Perks Consulting
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Fashion Magazines Branch Out Into Online Retail

By Perks |

Fashion magazines have started to feel the strain of online on their advertising budgets, so some are starting to offer online retail in addition to their traditional editorial offerings. This shouldn’t be done as reactionary though. Offering ways to purchase items directly should be done naturally with lifestyle innovation, as readers want a way to instantly purchase something they desire. In print publications each editorial item should have a short URL that leads to the publication’s hybrid editorial ecommerce portal, where readers can see the item exactly how it was in the spread and purchase each item by clicking on it on the model.

Fashion publications would also do well to integrate into Facebook, as Details Magazine has done. Ecommerce is growing in leaps and bounds on Facebook (as is social reading) so it would be in their best interests to integrate both aspects in one easy to use experience. Tablet and mobile devices are also becoming more and more popular and as so different experiences need to be put in place for each interface. The user experience is of the utmost importance, especially on mobile devices.

Overall, if fashion magazines are truly to make the transition into a 360 integrated publication retailer they must pay attention to UI/UX, mobile development, social shopping development, custom Facebook integration development, and naturally website development. Perks Consulting specializes in all of these areas, offering the most versatile packages for our clients when it comes to a holistic solution.

via psfk.com

Fashion Mags Branch Out Into Online Retail
By Emma Hutchings on October 1, 2011

A number of major fashion magazines have recently announced partnerships with e-commerce sites, with Park & Bond’s ‘GQ Selects’ section and Esquire launching CLAD. After recent losses in advertising due to online competition and the economic situation, this move adds a new source of revenue for magazines. The websites also stand to gain, as editor’s recommendations and reviews boost their credibility with consumers. The NY Times reports:

While the glossies have long had a reputation for accommodating the designers they cover, sometimes guaranteeing coverage to those who advertise in their pages, a wave of new ventures and partnerships suggests they are willing to go even further by selling the designers’ clothes. It is a move that is raising some eyebrows in the industry, as magazines like Vogue, GQ and Esquire, struggling to survive in an online world, could potentially become competitors to stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Barneys New York.

This move should prove beneficial for consumers who will be able to find everything they need in one place. So, if they read a review about a product they like, they can click through and order it straight away.

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