Luxury Briefing: Why shoppable videos and livestreams will define the next era of luxury e-commerce

June 5, 2024 Mary

This week, a look at the evolution of livestream shopping and shoppable videos in the luxury sector. Plus, luxury brands are hiring from the hospitality industry. And Gen-Z is fueling Loewe’s mega-popularity.

Twenty-year fashion industry veteran Kate Davidson is betting that video-based shopping is the future of e-commerce and the secret to winning high-spend shoppers.

In March, Davidson soft-launched Vêtir, which she describes as a “smart shopping app.” It currently offers three ways to shop via three product carousels on the homepage: One offers discovery by featuring the newest products from Vêtir’s luxury brand partners, updated in real-time. Another, labeled For You, is a personalized feed with featured styles based on a user’s app interactions, chat conversations and uploaded styles from their physical closet. Finally, a third carousel is merchandised by the shopper’s personal stylist, based on their upcoming events and existing wardrobe.

On top of the product carousels, Vêtir features copy-light, “conversion-driven” editorial stories, Davidson said. There are also shoppable videos, which, if Davidson’s vision rings true, will become the central focus of the app.

The success of shoppable videos was “the biggest impetus behind building this whole tech platform,” she said. She pointed to the widespread popularity of the format in Asia, the increasing share of U.S. e-commerce sales moving to video shopping and the high conversion rates the format has proven to drive.

“Outside of more mass plays like TikTok, nobody’s really cracked the nut on video shopping, with respect to [the U.S. market] and fashion,” Davidson said, describing predecessors including Bambuser as cumbersome to manage. “We did everything mobile-first. You can use an iPhone to capture a video, it automatically uploads to the app, and then you just search the product, tag it on a timestamp and deploy it.”

Vêtir operates on a marketplace model, making a commission on in-app sales. Its shoppable video technology is currently patent pending, but soon, brand partners will be able to bring it to their own channels on a license basis.

Davidson said she and her team held off on soft-launching the app until they deemed its functionality to be intuitive enough for a stylist or influencer to create and launch a shoppable video in two minutes. “There’s a huge opportunity with celebrity-led and influencer-led video content,” she said.

Davidson’s fashion background includes a chief development officer role at luxury retailer Luisaviaroma and accessories editor positions at Elle and Harper’s Bazaar. In 2012, she co-founded Editorialist, an e-commerce platform offering personal styling services.

“Fashion is the most fragmented industry,” Davidson said. “You have this emerging, really powerful cohort of personal shoppers moving an incredible volume of product — because [working with them] is more efficient for shoppers. Then there’s brick-and-mortar and there’s e-commerce, which has a different vibe. With Vêtir, we want to synchronize everything into one smart environment.”

Many of the videos populating Vêtir are the same videos brands are posting to other platforms but made shoppable, Davidson said. There are also several videos made by stylists-slash-store-associates to show a brand’s newly released styles to their clients.

Currently, the app largely functions as a stylist’s tool. Personal shoppers with books of $1 million to $2 million who are also recommended to Vêtir are invited to join the platform with their clients in tow. According to Davidson, Vêtir will soon announce the onboarding of several celebrity stylists.

Davison and her team have prioritized providing access to stylists and their clients. Otherwise, about 500 independent shoppers have been permitted to join. A waitlist of 4,000 shoppers will be granted access to the app when it’s ungated on August 1.

Over the years, many tech companies have attempted to get “Clueless”-style digitized closets off the ground. For its part, Vêtir offers a white-glove concierge team that can do the legwork of photographing the pieces in one’s wardrobe, thereby making it easier to shop complementary pieces on the app. A user’s owned styles can also be pulled into the app from Google images, or Vêtir technology can scrape a user’s email for e-commerce receipts to automate the process.

According to Davidson, Vêtir has a growing team of employees based in India, New York and South Florida, plus several freelancers. The company has raised Seed and Series A funding rounds and is on track to break even by the first quarter of 2025.

The timing of the app’s official launch, in August, was intentionally set just before New York Fashion Week, Davidson said. The company plans to make select runways and other elements of the event shoppable via Vêtir.

“When you’re catering to that top 2%, the experiential and access elements are huge,” she said.

Right now, Vêtir’s sales are largely made through its chat channels. Its average order value is around $1,400, and the conversion rate is 4.02, Davidson said.

“E-commerce changed everything 15 years ago. Much of the fashion experience, and the ability to capitalize off of that moment when someone feels inspired, was lost,” Davidson said. “I’m hoping video can add that back to the mix.”

Moving forward, Vêtir will launch men’s and beauty products. Plus, based on demand, Vêtir may soon offer the ability to shop fellow users’ closets. Building up the brand’s assortment of exclusive products is also a goal, Davidson said.

On Thursday, the livestream shopping company ShopShops, which has so far built its U.S.-based business via its global app, will launch on TikTok Shop. On the platform, out of the gate, it will exclusively sell products from Century 21 NYC, the off-price designer store working to rebuild its business following a mid-pandemic bankruptcy. ShopShops has 14,000 TikTok followers and Century 21 has 6,800. Thursday will also mark Century 21’s TikTok Shops debut.

ShopShops and Century 21 first partnered in 2018 on weekly livestreams on ShopShops’ app and Century 21’s Instagram account. At the time, ShopShops’ business was largely focused on selling designer goods to consumers in China, said Larry Mentzer, COO of Century 21 NYC. Now, however, it’s a more global business and has expanded its operations to include auctions and sales in more fashion categories. According to ShopShops, it has 1,500 fashion retail partners, including Chloe, Fendi and Loewe.

