicks on Summer items) and on the product tiles right below (+17%). 

There are fewer clicks on the search bar, which figures, as most consumers appear to be in a discovery/inspiration phase, accessing the new styles through the more visual, inspirational elements of the homepage. The click rate on the cart also goes down around the new season launch, corroborating the idea that consumers are primarily window-shopping.

It’s a good time for brands to make sure they’re getting the most ROI from the inspirational elements on the homepage, since the excitement for new season looks translates to heavier engagement with these areas of the site. Optimizing product pages to capitalize on this heightened interest is also key: if visitors are clicking on your Fall sweaters tile, make sure you follow through with a relevant selection of items and an easy path to conversion.

Inspirational Content Shouldn’t Slow Down The UX 

But with all this inspirational and visual content showcasing the season’s must-have items, some brands are running into speed issues.

On desktop, for example, homepage loading times were up 50% after the launch of the Fall/Winter collection — from 2.09 to 3.14 seconds. With a 4% increase on mobile, it seems brands have overall made some effort to keep load times down on smartphones.

It’s a delicate balance to achieve— on the one hand, you want to give consumers all the inspiration they are willing to consume, but not at the cost of stalling the customer journey. Analyzing customer interactions around each element of the page will help teams determine which content is truly driving conversions and which underperforming elements can be optimized, or altogether removed.

Fashion Week Campaigns Don’t Stimulate Store Locator Use 

Customers shopping for Fall looks seem less inclined to continue their journey offline than those looking for end-of-summer bargains. On mobile, the reach rate on the store locator was down -6% for consumers browsing the Fall/Winter collection. Desktop was hit the hardest with a -14% dip in the store locator reach rate.

It could be that with back-to-school, back-to-work, and general September busy-ness, many shoppers don’t have time to go to the stores. Then again, conversions are down too, so it could be that this is a time for window shopping and eyeing up what’s on offer for the months to come.

Optimizing New Collections Campaigns

The unveiling of Fall/Winter collections is a potent engagement driver, and consumers are not shy about clicking on ads and images to be educated about the new season’s looks. With higher engagement and revenue, these campaigns have plenty of potential. 

From post-click optimization to ongoing analysis of your key homepage areas, a granular read of your customers’ experience will uncover any areas of opportunity and help you refine underperforming content.

Remember to reduce your page loading times (long loading times are a major UX offense) and create seamless mobile experiences to reel in the most profit from this short-lived yet critical shopping season.

 

What Surprised Us Most About Fashion Week 2018: Quick Takeaways On User Behavior

ContentSquare data experts analyzed more than 11 million user sessions during the course of a month, across 6 global luxury fashion sites. They examined sessions captured between 09/01 and 09/24 — coinciding with New York, London, and Milan fashion weeks, and the week leading up to the shows.

Here are some of their findings:

1. Homepage traffic increases by almost 20% during fashion week.

Our data analysts found that the number of visitors entering luxury fashion sites through the homepage increased from 26.03% to 31.22% at the start of fashion week. And while the majority of users are still coming in through the digital side door (product pages, category pages, etc), numbers show that many consumers are primed for an introductory brand experience. Also noteworthy was a 42% spike in the number of visitors entering a site through a page dedicated to showcasing inspirational content.

Our analysts also noticed that more than 1 in 2 inspirational pages get updated at the start of September, confirming the expectation that more visitors will be reaching these pages around this time. So, is this seasonal content push working as a strategy to boost consumer loyalty?

2. Users who consumed inspirational content returned to a website on average 233% more times on desktop than the average visitor, and 160% more on mobile.

And it’s not just inspirational content that is getting users coming back for more. Our analysts found that users who viewed ‘new arrivals’ content returned to a site on average 227% more often on desktop and 163% more often on mobile — suggesting the buzz around new collections and campaigns does indeed foster ongoing interest in a brand.

Read the full mini-report to find out what other user behavior trends we learned about when we analyzed millions of fashion lovers’ browsing sessions.

 

Contentsquare Unveils Immersive Analytics Plugin For CX Insights

As part of its mission to revolutionize digital team workflow with easy-to-read, easy-to-leverage insights into digital user behavior, ContentSquare has launched CS Live — a new browser plugin that gives clients immediate access to all the performance metrics they need to create engaging and gainful experiences.


