Seen as a time to celebrate the best of UK fashion, there is a move to drive a sales boost through the event, which kickstarts today, with 'see now, buy now' initiatives from brands like Topshop and Burberry. However, according to Optimove, this is not actually the case.
Off the runway, British retailers are getting involved by sponsoring after-parties, pop-up shows and events, but data collected by Optimove suggests that for most retailers the impact of sales will not be significant. Instead, they should be focusing the development of long term relationships that can provide future value.
Pini Yakuel, founder and CEO of Optimove, comments: “Featuring in London Fashion Week is a great asset for many brands as it helps them to reach a wider audience. However, focusing on boosting sales directly through showcasing at Fashion Week could quite possibly be a fashion 'faux pas'. “Fashion is a passion industry: it brings together people with a shared love for style and design, and brands can utilise this to build a relationship with customers that lasts beyond Fashion Week. Simply aiming to sell more during this one week means that brands will miss out on connecting with customers and cultivating lasting brand loyalty and increasing customers' lifetime value. “For the more valuable work of offering customers real value, brands need to communicate in an emotionally intelligent way. Retailers should be able to identify a particularly fashion-forward customer and give them sneak peeks to an exclusive collection, access to limited editions or treat them to VIP/Concierge experiences, for example.
Pini continues: “This means moving away from general demographic assumptions and towards segmentation based on behaviour analysis. The data which helps brands to build up a fuller view of their customers is the most valuable thing to come out of London Fashion Week, because it can help retailers develop a relationship based on ongoing exchange of value.” Visit optimove.com