Mentzer said Century 21 chose to revive the partnership this year after realizing that its relaunched e-commerce site, expected to go live “soon” as of May 2023, would continue to be on hold due to “an IT data issue.” The company now plans to implement a new ERP system this fall, which employees will need “time to digest” before tackling online sales, he said. In the meantime, livestreaming will allow the company to reach more shoppers.

“We had a global reach before [the pandemic] through C21stores.com, and we also had 13 stores,” he said. “Now, we have just one store, in New York. So we want to bring our amazing prices on designer brands to a global audience again. It’s important to be out there, [driving] digital revenue and awareness. … Awareness eventually becomes traffic, which eventually becomes customers.”

Customers have expressed their desire for a Century 21 e-commerce site through social media and in-store comments, he said. Plus, high click-through and open rates on customer emails have signaled demand.

Ensuring the ShopShops partnership is a success will require Century 21’s merchant teams to ensure the right products are available in-store, Mentzer said, noting, “The assortment that sells in the store is different than what sells in [ShopShops’] livestream events and, we’re assuming, will be different than what sells on TikTok. We’ll be reaching a different audience. It’s a whole new revenue channel for us.”

Century 21’s marketing team will also contribute to the partnership by promoting the livestreams in social posts, emails and fitting room signage.

For its part, ShopShops will supply the on-air talent, with its hosts-slash-influencers popping into Century 21’s Lower Manhattan store 3-5 times per week for live shows. In addition, ShopShops will manage the packaging and shipping of items sold.

“To say that livestreaming will replace e-commerce is a bit of a stretch — or way down the road. But we definitely think it’s complementary,” Mentzer said. “You’ve got a real person who’s talking directly to you and can show you exactly what you want to see, answer all your questions and try something on. This is not a widget or a chatbot.”

As for his expectations for TikTok Shop, specifically, he said, “We’re in discovery mode. We don’t know how big this thing can be, but we think it’s a huge opportunity. So, we’ll chase it and we’ll support it, and as big and as far as ShopShops can push it, we’re along for the ride.”

Stat of the week

Shopping livestreams can save money.

On average, handbags from luxury brands Chanel, Chloe and Gucci have been discounted by over 30% when purchased via Poshmark livestreams, or Posh Shows, compared to regular Poshmark listings. Poshmark launched Posh Shows in April 2023.

“This is a testament to Posh Shows’ fast-paced auction format, which allows shoppers to place bids on desired inventory, resulting in steep discounts,” a Poshmark spokesperson told Glossy.

Executive moves

Based on their recent heightened focus on customer service, luxury brands hiring from the hospitality industry is a trend that’s set to catch on.

On Monday, 12-year-old fashion brand Anine Bing, named after its influencer founder, announced the appointment of Julie Bourgeois as the brand’s first global president. Bourgeois is stepping into the role following two years as svp and global head of retail, leasing and experiential signature at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

According to an Anine Bing spokesperson, Bourgeois will lead the company through its next stage of growth, with a focus on its global positioning. She’ll also ensure profitable growth in its key wholesale, retail and e-commerce revenue channels while developing innovative brand marketing opportunities and elevated omnichannel strategies. She’ll report to the brand’s co-founder and CEO, Nico Bing.

”My experience with Four Seasons, a leader in global luxury hospitality, has reinforced the importance of exceptional service and a client-centric approach,” Bourgeois told Glossy. “I see immense potential in leveraging the innovative spirit and strong brand values at Anine Bing for global growth and expansion. Together with our founders and talented teams, I am excited to drive the shared vision of international expansion while delivering unparalleled customer experiences forward.”

New report: Loewe is gaining the most buzz among luxury brands

Loewe’s off-beat runway designs are translating to social stardom.

On Wednesday, the fashion data consultancy Launchmetrics released a report revealing Gen Z’s impact on fashion marketing since 2020. The report included top-20 rankings of luxury brands in both 2020 and 2023, based on Launchmetrics’ proprietary media impact value measurement which factors the impact of influencers, print media, celebrities, official third-party partners and a brand’s own media channels.

Among the key findings were that, in 2020, LVMH-owned Loewe had an MIV of $303 million and did not make the top 20, placing 21st. In 2023, it ranked 13th, with an MIV of $839 million — the 168% MIV boost was the greatest uptick among luxury brands. Most of the brand’s 2023 MIV (57%) came from media, at $475.2 million; followed by influencers, at 25% ($212 million); celebrities, at 12% ($104.5 million); and brand partners, at 2% ($15 million).

Launchmetrics owed the brand’s boosted ranking to creative director Jonathan Anderson’s recent knack for clicking with Gen Z and fueling viral content, largely through designs seemingly made for social media. In Loewe’s spring 2024 collection, for example, that included shoes made from deflated balloons and gaming-inspired T-shirts appearing pixelated.

And Loewe continues to gain traction. Launchetrics exclusively told Glossy that the brand’s highest MIV-earning month since 2020 was post-2023, in March 2024. Fifteen percent of its MIV during the month, worth $22 million, was tied to its Paris Fashion Week show.

“Due to its global visibility and long-standing industry associations, fashion week remains a focal point for strategic brand amplification,” Launchmetrics CMO Alison Bringé told Glossy. “In today’s digital age, fashion shows are not constrained by the venue’s walls anymore, and these ‘made for content’ moments, if done correctly, can resonate well beyond industry circles.”