The LA Times recently reported that Millennials are forsaking the ‘something for everyone’ concept that has defined department stores for the more personalized approach of stores like Zara and H&M. They also point out that the online world poses an even bigger threat.
In the past, department stores mainly contended with other retailers muscling into their territory. Now they face an even bigger challenge: a generation shaped by the Internet and the recession that values everything that department stores lack — immediacy, individuality and a place where their opinion matters…. Generation Y shoppers relish their uniqueness and are willing to pay for it, said Kit Yarrow, a consumer research psychologist and professor at Golden Gate University in San Francisco and author of “Gen Buy: How Tweens, Teens and Twenty-Somethings are Revolutionizing Retail.”
Young fashionistas who want more than off-the-rack fashion have discovered a world of online tools for easily finding the best designer and one-of-a kind offerings at the best prices.
Among the more commonly known and written about are Etsy.com, Net-a-Porter.com and Shopbop.com. These sites boast high traffic volumes. According to Quantcast, Etsy.com gets as many as 1.6 million U.S. visitors a day.
Aisling McDonough
Aisling McDonough is Sales Director for BUZZMEDIA. I met Aisling at the iMedia Summit in San Diego and was struck by her engaging style and fabulous clothes. After a brief discussion of the wonders of the movie, The Breakfast Club, we moved on how she stays on top of fashion trends. It was an education. Here are some of Aisling’s favorite sites:
ShopItToMe.com This fun site records your brand preferences (from a list of nearly 700) and your clothes/shoe sizes. It then keeps you posted about when items you might be interested in go on sale via ‘salemail’. The site even suggests brands you might like based on your preferences. It was fast and easy. Aisling says this is one of her ‘go to sites’ for deals on the designers she likes best.
Designer Social: Designer Social not only lets you buy new items, you can sell or swap old ones that ‘no longer suit your style’. Talk about economical! The stylish interface is as far from E-Bay or the Goodwill as you can get.
Beyond the Rack: and Gilt.com are shopping ‘clubs’ that purport to offer deals at 70% off retail. You have to apply to join and there is a waiting list for each.
I asked Aisling if she still shops in stores? She says she does because in New York City there are shops everywhere she goes, but she relies mostly on her online shopping sites to find the best deals.
With this kind of competition, department stores may find they have a very difficult road ahead.
