Ready for wearables to be fashionable?

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Technology and fashion.  What better topic to cover on this blog? This week there is no shortage of coverage to review, from Fashion Week to Apple’s big iWatch reveal on Tuesday.

RM wearable

via Rebecca Minkoff

Starting with Fashion Week, we saw two designers present smart jewelry as part of their  Spring/Summer 2015 collections. First, Rebecca Minkoff (with help from Case-Mate) unveiled a smart bracelet as an introduction to a collection of accessories that sync with phones to provide call and message alerts as well as double as a USB device. The bracelets communicate with your phone via a Bluetooth signal. There is also a mini charger in the collection, designed to fit in a small clutch. These accessories will be available at Rebecca Minkoff and Nordstrom stores just in time for holiday and range in price from $40 – $120.

Opening Ceremony Wearable Bracelet

Opening Ceremony x Intel via Fast Company

Another newsworthy designer wearable came from Opening Ceremony, who collaborated with Intel to make fashionable bracelets dubbed MICA (or, My Intelligent Communication Accessory).   At start, the features of the bracelet include SMS messages, meeting alerts and so-called “general notifications.”  Unlike Minkoff’s BlueTooth enabled bracelet, the MICA is 3G enabled and does not rely on a phone for connectivity. The bracelets charge wirelessly and feature “premium finishes” like pearls and water snakeskin. These accessories will be sold at Barneys and Opening Ceremony stores this holiday season.  No reports on price just yet.

Apple iWatch

Apple iWatch via Engadget

Lastly is, of course, the Apple iWatch. Early next year, you can spend $350 to purchase a watch that syncs with your iPhone 5 or above.  Features include Apple Pay, a slew of sensors, and six different bands to choose from.

Now we’ll watch as the public warms up to wearables that serve purposes beyond fitness tracking.

Lots of good coverage to check out around the web, including:

Quantifying the Runways at New York Fashion Week (Inc Magazine)

Tech Companies and Fashion Designers Try to Put the Wear in Wearables (Wall Street Journal)

Designers are Jumping Into the Wearable Tech Space This New York Fashion Week – Should We Care? (Forbes)

Apple Smartwatch Boost to Wearables (Women’s Wear Daily)

Opening Ceremony and Intel Reveal MICA – My Intelligent Communication Accessory (BusinessWire)

WEEKLY INDUSTRY ROUND UP: 9.8.2014

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Top industry news from last week.  All sources can be found in the hyperlink after the headline:

Retailer News:

  • eBay makes New York Fashion Week instantly shopable. Link
  • Nordstrom said to be first retailer to accept Apple mobile payments. Link
  • Neiman Marcus to open first NYC store. Link
  • Saks introduces user-generated content hub to propel purchases. Link
  • Opening Ceremony reveals Intel-powered smart bracelet. Link
  • Digital driving growth at Belk department stores. Link
  • eBay attracts top fashion brands to sell direct. Link
  • NastyGal lays off up to 10% of its workforce. Link
  • Saks Fifth Avenue takes steps ot build on its legacy. Link
  • Staples adds buy online, pick up in store. Link
  • Yahoo Style, a new digital magazine, arrives just in time for fashion week. Link
  • UPS plans to offer pickup points for online orders in New York City and Chicago. Link
  • Google pledges to fight the sale of fake Luis Vuitton bags online. Link
  • Starbucks to launch express stores. Link
  • Amazon taps USPS to deliver groceries in San Francisco. Link
  • Saks CMO explains sweeping changes. Link
  • DVF’s tech-savvy style. Link
  • Visa rolls out online payments campaign for NFL opening day. Link
  • Joe Zee is Old Navy’s fall style ambassador. Link
  • Crew’s sales picked up last quarter. Link
  • PayPal expands further into offline retail and mobile payments with new PayPal Here SDK. Link
  • It’s Uniqlo vs. Uniqlo at the US Open. Link
  • Path of stolen credit cards leads back to Home Depot stores. Link
  • ASOS seeks CIO. Link
  • Six ways competitors are trying to kill Amazon. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

  • Social activism becomes a thing for brands, thanks to the Ice Bucket Challenge. Link
  • Ikea pitches its 2015 catalog as the coolest gadget ever. Link
  • American Apparel ad banned in UK for sexualizing schoolgirls. Link
  • In social advertising, YouTube converts more customers than anyone else. Link
  • Photo app Twitpic shuts down over trademark spat with Twitter. Link
  • Facebook rolls out privacy checkups to all 1.3B users. Link
  • Hyperlapse is doing well so far. Link
  • How Venmo is turning into a hilarious social network. Link