In just one click, ContentSquare clients can now display CX KPIs such as revenue per click, hesitation time or click rate directly onto their own site, mobile site or app. “It’s a bit like having a real-time performance review with your website,” says Jonathan Cherki, CEO and Founder of ContentSquare.

“It’s a bit like having a real-time performance review with your website.”

The game-changer here is that CS Live allows you to measure the performance of your platform without ever having to leave your site. No need to close one window in order to log into a dashboard — simply activating the plugin overlays engagement and attractiveness metrics directly onto each content element of a site.

 

Transforming the Way People Work


Removing the need for a dashboard brings brands closer than ever to the reality of customers, allowing them to both visualize and measure their UX in the same browser window. With CS Live, digital teams can be in direct conversation with their website to find out about their users’ end goals, preferences and struggles.


By visualizing the experience they think users are having side by side with the reality of digital journeys, teams are better equipped to bridge the experience gap fast and effectively. In the same way, they can immediately visualize ROI hotspots and locate the main drivers of engagement on their platforms.


In short, the plugin makes an easy-to-use digital experience insights platform even simpler. Some ContentSquare clients are already enjoying the speed and efficiency of one-click analytics, and have reported a positive impact on their workflow.


“CS Live helps GoPro immediately identify engagement metrics without having to load and sift through reporting data – this reduces time required for analysis and accelerates our decision making process,” said Eumir Nicasio, Head of Product, Digital & eCommerce of GoPro.

“CS Live helps GoPro immediately identify engagement metrics without having to load and sift through reporting data – this reduces time required for analysis and accelerates our decision making process.”


“When you’re in the middle of a meeting and the CEO asks you what is the content that generates the most revenue or across different markets or potentially the highest-performing filters, you’re able to answer that question in a manner of a few clicks,” says Niya Noneva, Digital Analytics Manager at Feelunique, Europe’s largest only beauty retailer.


And because it’s so intuitive, CS Live can be used by anyone on the team, without the need for training. And with zero barriers to use, brands will see daily adoption in no time. One of the key pillars of the ContentSquare solution is to put the data directly into the hands of those who need it. With this new plugin, digital teams can enjoy the same standards of convenience as the consumers they develop experiences for.

 

How It Works


CS Live uses ContentSquare’s Auto-Zone technology to automatically scan a site, isolating each element of content — including non-clickable elements — and removing the need for customized tagging. The Zone Based-Analytics functionality flags which in-page elements are driving conversion, and which are are causing friction along the customer journey.


The new plugin lets teams query data for specific segments, over a specific time period, and on any device — a real time-saver when it comes to side-by-side comparison of customer engagement drivers. It also adds an invaluable layer of insight to a brand’s testing strategy. And because ContentSquare captures all the data, all the time, teams can go back in time and quiz their site about past performance.


CS Live is available now to ContentSquare clients, and can be downloaded from the Chrome Web Store. Get in touch with us if you’d like to see it in action on your site!

 

ContentSquare Launches Augmented Reality Tool for Brands Seeking Instant Digital Customer Analytics

CS Live Allows Companies to Glean Instant Best Practices Insights in the Time it Takes to Browse Their Site

New York, N.Y. (September 26, 2018) – Continuing to provide marketers and brands with deeper analytics and insights into how and why online users do what they do, ContentSquare, a digital experience insights platform, today announced a new solution – CS Live – that delivers customer experience (CX) information in real-time with one click.

“Because digital is a mission critical channel today, we want to make sure that, for companies we support, key stakeholders can access customer experience insights as easily as they can walk into their brick and mortar stores, and observe where customers are going, which display they are looking at, where they hesitate, where they might experience frustration, etc. In particular, we believe senior executives needs to access this data directly, without needing to rely exclusively on expert analysts,” said Jonathan Cherki, CEO and Founder of ContentSquare. “Relying on a handful of experts is neither efficient nor scalable. Enterprises — many of which are overwhelmed with data — need to make their website optimization decisions based on insightful experience data that drives conversions instead of on their gut feeling.”

