E-commerce Success in Fashion and Beauty: Navigating Challenges and Seizing Opportunities

Veronica Servantez, senior vice president of marketing at BigCommerce, discusses EVOLVING E-COMMERCE TRENDS and offers strategic insights for apparel, retail, beauty and luxury retailers and brands.

DESPITE ECONOMIC recovery and growth in the fashion, apparel, beauty and luxury spaces, retailers and brands face evolving challenges as they attempt to grow e-commerce sales. The keys to success lie in understanding shifting consumer expectations and leveraging innovative technologies for a unified, omnichannel shopping experience. Here, Veronica Servantez, senior vice president of marketing at BigCommerce, explores these trends and shares how platforms such as BigCommerce can help businesses scale, adapt and thrive in the everchanging e-commerce landscape.

Fairchild Studio: What are some of the e-commerce challenges facing fashion apparel, retail, beauty and luxury SMBs? Veronica Servantez:

Even though the global economy is on the rise — our research found that average e-commerce order values increased 8.3 percent globally in the first half of 2023 — apparel merchants are still facing a ton of challenges when it comes to e-commerce. One of the biggest e-commerce challenges faced by fashion, apparel, beauty and luxury businesses is the massive shift we’re seeing in customer expectations. BigCommerce research shows that 50 percent of customers made a purchase on a mobile device in 2023. And customers expect fast, easy ways to checkout online, like digital wallets, one-click checkout, or buy now, pay later (BNPL). WorldPay estimates that by 2026, digital wallet payments will make up 56 percent of all online payments. Brands that fail to adapt to these shifts in customer preferences, or to take advantage of e-commerce technology that allows them to sell across channels and create a unified omnichannel experience, will suffer.

Fairchild Studio: And where are the opportunities?

V.S.: BigCommerce research shows that cosmetics and body care were the third most-purchased product category online in 2023, behind groceries and entertainment, so there’s tremendous opportunity for growth. Who is behind this opportunity? America’s youngest consumers, Millennials, Gen Z and — soon — Gen Alpha. Together, Millennials and Gen Z shoppers account for 42 percent of the U.S. population and hold more than $3 trillion in combined spending power. Younger consumers, especially Millennials, value convenience over anything else, while Gen Z consumers like to browse products in stores and make purchases online. Meeting these consumers’ needs and providing a unified shopping experience across all channels are going to be imperative when it comes to succeeding online. Taking advantage of this opportunity means creating a tech stack that allows for these kinds of unified, omnichannel experiences — and more. By finding and implementing a future-fit tech stack, your business can grow and evolve with consumer preferences for years to come, without the need to constantly shift and change at a foundational level. According to Forrester Research, companies committed to a future-fit technology strategy grew revenue 1.8 times faster than their peers. That means finding the right technology now that allows your brand to grow in the future will almost double future revenue compared to your peers.

Fairchild Studio: What do consumers expect from an online shopping experience?

V.S.: Consumers expect a personalized, frictionless shopping experience that allows them to purchase when, where and how they want. That means giving shoppers the ability to easily purchase from your e-commerce site, but also across channels in a unified, omnichannel experience. When it comes to your e-commerce site, one-click checkout is a must. A number of providers can help provide these experiences, like Stripe Link, Visa Click to Pay or Bolt One-Click Checkout. Data on customer clickthrough patterns showed that over the 15 months following signup, one-click buyers visited the website on average 7 percent more than before sign-up, viewed 9.3 percent more pages on the website, and spent 7.8 percent more time on the site per visit, according to a Cornell University study. Shoppers also want flexible payment options, like digital wallets, crypto, and buy now, pay later (BNPL). In fact, 11 percent of customers will abandon their carts if they don’t see enough payment methods, according to the Baymard Institute. WorldPay’s Global Ecommerce Payments Report found that digital wallets, like PayPal, Apple Pay or Amazon Pay, make up 56 percent of online payments. And Capital One found that nearly one in five American consumers used BNPL in 2023. Offering these payment methods is key for e-commerce success. When it comes to omnichannel, creating a unified experience across multiple channels is crucial. Social media, for example, is already the number one channel for product discovery, and Insider Intelligence projects that 110.4 million people will shop using social channels in 2024. Additionally, apparel was the most-purchased product category across social media channels, making up 26 percent of social sales, according to Statista and Influencer Marketing Factory. Beyond just social media, brands and retailers must connect the dots between all touchpoints and channels, from online stores and brick-and-mortar to marketplaces, search, affiliates and more. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

BRANDS THAT FAIL TO ADAPT TO THESE SHIFTS IN CUSTOMER PREFERENCES, OR TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF E-COMMERCE TECHNOLOGY, WILL SUFFER. —Veronica Servantez, SVP of marketing, BigCommerce