Start-ups:

  • This startup aims to give everyone the shipping power of Amazon. Link
  • Yahoo buys photo ad network Luminate, shuts it down. Link
  • Food start up adds tech talent as Silicon Valley shakes up the food business. Link
  • Diageo looks to pour new tech into liquor with venture unit. Link
  • Uber strikes deal to build new headquarters in large expansion. Link
  • ASOS founder funds London expansion of New York-style blow dry bars. Link

International:

[APAC]

  • Fans form lines in Tokyo for expected iPhone launch. Link
  • Rakuten to buy eBates. Link
  • Baidu Eye prototype unveiled to rival Google Glass. Link
  • Emerging Asian designers hit New York Fashion Week. Link
  • House of Fraser completes sale to Chinese department store. Link

[AU/NZ]

  • The Iconic joins other fashion pureplays in international fashion merger. Link
  • H&M confirms two Sydney stores. Link

[EU]

  • Online shopping on mobile devices overtakes desktop in UK. Link
  • How Yoox turned the lucury-goods industry onto digital. Link

[A/ME]

  • Africa now has 100M Facebook users, 9% of the total population. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

  • Apple courts fashionistas as smartwatch expectations mount. Link
  • Motorola’s Moto 360 smartwatch arrives just days before Apple’s expected smartwatch announcement. Link
  • Apple’s big event on September 9th. Here’s what to expect. Link
  • Millennials are the largest group of smartphone owners and adoption is still growing. Link
  • Inside look at the Starbucks app, the most successful mobile payments system in the US. Link
  • Apple adds another high-profile hire with industrial designer Marc Newson. Link
  • The Galaxy Note Edge is Samsung’s new phablet with a new kind of curved display. Link
  • How beacons are changing the shopping experience. Link
  • Apple teaming up with Visa, MasterCard on iPhone wallet. Link
  • Rue La La anticipates bigger-than-ever mobile surge during upcoming holiday season. Link
  • Microsoft woos cost-conscious with new smartphones. Link
  • Why Apple’s iBeacon hasn’t taken off – yet. Link
  • Designers debut wearables at New York Fashion Week. Link

Other:

  • Following purge of tobacco products, CVS renames itself to CVS Health. Link
  • Starbucks announces two new store designs. Link
  • Millennials are saying no to credit cards. Link
  • Two Googlers take top White House tech jobs. Link

Making Instagram Shoppable

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On every retailer’s to-do list this year is to monetizeInstagram.  The concept is a no-brainer as the visual social network gains more interaction than Twitter and Facebook.  Executing a sale from the platform, however, isn’t as easy as a quick like, specifically because there is no outbound linking from a photo.  Retailers have been struggling to figure out ways to monetize this content.  We’ve see tactics like using the product SKU as the location of the photo, using the entire product name for easier online search later, shortened URLs used in copy for easy memory, and the ever-present shop-able Instagram galleries on websites.

None of these are perfect, of course, as Instagram is after all a social platform not an ecommerce platform. But some retailers have put new solutions in place just in time for this holiday season, partnering with start-ups in an attempt to figure it out. With the insights they’ll gain this season, if not the sales, these retailers will have a solid start on their social commerce strategy.  Here are some examples:

Nordstrom:

Nordstrom Like2Buy Instagram Shopping

Innovator Nordstrom partnered with  Curalate to launch their Like2Buy service. The service is basically a shoppable web gallery (outside of Instagram) that the users have to click through from the Nordstrom profile page. The stronger selling point is the curated gallery aspect, in which you can shop only the selection of  photos you’ve liked previously.  Target and Charlotte Russe have also signed on as early launch partners.

Fox & Fawn:

Beverly Hames, an owner of Fox & Fawn, a vintage boutique in Brooklyn, says that sales arising from pictures she posts free on the store’s Instagram feed, now account for 20 to 40 percent of daily revenue.

Even boutiques and small businesses are leveraging shop-able Instagram solutions.  Vintage Brooklyn outpost Fox & Fawn utilizes vendor Soldsie to let users leave comments with a hashtag to reserve goods from a photo. Users then have to call to pay but with a more established retailer’s ecommerce site, the users could checkout online.