Now, by simply downloading ContentSquare’s CS Live browser plugin from the Chrome Web Store, users can browse their respective sites for instant CX analytics. With CS Live, entire teams can easily access customer experience insights, get answers to their CX and visitor engagement questions as quickly as it takes to browse their website, and complement their existing website testing strategies. From CEOs to analysts, internal teams can now benefit from advanced CX and visitor engagement analytics with no training required.

“CS Live helps GoPro immediately identify engagement metrics without having to load and sift through reporting data – this reduces time required for analysis and accelerates our decision making process,” said Eumir Nicasio, Head of Product, Digital & eCommerce of GoPro.

“Universally, web users have grown to have zero tolerance when it comes to searching for and receiving information online,” added Jonathan Cherki, CEO of ContentSquare. “CS Live is a practical solution for brands seeking immediate feedback – like Amazon one click buying or Uber one click taxi – on how customers are utilizing their sites. We refer to it as AR analytics because it augments your site with actionable behavioral metrics that can be understood and shared across teams, enabling a true democratization of data. It’s a bit like having a real-time performance review with your website. CS Live has an array of use cases, from a conversion manager needing answers as to how her visitors are engaging with a new checkout process to an ecommerce manager inquiring about which piece of content has generated the most revenue on his company’s site, even in a particular region like France, that month.”

CS Live can be used to perform side-by-side site comparisons and discover how a brand’s A/B test strategy drives customer engagement. It can also be used to analyze dynamic content and influence content marketing strategies. Allowing for deeper insights, CS Live can also easily attribute customer experience KPIs from engagement to return on investment (ROI) for all active content elements. Further, it does not require a tagging plan, and is compatible with ContentSquare’s zone-based heat maps to compare and contrast content performance regardless of where the content is placed on the site or what device was used to view or access it.

ContentSquare is a digital experience insights platform that helps businesses understand how and why users are interacting with their app, mobile and web sites. They compute billions of touch and mouse movements and transform this knowledge into profitable actions that increase engagement, reduce operational costs and maximize conversion rates. Using behavioral data, artificial intelligence and big data to provide automatic recommendations, ContentSquare empowers every member of the digital team to easily measure the impact of their actions and make fast and productive data-driven decisions to optimize the customer journey. ContentSquare offers its services to a range of companies including Walmart, L’Oréal, Tiffany’s, Clarks and Unilever.

For more information about ContentSquare, please visit: contentsquare.com

About ContentSquare
ContentSquare is a digital experience insights platform that helps businesses understand how and why users are interacting with their app, mobile and web sites. We compute billions of touch and mouse movements, and transform this knowledge into profitable actions that increase engagement, reduce operational costs and maximize conversion rates.

Using behavioral data, artificial intelligence and big data to provide automatic recommendations to marketers, ContentSquare empowers every member of the digital team to easily measure the impact of their actions, and make fast and productive data-driven decisions to optimize the customer journey.
Learn more at contentsquare.com.

Contact
Jason Heller
(212) 584-4278
contentsquare@5wpr.com

Good UX Is Always In Fashion: Two Influencers Share Their Pet Digital Peeve
With fashion week upon us once again, brands are focused on pushing the latest trends, and keeping their digital audience engaged around the season’s must-have looks and accessories.

And it’s not only styles that are changing fast and furiously — throughout the past decade, the fashion sector has experienced a great deal of transformation. Digital innovation, the rise of social media, and the emergence of new standards for customer experience have all impacted digital buying behavior.

We reached out to two experts in all things fashion to hear their thoughts on how brands can make their mark and stay ahead in this rapidly-changing industry.

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Photo: Gitta Banko, Blondwalk

GOOD UX VERSUS BAD UX

In this age of instant choice, where consumers have access to hundreds of competing stores right at their fingertips, digital convenience and hassle-free shopping have become a key factor of brand loyalty. If you have a winning product but a terrible digital experience, you’ll still lose customers.

Gitta Banko, a stylist, fashion blogger and digital influencer who showcases the latest styles on her sartorial diary Blondwalk, agrees that the customer experience is make or break. “The worst online shopping experience, even if I love the clothing, is when the site is not working properly,” says Gitta.

