“The future of mobile commerce is app commerce,” The Iconic's MD and co-founder Adam Jacobs said at a Vivid event on mobile marketing.
Jacobs predicts 80% of sales will come from apps in the future rather than web touchpoints.
“We don’t think of mobile as a marketing channel, we think of it as an ecosystem,” Jacobs said.
Since The Iconic launched in 2011 it has focused on channelling the latest technology and using the relevant mediums to target its audience.
In 2015, the online fashion retailer scrapped its TV spend, saying the medium did not provide the measurable insights the business needed.
The Iconic now invests in digital to push its product, particularly social media, with 80% of its customers using multiple touchpoints, including desktop, mobile and app, on their path to purchase.
In 2013 mobile e-commerce was only 25% of The Iconic’s traffic, now it’s at 60%, a considerable jump in three years.
Jacobs said Instagram campaigns have given The Iconic more brand impact than its TV ads ever did, despite spending a reported $2 million on broadcast in 2014 to 2015.
He previously told AdNews that Instagram was a better fit for the brand, saying traditional media isn’t where its consumers are anymore.
The Iconic has also had success with Facebook’s ad unit, Canvas, as it allows access to “rich, transactional data”, which has been constructive in identifying its audience’s behaviour.
“Cross device attribution is naturally problematic,” Jacobs said. “Our customers tend to start their customer journey on mobile, move to desktop and once they are loyal, they will use the app.”
He says mobile is often an acquisition channel for The Iconic, whereas desktop tends to be where the transaction will be completed. However, he believes this will change as the mobile experience continues to evolve.
“The evolution of mobile is compressing. The rate of change is faster than ever before,” Jacobs said.
In the next era of fashion retail, Jacobs predicts brands will be able to target consumers with products in real-time through the targeting of subconscious behaviour.
He believes with technologies such as 3D printing and VR, fashion retail will experience a level of personalisation that will revolutionise its current commercial model.
“Fashion will come to you when it’s relevant. There will be no need for stores,” Jacobs said.
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