RewardStyle:

 

The uber popular affiliate blogger network launched LikeToKnowIt, a service that utilizes email bounce backs as the mode of shopping from a blogger’s outfit post on Instagram. Vogue was the first magazine to make its feed shoppable using this service.  They also just announced a partnership with BCBG for fashion week that will enable a shoppable runway.

 

Check out highlights from around the web:

Nordstrom Wants You to Shop on Instagram (Business Week)

Buy What You Like: You Can Now Shop Straight from Instagram (Forbes)

You Can Now Shop the Runway Just Minutes After a Show With These Chic New Apps (Glamour)

On Instagram, a Bazaar Where You Least Expect It (New York Times)

3 Startups Making Instagram Shoppable (Fashionista)

Weekly Industry Round Up: 9.2.2014

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Top industry news from last week.  All sources can be found in the hyperlink after the headline:

Retailer News:

  • Nordstrom introduces seamless Instagram shopping experience. Link
  • Rumors that eBay is set to buy ASOS. Link
  • Abercrombie to strip logo from clothing. Link
  • Refinery29 teams up with Simon Malls. Link
  • Evernote launches office gear on market ecommerce portal. Link
  • More and more, fashion designers are selling direct to customers. Link
  • Intel poised to launch luxury smart bracelet at Barneys. Link
  • Report card on back to school: the season’s trends and what they mean for retailers. Link
  • Newegg unleashes its own fleet of delivery vehicles for same day delivery in LA. Link
  • How REI blazes a digital trail. Link
  • Google is working on drone deliveries too. Link
  • Zara withdraws t-shirts after accusations online of anti-Semitism. Link
  • JustFab Inc., which includes ShoeDazzle and FabKids, is valued at $1B following $85M investment. Link
  • Zalando blends data with fashion. Link
  • Claire’s reveals new plan to right sluggish sales. Link
  • Macy’s new Bronx store: localization in action. Link
  • Apple sends invites for September 9th.Link
  • Teens favor tech over clothes. Link
  • Stuart Vevers’ first Coach collection hits Net-a-Porter. Link
  • Are things looking up for Target? Link
  • Uniqlo to open two Boston area stores. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

  • Tweet this hashtag in NYC and Reebok could run a pair of sneakers over to you. Link
  • Facebook introduces bandwidth targeting to match mobile ads to your network quality. Link
  • Introducing Hyperlapse, Instagram’s new time-lapse video app. Link
  • 12 marketers already experimenting with Hyperlapse. Link
  • Gap runs first social campaign for kids’ accounts. Link
  • Pinterest tests news tab on mobile. Link
  • Facebook boosts event visibility with new ad format. Link
  • Nordstrom wants you to shop on Instagram. Link
  • Vice Media sells a stake to A&E Network at $2.5B valuation. Link
  • What’s next for Twitter marketing real world innovation? Link
  • Twitter redesigns signup process to entice new users. Link
  • SnapChat said to have more than 100 million monthly active users. Link
  • Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett to start in H&M holiday campaign. Link

Start-ups:

  • Amazon buys Twitch, bets on content in a hub for gamers. Link
  • Mallzee makes move to become the go-to mobile shopping destination for clothes. Link
  • Honest Co., Jessica Alba’s ecommerce startup, raises $70M. Link
  • How a clothing company successfully turned salvaged trash into fashion. Link
  • Menswear brand will deliver fresh white shirt in less than 90 minutes. Link
  • 3 startups vying to become the “Uber for Beauty.” Link

International:

[APAC]

  • LuLuLemon’s Asia push. Link
  • WalMart looks online for Chinese growth. Link
  • Chinese are traveling more but shopping less. Link
  • Wanda, Tencent and Baidu take on Alibaba with $814M ecommerce deal. Link
  • Hermes first-half profit rises on Asia sales. Link
  • Apple’s opportunity in India. Link
  • Google to open new startup center in Seoul. Link
  • Why social ecommerce is a game changer for niche brands in China. Link 

[AU/NZ]

  • Williams-Sonoma arrives in Sydney. Link
  • Australian retailers ramp up. Link
  • Inside Google’s secret drone-delivery program in Australia. Link
  • TopShop partners with Uber to offer free rides to its AU flagship. Link

[EU]

  • Marks & Spencer hopes for halo effect with unifying brand campaign. Link
  • Online beauty brand BirchBox pops up in London. Link

[CA]

  • LuLuLemon founder’s wife and son open luxury t-shirt store Kit and Ace. Link

[LATAM]

  • Columbia open and ready for business. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