Long load times, broken links, lack of information — today’s consumers have a very low tolerance for any friction along the digital journey. If even one part of the digital journey seems confusing or difficult, it only takes a few seconds to switch to a competing brand.

Today’s consumers have a very low tolerance for any friction along the digital journey.

For Gitta, navigation turns problematic when “the images load too slowly, or it (the site) keeps showing errors.” Frustrating delays in-site will not endear you to customers – particularly when shoppers are flicking through multiple product images or viewing inspirational content. In fact, ContentSquare data shows that digital shoppers make their minds up very quickly, with 40% of e-Commerce buyers converting on the first visit.

An intuitive path through the site is also a must-have. “What I feel is also annoying is when the page navigation is not well done, meaning it redirects me to the landing page when I have already clicked my way through product page 16,” explains Gitta. Imagine walking through a museum — you want to walk from one section to another seamlessly without having to go back to the main lobby to ask for directions. The same goes for shopping online.

Shipping is also a key component of the customer experience. Like many fashion fanatics, blogger Jessica Windle, who shares style pics and stories on Jeans & a Teacup, is always on the market for a good deal on delivery and some sort of promotion.

“If shipping is too expensive or the return process is difficult, I won’t go through with a purchase,” says Jessica. “I like a deal, too, so sometimes I won’t go through with a purchase if an item isn’t on sale or I can’t find a discount code.” Indeed, ContentSquare found that 28% of shoppers abandon their carts due to unexpected shipping costs. Making shipping costs and discount codes known at the start of the customer journey can make all the difference between a conversion and a bounce.

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Photo: Jessica Windle, Jeans & a Teacup

MOBILE FIRST — A TREND THAT’S HERE TO STAY

As more and more retail traffic shifts to smartphone (49.1% versus 38.2% desktop), fashion brands are allocating a bigger chunk of their marketing budget to connecting with their mobile customers. “A smartphone is great if you need to make an emergency purchase while you’re out,” says Jessica.

But while today’s fashionistas may be glued to their phones, ContentSquare data shows that a majority still switch to desktop to go through with purchases — 2.33% CVR on desktop versus 1.16% on mobile. “I like to browse on my smartphone but I usually end up purchasing from my laptop at home”, confirms Jessica, citing poor internet connection as one of the hurdles to mobile conversion. She also flags sites that “mobile-friendly” as a major frustration.

Gitta confirms the need for a mobile-first design when shopping on her smartphone. “If I use my mobile device I prefer using apps if the shops offer them, as they are better to handle than desktop versions on mobile devices.” She describes her pet mobile UX peeve as “pop-ups that are hard to close.”

Confirming that mobile users have little patience for anything less than a seamless journey are the higher bounce rate and cart abandonment rate on handheld devices. ContentSquare data shows that for fashion e-Commerce sites, the mobile bounce rate is 41.4%, compared to 33% on desktop. “I usually use my laptop for online shopping as I can see everything better on there,” notes Gitta.

ContentSquare data shows that for fashion e-Commerce sites, the mobile bounce rate is 41.4%, compared to 33% on desktop.

Brands that can crack the formula of inspiring on a small screen will be able to tap into this eager audience. And fashion lovers have very specific needs when it comes to information. For Jessica, that’s “great photos of the product and a detailed sizing chart so I know exactly how an item will fit.” Gitta says “the entire design” as well as the site’s “pictoral language” are crucial to her experience.

Understanding what matters to users is key to delivering the experiences that can help them meet their digital goals. AI-driven analytics can help brands decipher consumer expectations and needs, and keep pace in the world of fast fashion, ensuring all those runway looks get the digital attention they deserve.

See you in the front row!

Read our Little Black Book of Luxury

ContentSquare Raises $42 Million Series B Led by U.S. VC Canaan and Highland Europe

France-Based SaaS Digital Experience Insights Platform Secures Funding to Continue its Rapid Growth in Americas and Europe

PARIS (Jan. 29, 2018) — ContentSquare, a SaaS digital experience insights platform, has raised a $42 million Series B funding round led by Canaan, a U.S. VC firm that has previously invested in LendingClub, Ebates and Match.com. Highland Europe, a global investor in companies including Matchesfashion.com, WeTransfer and Photobox and a previous investor in the company also participated in the round, as did Eurazeo and H14. The funding will be used to continue to grow ContentSquare’s business in the U.S. and globally.

