I take my downtime when I can get it. On the way to the airport yesterday morning, a 30-minute taxi trip, I checked my Facebook and twitter feeds for the latest news and then jumped online and bought this dress.
I rarely have time to set foot inside a department store so the sporadic news about the David Jones seasonal fashion show that primarily popped into my Facebook feed courtesy of team Lisa Ho did nothing to fuel my desire to shop. It wasn’t that the designs weren’t great. The gorgeous shot of Megan Gale in Lisa Ho black leather certainly enticed me. But there was no link to take me to an online store where I could immediately buy. In a few months when the fashion magazines publish that outfit and David Jones actually stocks it, I will have moved on. If you are going to show it to me now then sell it to me now too. It’s 2013.
By stark contrast, The Outnet sends me a daily email with a hero dress or outfit to entice me. The marketing reminds me of the revival of Cue a decade ago. At the time Cue used a single red floral dress in their marketing campaign. It was a confident message that told me the brand was back. I couldn’t get that image out of my mind. Anyone who knows me well will know that red floral anything and I are not natural partners but I bought the dress anyway. The Outnet sales strategy is old-school marketing meets the modern consumer. Most online stores do this well. It’s not rocket science. And it often results in a sale.
The right outfit will usually move me to click on the link that takes me to a page where I can choose my size and see more images. If I then click on the Buy Now button and I have pre-registered with my shipping and payment details I am nearly there. Just one more click secures the purchase and I am back to my work emails in a matter of minutes. It’s amazing.
I am ridiculously busy most days. I love fashion but traded instant gratification for convenience many years ago. I need to update my wardrobe relatively constantly, especially for work and events. That’s not to say that I don’t buy from our local designers. But many have websites that require a marketing overhaul. To be perfectly frank if I have cause to visit their online stores it’s because I feel guilty about not supporting them rather than because they have mesmerised me with their clever marketing.
Do you agree that the international online stores are better at grabbing your attention?