  • Zalando testing mobile clothing recognition app. Link
  • Apple rumored partnership with American Express, Visa and MasterCard for mobile payments. Link
  • NFC and wallet likely in next iPhone. Link
  • Tablet growth expected to be flat in North America and Europe this year. Link
  • Kenzo enhances Printemps pop-up with interactive mobile app. Link
  • Quirky Miu Miu mobile app makes mark at Venice Film Festival. Link
  • Pandora’s Google Glass app puts music controls on user’s face. Link
  • Another season, another app. Link
  • Macy’s offers digital wallet. Link
  • Full-screen ads are coming to the iPhone. Link
  • Rebecca Minkoff introducing wearable tech. Link
  • Storytelling app Steller becomes more of a social network. Link
  • Burger King ups ante on promoting apps with smartphone offer. Link
  • Ritz Carlton strive to improve customer stays with app upgrade. Link

Other:

  • Forbes’ 25 most innovative companies, including Hermes, Amazon, and Chipotle. Link
  • Report finds ecommerce draws hedge funds. Link
  • 22% of millennials feel they are under extreme financial stress. Link
  • The world’s most creative people in business. Link
  • How does internationalization work for online retailers? Link

 

Weekly Industry Round Up: 8.25.2014

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Top industry news from last week.  All sources can be found in the hyperlink after the headline:

Retailer News:

  • Nordstrom completes Trunk Club acquisition. Link
  • Office supply etailer Poppin raises another $17M in funding. Link
  • Home shopping site Wayfair files for IPO. Link
  • Thrillest: the newsletter that became a $100M men’s business. Link
  • How Tory Burch built a $1B brand so quickly. Link
  • Tom’s sells 50% stake to Bain Capital to fund sales growth. Link
  • ‘Athleisure’ trand booms as sweatpants leave the gym. Link
  • Retailers wait for shoppers to catch up. Link
  • Starbucks to test coffee-dispensing trucks at three colleges. Link
  • Why online retailers are turning to physical stores. Link
  • Ralph Lauren launches wearable tech apparel at the U.S. Open. Link
  • How Modcloth built a culture of tech experimentation. Link
  • Rocket Internet preps for IPO. Link
  • Zalando said to be on verge of IPO. Link
  • American Eagle comparable sales down. Link
  • Abercrombie & Fitch debuts its first collection featuring the color black. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

  • Tumblr partner will now scan photos for clues about brand affiliation. Link
  • Google makes it easier for advertisers to track which ads generate phone calls. Link
  • Apple’s ‘Misunderstood’ nabs 2014 Emmy for outstanding commercial. Link
  • What marketers can learn from the ALS ice bucket challenge. Link
  • Marketers are sizing up the millennials. Link
  • Amazon prepares online advertising program. Link
  • PacSun partners with StyleHaul for Back-to-School campaign. Link
  • Snapchat planning ‘discovery’ portal for news, ads. Link
  • Twitter will use Stripe to put the ‘Buy’ buttons in tweets. Link
  • Instagram adds tools for brands. Link

Start-ups:

  • How mixing fashion and data can make Rent the Runway tech’s next billion dollar star. Link
  • Website lets you name your price on high-end clothing. Link
  • Online delivery services still struggle to turn a profit. Link

International:

[APAC]

  • Gap to open 40 stores in India. Link
  • ASOS signs Digitas for China social media and digital marketing strategy. Link
  • India to be launch pad for Amazon’s plan to deliver packages using drones. Link
  • Amazon enters Shanghai free trade zone to boost China offering. Link
  • Baidu invests in artificial intelligence. Link
  • Victoria’s Secret in China expansion. Link
  • Western luxury goods go on sale in China. Link
  • Amazon expands its ‘Amazon Coins’ virtual currency to Japan & Australia. Link
  • New restrictions on online billing in India may impact international ecommerce companies. Link

[AU/NZ]

  • Australia’s Cotton On enters Brazil. Link
  • Surfstitch buys out majority holder Billabong, prepares potential IPO. Link
  • Zara opens tenth Australian store. Link

[EU]

  • H&M launches ecommerce in Spain. Link
  • Klarna, an online payment system popular in EU, eyes global expansion. Link
  • Groupon aims to shift from daily deals to retail marketplace in UK. Link

[CA]

  • Nordstrom bets on slow, cautious entry into Canada. Link
  • Elle Canada partners with Hudson’s Bay on ecommerce, video push. Link

[A/ME]

  • Blue Nile unveils Arabic language ecommerce site. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

