‘We Engaged Unmukt Chand & Shruti Haasan as Digital Brand Ambassadors’

‘We Engaged Unmukt Chand & Shruti Haasan as Digital Brand Ambassadors’

As Internet penetration in India gearing up, there has been drastic change in the approach of retailers. They are investing huge on e-commerce mechanism to tap huge customers demand through online shopping. American Swan, a premium global Fashion & Lifestyle brand, recently intensified its e-retailing approach in India. Anurag Rajpal, Director & CEO, The American Swan Lifestyle Company, shares his plans and vision with DIGITAL TERMINAL for Indian Market on the same.

Q: What will be the estimated market size of the e-retailing market in India and what is its future outlook?

A: E-retailing in India is still in a nascent stage however with internet & mobile penetration coupled with the rise of tier -2 and 3 towns in India, we are going to witness a strong success in the next 5 years. The country has close to 10 million online shoppers and the e-commerce market was worth about $14 billion in 2012 and will continue to show exponential growth. The ecommerce market in India is expected to grow by 33 per cent to reach approximately Rs 63,000 crores by the end of 2013 as per a report published by IAMAI and with 16% of the pie contributed by e-retail, the opportunity for a differentiated, International brand like American Swan that caters to the urban online consumer, is huge.

Q: Explain your brand American Swan? How is the consumer response towards the brand?

A: American Swan is a premium global Fashion & Lifestyle brand and the first to offer the largest range of products online. We offer a wide catalogue of products that spans across categories such as apparel, footwear, accessories, beauty and home products. Our collection of Smart Casuals & Casual Sportswear offers Aspirational, Glamorous yet restrained lifestyle products. The brand and collections have been built with the best global inputs in terms of product styling, brand experience and every aspect has been benchmarked against top International brands. The American Swan online ecommerce website was launched in Jan of this year and to enhance our reach we made our collections available on the top e-commerce aggregator websites as well as retail distribution. The initial response has been extremely positive and very encouraging from all markets and channels. Our brand, the product styling & quality, the attention to packaging & our imagery: all of these have struck a chord with the consumer.

Q: What are the features of your e-retail website?

A: Our website encourages registered users so we can provide targeted service, integration into our future loyalty program as well as provide our members with regular updates on our brand, new launches and unique content. However it’s our attempt to keep our website high on usability and user experience and we have a guest checkout as well as a social login for one-time users who wish to purchase without having to register.

We try and give the consumer a detailed product experience: right from multiple views of products, zoom feature, product details, wash care, size guides which conform to international sizing, etc. What is unique about our website is that every product has a video that shows a model wear the particular product as a part of a ‘complete look’. This not only gives the consumer a sense of how the product looks or fits, but also gives them ideas on how to pair products and achieve styling as well. We have a section on our website which allows users to ‘Get the Look’: a complete styled look with every product that is included in the look which the user can buy through a single interface.

Regular fulfillment allows us to offer free shipping and most of our orders get delivered within 3-5 working days. What we additionally offer as a choice to our users is the option of gift packaging, express delivery, overnight delivery and delivery by appointment which allows a user to specify what time slot they would like to receive the product. In terms of payment methods we offer Cash on Delivery, Internet banking and payment through credit & debit cards.

Q: Who are your target consumers and why?

A: Our core target audience is the age group of 20-30 years, both male & female living in urban India and we offer ‘authentic’ casual wear to this consumer group, which aspires International brands and styling. This segment is fashion conscious and aware of global brands, yet sensitive to affordability and value for money. They have rapidly growing aspirations: in both professional and personal spheres and have clear and defined loyalties towards brands. The importance of grooming & idea of dressing for position or lifestyle is high. The Indian consumer is currently looking only for deals & discounts from the e-retail market which has caused customer acquisition & fulfillment costs to be high and brand loyalty to be low. American Swan, as a brand wants to alter that mindset and our differentiator is that we will offer the consumer ‘True Value’: a product and offering that offers great styling and quality and a ‘Brand Experience’ that is at par with International standards, at a price point that is affordable.

Q: How technology is important in apparel retailing?

A: There are 2 main areas where technology greatly impacts apparel retailing: one aspect is operations and the other is customer-facing. Whether a retailer or brand-owner is focused on maximizing sales opportunities, reducing operating costs, improving shelf availability, enhancing their brand – or a combination of all of these – the apparel industry has increasingly adopted technology-based solutions to help achieve its objectives. Product lifecycle management, ERP, analytics, MIS: Many of these solutions have helped improve inventory management, track merchandise in the supply chain, provide customer buying data, etc. However, there is a need to connect these disparate solutions into a holistic, synergistic approach that leverages information-sharing to provide greater cost efficiencies and better decision-making.

The other aspect that technology is impacting is the retail experience: fashion retailers are adopting technology to grow and retain customers. Technology is helping transform customer-facing processes such as targeted marketing, customer engagement, ease of product selection coupled with customization, promotional content, loyalty benefits and customer relationship management. For an industry that thrives on change, digital platforms for e-commerce, social media, mobile computing and tablet-based applications are helping transform fashion retail operations.

Q: What is the role of new digital innovations and marketing opportunities in promoting brands?

A: The American Swan marketing strategy is to build a customer base through a strong digital marketing & activation approach. We are very focused on our core target audience, which is the 20-30 year old urban & semi-urban youth, which is digitally savvy and connected. Online retail has seen a heavy overlap with social networking and search due to aggressive marketing and strong inclination towards social commerce. The industry can expect a larger portion of online retail from social commerce with India positioning itself as one of the fastest growing social networked user base and also larger size of social groups. This insight has been the driving force behind American Swan opting for Digital Marketing as the primary channel to build the brand as well as drive trials & purchase. On Facebook we have a fan base of close to 4,20,000 and on twitter, we are conscious of implementing a following and engagement. We also implemented social engagement driven by our digital brand ambassadors Unmukt Chand, & Shruti Haasan both youth icons with a strong social following. The other social channels that we actively use are Pinterest boards and our YouTube channel.

Q: Whar are your marketing strategies and how do you leverage social media in this regard?

A: The American Swan marketing strategy is to build a customer base through a strong digital marketing & activation approach. We are very focused on our core target audience, which is the 20-30 year old urban & semi-urban youth, which is digitally savvy and connected. As consumers in India look for global designs and standards with affordable pricing at the convenience of a click, American Swan expects to garner a significant share of the apparel & lifestyle market.

This insight has been the driving force behind American Swan opting for Digital Marketing as the primary channel to build the brand as well as drive trials & purchase. On Facebook we have a fan base close to 400,000. On twitter, we are conscious of implementing a following and engagement driven by our digital brand ambassadors. We have recently signed up with Unmukt Chand, Shruti Haasan & Pune Warriors India: all of who are youth icons with a strong following. The other social channels that we actively use are Pinterest boards and our YouTube channel.

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
DIGITAL TERMINAL
digitalterminal.in