Online-to-offline trend a sign of omnichannel fashion retailing’s growth in China and US
‘New retail’ strategy of moving from purely online sales to having bricks-and-mortar stores embraced by the likes of Xiaohongshu and Tmall in China, and Everlane in United States
It can sometimes be difficult to imagine bricks-and-mortar stores still have a future in China, so all-encompassing has e-commerce become in the country. But many new-generation online fashion and beauty start-ups have discovered that the next logical growth step is to take their online marketplace, well, offline.
E-commerce giant Alibaba has been setting the pace for a new kind of retailing in China, one in which big data, consumer insights, digital discovery, and logistics create an efficient, elevated experience for the shopper in the physical space.
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A 2017 report by Boston Consulting Group and Alibaba says: “In this new world, the distinction between online and offline commerce disappears, and the way the consumer thinks and behaves across all channels determines the way the merchant runs its business.”
The highest-profile case for this omnichannel model both in China and the United States has been the supermarket – Amazon’s takeover of Whole Foods, for example, provides shoppers with more convenient access to the products they use on a regular basis by allowing them to order ahead of their grocery store trip, and by stocking brands based on consumer demand.
In the past year, smaller digital retailers have begun embracing the benefits of bricks and mortar, especially in the US. There, numerous fashion and beauty brands launched online have opened showrooms to enhance the customer experience. Everlane, a San Francisco-based clothing retailer, opened two stores on the country’s east and west coasts that feature a curated selection of clothing, shoes and accessories.