  • Uber opens up API to integrate in other apps. Link
  • Gap focuses on mobile for fall campaign. Link
  • PayPal rolls out one-touch mobile checkout for apps. Link
  • Millennials say ‘Venmo Me’ to fuel mobile-payment surge. Link
  • Uber Corner Store turns the transit app into delivery service for daily staples. Link
  • Zappos boosts shoe sales with native integration in MapMyFitness app. Link
  • Talking on tablets: phablets on the rise in Asia. Link
  • Square expands its cash advance service. Link
  • Wireless location beacons are now the size of stickers. Link

Other:

  • Wells Fargo launches accelerator to promote innovation in financial services. Link
  • Vegas gets a vending machine for flat shoes. Link
  • UPS confirms security breach. Link
  • McDonald’s digital plans include music, mobile ordering. Link

Weekly Industry Round Up: 8.18.2014

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Top industry news from last week.  All sources can be found in the hyperlink after the headline:

Retailer News:

  • Urban Outfitters masters social by mimicking millennials’ behaviors. Link
  • Nordstrom stock drops after slow sales growth. Link
  • Editd tells retailers exactly what consumers want in real-time. Link
  • Etsy launches its wholesale platform for retailers, allowing independent boutiques to buy items from Etsy wholesalers. Link
  • Gilt Groupe co-founder takes aim at beauty business. Link
  • Weak retail sales point to slowdown in U.S. consumer spending. Link
  • Nordstrom launches charitable private-label brand. Link
  • Saks launches ecommerce activewear shop. Link
  • Amazon introduces credit card reader, taking on Square and PayPal. Link
  • Lucky Magazine merging with BeachMint. Link
  • The Kardashian’s launch jewelry line on ASOS. Link
  • Crew enters beauty with two scents. Link
  • Piperlime unveiled new website design and logo on Monday. Link
  • Steve Madden acquires Dolce Vita. Link
  • Nordstrom unveils price tag for Trunk Club: $350 Million. Link
  • The Grommet launches whole site. Link
  • Target to keep stores open later. Link
  • Online furniture king Wayfair files for IPO. Link
  • How Julep turned women’s self-blame into a hit new product. Link
  • Yahoo unveiled a new version of Yahoo Stores, aiming to boost revenues from ecommerce. Link
  • ASOS to sell erotic accessories range. Link
  • Matell to launch Barbie-inspired lines with Foever 21, Lord & Taylor, Wildfox this Fall. Link
  • ModCloth signs anti-Photoshop pledge. Link
  • Nike releases college-themed sneaker collection. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

  • More brands turning to Tweet-for-goodies campaigns. Link
  • Twitter adds video ads. Link
  • Twitter changes math on counting users who don’t see ads. Link
  • Old Navy’s tween web video push goes viral. Link
  • Facebook now tells whether mobile ads lead to desktop purchases. Link
  • Dell uses YouTube influencers to spread its back-to-school message to students. Link
  • Pinterest expands self-serve promoted pins platform to more businesses. Link
  • Groupon is adding 100 Snapchat followers a day. Link
  • Google buys Jetpac to give context to visual searches. Link
  • New Twitter experiment changes how favorites work. Link
  • Altuzarra for Target campaign plays up the Luxe factor. Link
  • Another look at LiketoKnowIt, the service making Instagram shoppable. Link

Start-ups:

  • Spring unveils Instagram-like shopping app. Link and Link
  • Into The Gloss heads into its next phase with a revamped team. Link
  • This app crawls the web to get you the best deal on almost any product. Link
  • Uber to test moving services in Atlanta and Nashville. Link
  • House Account makes independent boutiques shoppable via mobile. Link

International:

[APAC]

  • TopShop and Miss Selfridge to sell on China’s ShangPin. Link
  • Rakuten acquires online shopping service Slice. Link
  • Newegg now shipping to India and Singapore. Link
  • Meet Scoop Whoop, BuzzFeed’s fast-growing Indian clone. Link
  • Apple begins storing user data in China. Link
  • Ahead of Rocket Internet’s IPO, here are the numbers on its Southeast Asian ecommerce stores. Link
  • JD gets online shopping boost from WeChat, sees $10B in consumer sales in Q2. Link

[AU/NZ]

  • Forever 21 rumored to open first Australia store. Link
  • Global sports retailer Intersport springs into Australian market. Link
  • Sephora reveals the location of its first Australian store. Link

[EU]

