I like the way online jewellery retail Hiho Silver uses events to epitomise the lifestyle of its brand.

Not only does the Events page work to draw people to the website, by ranking for event related terms on search engines, it also solidifies the brand value, by screaming that it knows the lifestyle of its customer.

I came across Hiho Silver as Nick Ede has just launched his own range of jewellery for the store called Lost & Found.

The collection of statement jewellery is available to buy online now, with a percentage of sales going to The Stroke Association.

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Over at Shudoo.co.uk we’re working with Mark Heyes, who you might just recognise as GMTV’s expert stylist.

Mark will regularly be picking his favourite products, answering style advice questions and blogging at Shudoo News.

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Online retailers are constantly thinking of ways to eliminate barriers to purchase.

Shoppers do like to feel and see fashion, but the success of home shopping and the growth in online fashion retail speaks volumes.

If people are given enough textually and visually they’ll feel confident in purchasing.

One barrier to purchase is fit – we normally tend to fit into standard sizing for clothing, but when it comes to lingerie fit is more important.

That’s why online lingerie retailers have to work that little bit harder to secure a purchase.

The KnickerPicker.com website allows you to see videos of models wearing underwear available to but online from a range of stores.

You pick a model with a similar body shape, choose the lingerie, see how it looks on a real woman, then click to purchase.

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I recently went to lunch with editor of Drapers, Lauretta Roberts and Keely Stocker, the Digital Content Manager of the Drapers Online website.

For those of you not aware of Drapers, it’s a weekly fashion retail industry magazine being a must-read for everyone in fashion, from the up-and-coming to the retail elite.

I have written a blog for Drapers since last summer, and was on the judging panel of the Drapers Etail Awards which took place earlier this year.

The awards will be back next year, and I am told it will be much bigger as the January event was sold out and there were a huge amount of entries; proof that the e-commerce sector is booming, and a testament to Drapers that such an industry accolade is so sought after.

There may also be new award categories too, which is great, as it opens up options to online retailers.

I asked Keely if there would be a separate navigation tab on the Drapers Online website for E-Commerce, as it’s such a popular area, and she said it was being looked into.

Lauretta mentioned there is a Drapers conference dedicated to online retail planned for October, which is around the same time we should be hearing about the next Etail Awards.

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Internet payment provider ClickandBuy recently carried out some research with YouGov.

The survey found 44% plan to spend more time online looking for cheaper versions of high street buys, rather than reduce their spend during the recession.

36% said they would be spending more online than on the high street in 2009, compared to 2008.

Fashion is an area that people will cut back on in terms of how much they spend, rather than how much they buy.

That’s why private sales websites such as Cocosa, Brand Alley and Vente-Privee, and discount stores like Koodos, have grown in popularity, as have discount codes.

They offer access to designer brands at affordable prices – the discount is the new in-store shopping experience.

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e.g., a new fashion label started by Emma Griffiths (who graduated from Westminster University last summer) and Jeanpierre Kalebic (a former estate agent), is one of the best examples I have seen of a fashion start-up getting on with the business of promoting themselves online, and successfully too.

There are tons of new fashion labels launching all the time, but unlike many of them Emma and Jeanpierre have focused first on getting coverage from fashion bloggers.

The next stage of their plan is to target online fashion magazines before beginning an assault on the fashion magazines, using the buzz from fashion blogs as a way in.

A very clever (and realistic) strategy if I do say so myself.

Every new label wants to be featured in Vogue and Grazia, but there is a lot to be gained by start-up labels from featuring on blogs like Style Bubble and Kingdom of Style.

Queen Michelle features e.g on Kingdom of Style blog

e.g. Sales Director Jeanpierre says “We have been picked up by a number of blogs and this has provided us with a steady stream of new visitors to the site”.

Fashion bloggers offer awareness, visitors to websites, search engine friendly links and post-blog commentary from their readers, often offering constructive insight into what they think of the range.

See e.g.’s press page - pretty impressive work.

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I recently had lunch with Miriam Lahage and Nicola Grylls, CEO and Marketing Manager respectively, of Koodos.com.

Koodos has a blog called Bargainista where they publish discount codes of competitors to encourage repeat visits to the website (see my previous blog on it here).

Miriam and Nicola mentioned that some people thought they were “crazy” to promote their competitors.

It’s undeniably a risky strategy, but the best ideas have to be a bit crazy and it’s all about taking risks to establish a position in the market.

