I love acquiring new clothes, but I absolutely hate the process of shopping. So it’s only natural that I’ve joined many other Millennials forgoing the mall in exchange for online stores.
Sure, it’s convenient to purchase clothes without leaving home. But there’s another appeal as well. Shopping sites that have really taken off generally offer styles that are outside the norm. Majority of the country has access to mainstream stores like The Gap or American Eagle. But for those who seek a more unique style, online is the way access clothes that will set them apart.
There are two sites in particular that I’ll focus on: Modcloth and Ruche. Both cater to the same type of Millennial girl: quirky, intelligent, and appreciative of anything that is cute, vintage or twee. While the clothes are similar, it’s their marketing efforts that really distinguish them.
Modcloth strives to do more than sell clothes. The site has cultivated a community that goes well beyond style. Their blog features a wide range of things, including contests, crafts, makeup tips, and posts about relevant films, music and books. They’ve created a comprehensive profile of their customers that extends beyond what they’re buying. And that keeps customers involved with the brand, even if they’re not looking to make a purchase.
But when they do decide to buy, the active community helps motivate them towards making a decision. Because so many people interact with the site, each product comes complete with customer reviews and styling suggestions from the community. And those things help tackle the number one question in each customer’s mind: will the item I’m seeing pictures of live up to my expectations when I see it in person? Like I mentioned in my earlier post, Millennials value recommendations from friends over advertisements from strangers. Modcloth uses that to their benefit by cultivating a community and creating a dialogue with its customers.
And then there’s Ruche.
Like I said earlier, Ruche and Modcloth sell very similar styles of clothes (sometimes even carrying the same product). Ruche tends to sway towards a slightly older and sophisticated customer, as opposed to Modcloth’s quirky fashionista. But what really differentiates the two is Ruche’s lack of community.
The site’s blog has improved, but still remains distant with its bland writing style and stock photos. The blog’s lack of comments says it all: there is very little community engagement going on. And it shows. There are no rating systems or reviews on product pages. No styling suggestions outside of their own lookbooks. Furthermore, Ruche’s social media seems to operate in a vacuum. It’s Twitter account features very little customer interaction.
On Pinterest (arguably one of the best ways to communicate trends and styles), Ruche dumps pictures of their own products at once. And there’s purposely little diversity in their posts. Most touch feature a similar trait, so if a customer has no interest in say, mustard yellow clothes, they have no reason to follow them on Pinterest.
Modcloth is that stylish and fun friend you go shopping with. Ruche is a disengaged saleswoman who wants nothing more than to ring you up, end her shift and go home. With both selling such similar products, those differences go a long way. Millennials rely on their peers to help them make purchasing decisions. Without community, a brand is nothing more than just another company pushing products on a generation already weary and critical of advertising.
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