  • Legendary UK menswear tailor sets up shop inside Bergdorf Goodman in the US. Link

[CA]

  • New head of Target Canada plots course for turnaround. Link

[A/ME]

  • Ikea to open Bahrain store. Link

[LATAM]

  • How Rocket Internet’s Dafiti is helping to shape the future of ecommerce in Latin America. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

  • OpenTable rolls out mobile payments in New York City. Link
  • Samsung acquires SmartThings, a fast-growing home automation startup. Link
  • eBags takes cues from Tinder for its ecommerce app. Link
  • Three trends that will make a difference in mobile payments. Link
  • Amazon’s Indian rival is proof that mobile shopping is taking over. Link
  • Apple’s sweet spot is the people who buy iPads and laptops together. Link
  • Amazon doubles the storage on its Kindle Paperwhite e-reader. Link
  • Carolina Herrera testing style app for luxury clients. Link

Other:

  • Starbucks’ secret to make every store feel unique. Link

Spring App – New Meaning for ‘Fast Fashion’

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A new shopping app called Spring hit the market loudly this week.  Massive press coverage began right as the new app from Jello Labs appeared in the iTunes app store, with an impressive roster of sign-on partners including Alice + Olivia, Opening Ceremony, Warby Parker, Oscar de  la Renta, Levi’s and Nicole Miller.

The app lets users follow brands and designers, enabling a Instagram feed-like shopping experience from which customers can “like” products or check out right in the app without adding to a cart or going to another retailer’s site.  A more discovery-based experience is also enabled by browsing categories or shops not already followed.

From a user and design perspective the app is smooth…and for some maybe too smooth. Purchasing a $900 jacket becomes super easy, with a quick checkout process that includes an image-recognition credit card payment upload.

My take:  This app is definitely worth the download, even if just to get informed on all the buzz.  The app lives up to the hype of providing a new and innovative shopping experience, specifically in the luxury and designer market.  The fact that this new ecommerce experience started as app yet still maintains its high visual aesthetic really nails the market opportunity of mobile and ecommerce. It will be exciting to watch the app evolve, and perhaps to count the days for a curated brick-and-mortar experience complement to the business.

Check out some headlines from around the web:

Spring, Not Instagram, Unveils an Instagram with a Buy Button (Recode)

New Shopping App Spring Makes it Scary Easy to Buy Things with One Swipe (Business Insider)

Quick Purchases, Sleek Brands, No Social: How New App Spring Looks to Crack Mobile Shopping (Forbes)

This Shopping App Finally Makes the Mall Obsolete (Wired)

WEEKLY INDUSTRY ROUND UP: 8.11.2014

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Top industry news from last week.  All sources can be found in the hyperlink after the headline:

Retailer News:

  • Amazon expands same day delivery to new markets. Link
  • Target’s latest designer partnership with Altuzarra. Link
  • Urban Outfitters said to be eyeing AU-based activewear company Lorna Jane. Link
  • Kenneth Cole’s fall campaign promotes social action. Link
  • Back to school: brick and mortar wins but discounts are key. Link
  • Urban Outfitters to open first Hawaii store on Black Friday. Link
  • New Jersey a launch pad for same day delivery. Link
  • Shift to online sales is prompting retailers to scale back more store openings. Link
  • Adidas to cut jobs, boost marketing spend. Link
  • Amazon favors brands like Burberry and Levi’s with “play to pay” strategy. Link
  • Banana Republic unveils new look under creative director Marissa Webb. Link
  • Dannijo to launch footwear. Link
  • Rent the Runway to launch first standalone store. Link
  • Ralph Lauren to launch Polo line for women. Link
  • Fossil to debut first-ever Men’s and Women’s fragrances. Link
  • NastyGal’s back to school lookbook. Link
  • Microsoft wants to make retail splash near Apple’s iconic 5th Avenue store. Link
  • Walmart redesigns website to better compete with Amazon. Link
  • Net-a-porter displays real-time sales in first outdoor media campaign. Link
  • New shopping website takes on local retailers. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

  • Twitter’s “payments and shipping” settings inside the Android app hint at ecommerce. Link
  • Google tests new music ads. Link
  • Wanelo tests in-app purchases to bid to be the Amazon for Millennials. Link
  • Google tests way to track consumers from mobile browsers to the apps they use. Link
  • Pinterest’s take on direct messages blows Twitter’s out of the water. Link
  • Twitter changes pricing model for advertisers. Link
  • Facebook bans incentivizing users to like pages. Link
  • For $100,000, GQ’s most elite readers will promote your brand. Link
  • Facebook Messenger privacy fears. Here’s what to know. Link