It was pleasing, but unsurprising given the current economic climate, to hear that Koodos has been doing well selling designer at discount. And even better during the other climate change; the weather.

We chatted about the current trend for discount codes, and the future challenge for retailers when the economy picks up, as shoppers will be accustomed to discounts.

It will continue to be a good time for discount sites, whilst full price retailers will have to up their offerings to compete.

I think Koodos could make more of its service to brands, where it can act as an outlet for product in its later life stage.

Ted Baker recently commissioned M And M Direct to create the discount store Ted’s Shed, but for brands that want a low cost option to shift excess stock Koodos has a brilliant platform and audience.

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I popped in to the, soon to be departed, London office of online fashion store Oli to meet Karen Allen and Katie Tibbs.

Me with Karen Allen (left) and Katie Tibbs (right)

Karen and Katie are based in Bradford but occasionally make the trip down to the capital for meetings.

We chatted about who the Oli customer is and what celebrities she looks to for style inspiration.

Karen brought up an old debate on whether Danielle Lloyd was an Oli-girl celebrity.

It reminded me of an online store I used to work with. An outfit Danielle wore, soon after leaving Celebrity Big Brother, sold out unbelievably fast – whether she would have that effect now is unlikely.

On another note, it’s no secret that Oli has been through some major changes of late.

Responding to the current climate the business has restructured. The Oli customer magazine is no more, the buying has been moved abroad and a lot has been outsourced.

It’s a clever strategy that will hopefully see the business maintain its position, ready to reinvest when things pick up.

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Guest post by Gareth Townsend, Director of Zanzan

Before Zanzan’s May 2009 launch in stores, we released the limited edition, handmade sunglasses through an exclusive online distribution deal with luxury online retailer farfetch.

We were the first new brand to achieve this accolade - the culmination of months of research into the, sometimes impenetrable, online fashion jungle. So where did we start? Right here!

We found that Online Fashion 100 was the only one-stop shop that explained the whole online fashion world as a complex commercial eco-system rather than a directory of style blogs.

We needed a real insider’s perspective to help us formulate a strategy that would get us seen in the right places.

With reference to the ‘100’ we are engaged in a systematic campaign targeting our favourite independent style blogs and the mainstream fashion sites – both distinct groups represented on Leon’s list.

The Online Fashion 100 is helping us to unscramble the networks of influence that move the online fashion world and as the brand grows we have all the information, from the list, to develop our digital strategy accordingly.

Guest post by Gareth Townsend, Director of Zanzan

Want to guest post here? email me leon [@] reallycontent.com

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Going by the original five step brand lifecycle, published by Seth Godin, the five step online fashion brand lifecycle should look like this (using ASOS as an example)…

1. Buying clothes online? Really?
2. I want to try ASOS out
3. Are there any other websites like ASOS?
4. Bring on the newer version of ASOS
5. What’s ASOS?

But it will probably be more like...

1. Buying clothes online? Really?
2. I want to try ASOS out
3. Are there any other websites like ASOS?
4. Wow, I’ve got so many online stores, including ASOS, to buy from
5. Can I browse items from the online stores I like in one place?

and if there was a sixth step...
6. What’s a High Street store?*

* I know, unlikely.

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Boohoo is the online fashion store that’s going places; it’s definitely one to watch.

Boohoo.com - the online store that’s going places

It sits comfortably in part of the online shopping sphere that helped to build ASOS, and has come to popularity as the Lipsy brand moves on with higher price points.

Boohoo appeal 1: You won’t be tempted to spend more than you may want – it’s the home of the credit crunch friendly £20 dress.

Yes, you can shop by price on most online stores, but that leaves shoppers with a feeling of ‘what am I missing?’

With Boohoo, you know where you are.

Boohoo appeal 2: It’s still possible to think no-one else shops there.

You can no longer walk into a party thinking you’re the only person wearing ASOS or Lipsy – or indeed that no one will recognise it.

But with Boohoo, it is still (for the moment) possible.

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Littlewoods.com is heavily promoting its Buy Now, Pay April 2010 offer on its website.

The promotion appears on the homepage of Littlewoods.com

Customers simply need to enter the code XX282 at checkout and fill in an application form, which I would image does an automatic credit check.

It’s in keeping with their traditional values as a catalogue retailer where customers are offered credit.

Perhaps this rather traditional approach to home shopping could see a revival.

Giving the customers what they want, when they want it (now), but allowing them to pay flexibly.

