Despite joining Pinterest reluctantly, I'm now addicted and by the sounds of it you are too. The third most popular social network platform has quickly grown into a real force to be reckoned with and now brands are seeing it as another area worth investing in. Mashable recently reported that the site has become a major traffic driver to e-commerce sites but nothing had been done to measure whether that actually results in sales. Now we know.
Shopify did some investigating and discovered that Pinterest refers as much traffic to retailers as Twitter and Facebook but people are 10% more likely to purchase something directed from Pinterest than any other social networking platform. This says a lot. Considering that Facebook drives more traffic to these sites, it suggests that there's something unique to Pinterest that drives people to actually want to purchase something rather than browsing.
It's no secret that Victoria Beckham has been doing well. Back in 2011 she successfully launched her diffusion line, Victoria by Victoria Beckham, and this year her spokesperson confirmed that sales of the mainline were up by 70% to £15million compared to the first quarter in 2011. Next up for the designer is a store. 'That's what I'm working on at the moment,' she told CNN. '[The store] will probably be in London.'
Many had expected the first store to be in New York, especially since she's now based in America and also shows her collections there but an opening in London first seems to make sense. The Beckhams continue to be hot property here and her collections always go down well. As far as the Asian market goes, she's taking it slowly. 'Asia's very exciting to me. I'm just scratching the surface at the moment,' she said. 'I just wanted to take baby steps, build this business at a steady pace. I don't want to rush. I don't want to run before I can walk.'
It's been a busy week for J.Crew. Not only did the brand debut their first runway show yesterday (Beyonce sat front row), today marks the launch of their UK e-commerce website. Finally fans in the UK won't have to bulk up on their wares when in the States because now, you get their pieces delivered to your door at the click of a finger.
This week Zara announced the launch of their e-commerce site moving Stateside but UK readers do not despair because you are in for a treat too. This week leading high street retailer J.Crew announced that they are launching their first e-commerce site this month as part of their global expansion strategy.
The retailer is a firm favourite of everyone for First Lady Michelle Obama to Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen and like stores like Whistles, Banana Republic and Reiss, J.Crew sits on the top end of the high street spectrum with prices ranging from £25-£300.
They new season pieces are ready to drop and are looking good. This season's bright coloured capri pants are available and in a homage to all things British, they are also selling a selection of hacking jackets in herringbone inspired by traditional riding jackets.
For all of us over in the UK, we've been spoilt with both the H&M and Zara e-commerce site since last year and now the Zara website is going stateside for the first time. This week a rep from the brand confirmed that the launch is set for September 7, just before New York Fashion Week begins.
They couldn't have timed it any better. Their fall offerings tend to be better than the summer collections so get ready for all of the key pieces for the season in the high street retailer's signature 'designer inspired' pieces, available at the click of a button.
As more and more brands begin to embrace the online world, we've seen a growth in brands launching online shops and this week Marc Jacobs followed suit launching his first e-commerce site on Tuesday.
Currently the website features only a small collection of pieces from the designer's main and sister line chosen by Jacobs and Robert Duffy as well as runway videos, illustrations and photography. "It's going back to the roots of the Marc Jacobs brand, which is to be fun, entertaining, engaging and cool," said James Gardner, founder and CEO of Createthe Group, the online design firm that worked on the site.
Not content on simply preparing for what is expected to be yet another successful collection, Marc Jacobs is keeping himself busy.
September 15th will not only see the designer show his Spring/Summer 2011 collection but also marks the launch of his new Manhattan bookstore cleverly named 'Bookmarc' and will also see him debut his e-commerce shopping portal available to US customers only.
Although details of the website are yet to be revealed, Robert Duffy hinted to the New York Times that the site will feature several exclusives not available anywhere else.