Start-ups:

  • Universal shopping cart Two Tap launches to compete in ecommerce with partners like Sephora and Free People. Link
  • Luxury consignment reseller Snobswap raises funds to bring brick-and-mortar shops online. Link
  • Sosh launches Concierge, the Uber of restaurant dining. Link
  • tt to raise funding for its social shopping app. Link
  • Buzzfeed closes $50M investment round to take its content beyond lists. Link
  • Vine competitor Groopie lets vloggers create TV-style shows together. Link
  • YouTube buys mobile video startup Directr. Link
  • Casper, an online mattress start-up raises $13.1M. Link
  • RocketInternet’s FoodPanda gets $60M in new funding. Link
  • Rally is an Etsy for sports fans. Link

International:

[APAC]

  • New breed of Singapore startups for men who hate to shop. Link
  • Amazon’s plan to invest in Indian market. Link
  • Six takeaways from Gap and Old Navy about brand building in China. Link
  • In Japan, Uber as travel agent. Link
  • Xiaomia tops Chinese smartphone market. Link
  • Ecommerce in China now takes up 10% of all retail. Link
  • China sales lift Coach. Link

[AU/NZ]

  • Uniqlo to open more Australian stores. Link

[EU]

  • Tesco to launch non-food social commerce platform. Link
  • UK internet usage highest in EU. Link

[CA]

  • Canada luxury shoppers gain U.S. chains’ favor. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

  • Apple to announce iPhone 6 on September 9th. Link
  • Simon expands iBeacon program to outfit more smart malls. Link
  • Epicurious teams up with Swirl for in-store beacon experience. Link
  • Vurb raises $8M to steal mobile search from Google. Link
  • Google to expand market share in wearable technology. Link
  • Foursquare now tracks users even when the app is closed. Link
  • PayPal uses music festivals to push mobile app. Link
  • After Whatsapp, now Facebook Messenger supports Android Wear. Link

Other:

  • General Electric wants to act like a startup. Link
  • ESPN adds Tilt’s group payment technology to fantasy football apps. Link
  • Why Fender’s interactive design team wireframes its site by hand. Link

Etsy Wholesale: The Growing Trend of Bringing Online Offline

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As recorded in yesterday’s weekly industry round up, Etsy officially launched its wholesale business. Coming out of beta, the program enables small boutiques to purchase Etsy products to sell in their brick-and-mortar businesses.

According to Etsy’s official announcement post, if accepted into the program the makers (called “sellers”) pay a $100 fee at start followed by a 3.5% transaction fee paid to Etsy for all future purchase orders. For makers having trouble getting in front of the right independent shops, this is an amazing opportunity.  Etsy will essentially do all of the heavy lifting of marketing, PR, and tech systems that facilitate the order.  Similarly, small boutiques and shops can now easily find curated marketplace selections without having to attend trade shows or tirelessly search for that one gem that will delight customers.

My take:  First, the one thing the program doesn’t address (yet) is the big brand partnerships such as West Elm and Nordstrom. I’ve even seen Etsy products show up at Anthropologie stores.  I assume some iteration of this will become part of the program’s roadmap, if not its own program entirely.

Second, Etsy is joining the ranks of other successful online pureplays that are providing an offline experience (Birchbox, NastyGal, Warby Parker) as a complement to their core business. It speaks loudly to the current customer demand for tangible, IRL (in real life) experiences that engage more than just the sense of vision.  Online can (currently) only go so far and while pureplays have cried “old school” in the face of traditional retail, they are now returning to the basics of what it means to provide customers with more than just a transaction. This doesn’t mean throwing innovation in the garbage, it is just the same thing retailers had to do when customers went online: adapt or die.

Etsy is right to adapt.