I don’t want to encourage debt, and understand that the realities of credit has hit the nation hard, but let’s be honest, people will still buy and pay later (if it’s offered to them), simply because it’s convenient.

Online retail trades on convenience for the customer, so what’s to say this shouldn’t stretch to payment options too?

OK, so customers can already pay on credit cards and choose to pay later (incurring interest and penalties) but ‘Buy Now On Your Credit Card And Pay It Off Next Year’ isn’t as sexy as the more punchy ‘Buy Now, Pay April 2010’ as a call to action.

Littlewoods provides credit to customers through the finance arm of the Shop Direct Group it belongs to.

Isn’t there an opportunity now for that arm of the group to provide credit services to customers of other online retailers?

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The Saturdays are creating a capsule collection for online fashion store Rare Fashion.

A myriad of party dresses and wet look leggings, Rare Fashion has everything you need to perfect that celebrity look on a Saturday night out – watch out Lipsy.

Where Lipsy grew its market having its products seen on reality TV stars, Rare is upping its profile with official endorsement from The Saturdays.

Mollie, Una, Frankie, Rochelle and Vanessa have already been seen out and about in Rare dresses, and no doubt the store will have seen an increase in sales from the association with Britain’s newest girl group.

Working with The Saturdays will give Rare an opportunity to create online PR that will have lasting effects.

My first thought would be to use the group for interview opportunities on music blogs – with links back to the Rare Fashion website that will help its SEO forever.

The discussion of the deal and the range itself will naturally attract incoming links to the website which again, helps with SEO, but will also drive relevant traffic.

Universal search is becoming more important; a video of the girls discussing their range on YouTube may appear in Google’s search listings when people search for ‘The Saturdays’ - great for pulling in an audience that is actively interested in the girls.

The tie up will also no doubt also be added to the group’s Wikipedia page, which will be perfect for brand association for the lifetime of the group.

Most importantly Rare is getting in there early. They will be the first online store to have a huge amount of links pointing to them from pages mentioning The Saturdays and fashion – so Google will naturally associate Rare with fashion and The Saturdays.

So in years to come when they’re the next big fashion thing guess which store will be more likely to rank highly when people search “Frankie Sandford’s Style”?

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I recently met up with the lovely Shannon Edwards, who heads up ShopStyle Europe, to discuss all things online retail.

Shannon and I have been in contact over email since last year, but we were prompted to meet by a mutual friend who described Shannon as “one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet”.

And it’s true, she really is… and very funny too! Shannon told me that she used to appear on TV shows like The View (which is America’s version of Loose Women) to discuss online shopping, but cut the showbiz because “when your mum stops watching it’s time to give up”.

When we got onto the subject of online retail we spent the best part of half an hour putting the entire retail industry to rights!

What was clear with Shannon is that she understands online and retail as separate entities, as well as online retail as a whole.

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Regular readers will know I get to meet a lot of successful online fashion retail entrepreneurs. I hear all the stories about how they started to get where they are today, so here are my tips for making it in online fashion retail (not to be taken too seriously! it is April 1st).

1. Get married – For some reason online fashion businesses seem to work best as duos. Must be something to do with yin and yang.

2. Do it in your 30’s – That way you’ve either built up some useful contacts having worked in the industry or you’ll be at the “f*** it, let’s do it” stage in life.

3. Start the business at home – And stay there for as long as you can to save money. You might annoy the neighbours with noise from delivery vans (and it might be illegal) but don’t go anywhere until you start getting s*** through your letterbox; that’s when it’s time to get an office/warehouse.

4. Market it yourself – If you have to hire a consultant (like me), get advice on what YOU can do to market it yourself, keep all the execution in house in your control and remember it’s ok to make mistakes as long as you learn from them.

5. Have children – Yes they’re cute, but they’re also a constant reminder that you have to make a success of the business as you’re spending their inheritance.

6. Show your face – There’s little room for shrinking violets in this business. Our media takes an increasing amount of interest in the owners of businesses, as they can generate interesting stories from personalities.

7. Wear your product – OK, so Nick Robertson didn’t dress up like Posh or Kate Moss, but he saw a customer demand for look-a-like items and wore the values of the ASOS brand on his sleeve. What was your reason, other than profit, for going into your online fashion retail niche?

8. Find a niche – Do you really have a niche? Are you just a me-too? What could your niche be?

9. Bore your friends and family (and their friends and family) to death – Tell everyone and his mum about your business. Always have a story ready, the more unusual the better as they’ll then tell their friends.

10. Read this blog regularly.

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