How LOFT Is Getting Millennial-Geared Ecommerce Right
Posted by Alex Samuely on Mar 7, 2018
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Millennial: Another word for the generational demographic postdating Generation X. According to many marketers, it’s also a word denoting a highly desirable type of mobile-savvy customer that can appear unfazed by today’s world of advertising. While a plethora of retailers are struggling to market to millennial consumers effectively, one brand in particular is capitalizing on millennial-geared ecommerce in a differential way—LOFT. The clothing retailer’s ability to leverage mobile shopping capabilities such as optimized search and path to purchase journeys has paid off tenfold, propelling it to #1 rank in Path to Purchase and #4 in Search & Discover in NewStore’s annual Mobile Retail Report.
Top-of-the-Chain Fulfillment: LOFT tries its best to combat shopping cart abandonment by making the online and mobile paths to purchase as seamless as possible. Smartphone shoppers will encounter formless payment method options—including Masterpass and PayPal—that eschew the dreaded task of manually typing in credit card numbers on a tiny mobile keyboard. Additionally, the capabilities within the shopping cart itself mimic a traditional online buying experience; consumers can quickly edit orders or save their chosen items for later checkout without losing all of the work that went into their browsing sessions.
LOFT’s omnichannel fulfillment strategy comes into play in stores as well. If a shopper locates an item that is no longer available in-store in the desired color or size, an associate can grab their company-issued tablet to find the item in LOFT’s online inventory and place the order on the spot. This “save the sale” tactic is one that many brands will need to adopt in the near future, especially as Amazon’s endless aisles continue dominating the retail economy.
Round-the-Clock Inspiration: LOFT ranked #4 on the Search & Discover list, most notably for its focus on continued outfit inspiration, spanning complementary product ideas to suggested outfits based on astrological sign. Yes, LOFT employs astrology (among many other things) to draw in millennial shoppers, offering monthly horoscopes for each sign, with outfit suggestions based on the content. Consumers can also scroll through the most popular current looks, and, upon finding inspiration, choose to shop the entire look with a single tap. With this approach, smartphones turn into stylists, cementing their status as invaluable shopping companions.
Ultimately, LOFT subscribes to the theory that knowledge is power, whether that means equipping store associates with access to real-time inventory across shipment centers, or giving its shoppers endless options and arrays of looks to bring home to their closets.
Mobile-savvy millennials know they can enjoy a better experience elsewhere if a retailer’s omnichannel path to purchase isn’t up to par. And with so much millennial influence up for grabs in the marketplace, who wants to take that chance?