Some coverage from around the web:

Etsy Launches ‘Etsy Wholesale,’ a Platform for Retailers (VentureBeat)

Etsy Wholesale Launches Out of Beta (Etsy Blog)

Etsy Wants to Get More Sellers’ Goods in Brick-and-Mortar Stores (Fashionista)

 

WEEKLY INDUSTRY ROUND UP: 8.4.2014

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Top industry news from last week.  All sources can be found in the hyperlink after the headline:

Retailer News:

  • Zappos tests personal shopping assistant image recognition app. Link
  • PayPal’s “Bill Me Later” service becomes “PayPal Credit” as company expands credit products globally. Link
  • Lord & Taylor to test beacons in store. Link
  • Spanx stretches into new territory with jeans. Link
  • Online retailer Blue Nile to experiment with brick and mortar retail presence. Link
  • Diane Von Furstenburg to launch fashion jewelry line. Link
  • A guide to 11 Fashion Tech Labs, from Nordstrom, to Target, to Macy’s. Link
  • Gilt partners with HP on fashionable smartwatch. Link
  • Hollister’s first celebrity collaboration with Lucy Hale of Pretty Little Liars. Link
  • Patagonia releases new eco-friendly wetsuits. Link
  • Rue La La attracts Gilt Groupe for potential sale. Link
  • Converse x Missoni Chuck Taylor launching at Nordstrom. Link
  • Target names new CEO from outside the organization. Link
  • How Sephora plans to survive retail in a digital age. Link
  • Adidas virtual storefront concept uses interactive digital signage controlled with smartphones. Link
  • Uniqlo expands to MidWest. Link
  • Calvin Klein designs collection for Net-a-Porter. Link
  • WalMart continues small format expansion. Link
  • Ikea creates omnichannel shopping experience from favorite items in app. Link
  • Etsy set to launch wholesale business this week. Link
  • eBay to venture into online services. Link
  • Apple closes acquisition of Beats music. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

  • Coca Cola launches Tweet a Coke campaign. Link
  • Under Armour makes headlines with Misty Copeland ballerina ad. Link
  • Twitter buys image-search startup Madbits. Link
  • Instagram launches one-touch photo and video messaging app Bolt outside the US. Link
  • Google Shopping now features product ratings in ads. Link
  • Big brands are driving Twitter and Facebook’s mobile ad expansion. Link
  • Marc Jacobs’ fragrance installation asks shoppers to upload their dreams. Link
  • Facebook gives up on gifts. Link
  • Meet the first viral SnapChat stars. Link
  • Twitter testing easier-to-use hashtags. Link

Start-ups:

  • WalMart Labs acquires Luvocracy, a Pinterest-like marketplace for product recommendations. Link
  • BaubleBar raises $10M in new funding lead by Chris Burch’s Burch Creative Capital. Link
  • HelloWorld, an easier way to share your location with friends. Link
  • Hukkster online shopping tool shuts down. Link
  • Saffron Fix delivers Indian food ingredients and recipes. Link
  • Goodshop, the website that donates to your chosen nonprofit when you shop online launches iOS app. Link
  • Square said to be in talks to buy food delivery start up Caviar. Link
  • Groupon founder working on walking tour app. Link
  • AirBnB expands to business travel. Link

International:

  • Canada and Australia are top choice for cross-border ecommerce, followed by Japan and New Zealand. Link

[APAC]

  • Amazon to invest $2B in India. Link
  • Why China is “10 Years Ahead” of the world with social commerce. Link
  • Alibaba mulls investment in SnapChat. Link
  • US Retailers target Chinese shoppers with stores, products. Link
  • China’s malls add parks, playgrounds to attract big-spending parents. Link
  • Rakuten believes chat app Viber can completely cange its ecommerce business. Link

[AU/NZ]

  • Surfstitch in IPO talks. Link
  • The Iconic’s heavy mobile investment paying off. Link
  • New Zealand online shoppers spent $1.3B offshore. Link

[EU]

  • 3D printer company MakerBot opens EU office in Germany. Link
  • Zalando’s deal with TopShop. Link

[A/ME]

  • Rocket Internet’s Jumia goes deeper into Africa. Link
  • Facebook launches mobile app in Zambia with free Internet access. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

  • Android market share hits new record. Link
  • Hilton hotel rooms will soon unlock via iPhones. Link
  • Swatch to add personal fitness data to touch watch. Link
  • Starwood’s app-driven vision for the hotel of the future. Link
  • Buzzfeed to launch mobile app to be dedicated to serious news. Link
  • Best Buy CEO says tablets are crashing, has hope for PCs. Link
  • Square plans new chip-friendly credit card reader. Link
  • Mobile internet revenue to hit $700B in 4 years. Link
  • Polyvore launches new, simpler version of iPhone app. Link

Other:

  • New York Times runs a full-page medical marijuana ad for the first time ever. Link
  • Hotel gives guests virtual seeds to plant trees in fire-ravaged Chilean Patagonia. Link
  • At lunch with Michael Kors and Danny Meyer. Link