Stylecompare.co.uk, the fashion aggregator, is celebrating its first major milestone as it hits one million users within the first 18 months of trading. The site, launched in April 2009, has experienced greater than predicted growth over the last year and joins a growing number of online fashion start-ups that are surpassing their own early expectations. So how do Style Compare go about making themselves heard through all the noise?
Founder and director Jonny Challenger, whose previous role at Next afforded him valuable experience dealing with large brands online, puts the company’s impressive early performance down to the value of convenience and choice. “We’ve got over 40 top retailers and more than 120,000 items all under one roof. Our customers find it incredibly easy to get what they’re looking for quickly. We’re harnessing the brand recognition of some real fashion giants, such as ASOS and All Saints and presenting their products on a user friendly platform.”
Style Compare’s strong early performance points to a well executed search marketing strategy and consumer reliance on search. For all of the innovations and developments in online retail, it seems people still want to Google by product.
A recent eCommera* report cited convenience as the second biggest motivator for online purchases, behind price, suggesting that online fashion shoppers want to find items quickly and efficiently online. The report also found that choice was a large factor in online purchase motivation. Style Compare stands to benefit from these long standing trends as they step up to meet the demand for dedicated, trustworthy fashion comparison - ill catered for by comparison sites in the past.
The company, founded by three internet entrepreneurs from Nottingham, has leveraged social media in order to engage with their customers in a meaningful way. Explains Challenger: “From day one we’ve used Facebook and Twitter to communicate with our customers. We run a
weekly Facebook competition, Fashion Friday, where we give away products from the latest ranges on Style Compare. It’s one of many simple concepts that have made Style Compare visible and valuable.”
Smart use of social media platforms has given Style Compare a strong start, but what part does it play in their future?
“We’re keen to build on our early success and that includes engaging directly with our consumer in a context in which they feel comfortable.” explains Challenger. “We launched the
Style Platform blog to coincide with London Fashion Week - top fashion blogger Disney Roller Girl covered the iconic event for us.”
Fashion comparison has been a tricky concept to execute, but by recognising the aspirational nature of their industry, Style Compare have delivered a service which takes account of quality, service and the most elusive element of all - style. Their offering goes way beyond mere clothing price comparison. A savvy combination of choice, convenience and brand leverage has taken this modest start-up past one million users earlier than even the founders had anticipated.
With so much attention surrounding new retail models, it’s refreshing to see that old school search marketing and customer engagement are doing the business for this promising company as they put convenience at the core of their model.