 

ContentSquare computes billions of touch and mouse movements every day in 191 countries, and transforms this knowledge into profitable actions that increase engagement, reduce operational costs and maximize conversion rates. Used by content, eCommerce, analytics, acquisition, IT and UX teams, ContentSquare’s roadmap positions it to become the first fully automated, Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven digital experience platform.

 

“Since our founding, we have been dedicated to understanding how and why consumers interact with their favorite brands’ website, mobile and apps – and to use that data to improve our customers’ digital experiences, measure content efficiency and, ultimately, increase sales,” said ContentSquare’s CEO Jonathan Cherki, who is based in NYC. “By improving and automating digital experience analytics, our innovative technology has become a secret weapon for some of the best brands all around the world. This round is a testament to the value we bring to our customers, and we’re very excited about our growth ahead.”

 

ContentSquare believes in people transformation more than digital transformation — changing the way digital teams work by empowering them to measure their impact and pinpoint the best ways to increase their revenue.

 

The company previously raised a $20 million Series A fundraising closed in the fall of 2016 led by Highland Europe and supported by business angels from Seed4soft. Since then the company has expanded globally, with offices in Paris, Munich, London and New York, and has grown to over 200 employees. In that time, ContentSquare also saw more than 150 percent revenue growth and added 120 customers worldwide, including Orange, Rakuten, Carrefour, Walmart, Tiffany’s, Clarks, Goldman Sachs, Abbott, SNCF, AccorHotels, L’Occitane and more.

 

Since the launch of the company, ContentSquare has rolled out a series of innovations and groundbreaking technology. Recent developments include the creation of an AI engine to analyze behavioral data and offer automatic insights, as well as its Auto-Zone feature launched earlier this month. Auto-Zone redefines online data collection by replacing content tagging and tag configuration with automatic element identification and revenue attribution for each area and element of a website.

 

“The ability for any brand to sell any good and deliver it to the consumer quickly means that the key differentiator for brand loyalty is customer experience,” said Michael Gilroy, Principal at Canaan, who spearheaded the firm’s investment and has joined the ContentSquare board. “This is where ContentSquare’s digital experience insights come into play – they help enterprises really understand their users and create the ultimate experience.”

 

“We are proud to participate in another rounding of funding for ContentSquare,” said Tony Zappala, Partner at Highland Europe. “The talented team, led by Jonathan Cherki, has a strong vision with ambitious goals in a huge market. As an early investor, it’s exciting to see they ContentSquare continue to innovate and grow.”

 

For more information about ContentSquare, please visit: contentsquare.com

 

About ContentSquare:

ContentSquare is a digital experience insights platform that helps businesses understand how and why users are interacting with their app, mobile and web sites. The company computes billions of touch and mouse movements, and transforms this knowledge into profitable actions that increase engagement, reduce operational costs and maximize conversion rates. Using behavioral data, artificial intelligence and big data to provide automatic recommendations, ContentSquare empowers every member of the digital team to easily measure the impact of their actions, and make fast and productive data-driven decisions to optimize the customer journey. Learn more at contentsquare.com.

 

About Canaan:
Canaan is an early stage venture capital firm that invests in entrepreneurs with visionary ideas. With $5 billion under management, a diversified fund and 190 exits to date, Canaan has invested in some of the world’s leading technology and health care companies over the past 30 years. Canaan’s focus areas include fintech, enterprise/SaaS, marketplace, e-commerce, biopharma, digital health and medtech. To learn more about our people and our portfolio, please visit canaan.com.

 

About Highland Europe:
Highland Europe is exclusively focused on Growth Stage internet, mobile and software businesses. Launched in 2012 and with over €580m ($640m) in capital raised across two funds, the firm’s origins were as the European operations of Highland Capital Partners, a US venture capital firm. Highland Europe is based in London and Geneva and its current portfolio includes MatchesFashion.com, GetYourGuide, WeTransfer, Nexthink, and Malwarebytes among many others.

www.highlandeurope.com

 

Media Contact:

Austin Rotter

ContentSquare@5wpr.com