Fashion
ZALORA, Asia’s online fashion destination, is celebrating its fourth anniversary this year. To commemorate the milestone, ZALORA will host a series of events and activities for customers, media and partners in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand throughout the next two months.
“Over the past four years, ZALORA has consistently strive to improve its product offering, brand proposition and customer experience to change the online fashion retail scene in Asia. According to a research, only 40% of the Southeast Asia population have access to the internet1, this is still below the global average. As an online retailer in an emerging markets, it’s important for ZALORA to contribute to the growth of e-commerce in the region and offer a platform where brands can reach more consumers and for fashion consumers to have access to the best fashion brands anytime, anywhere,” said Michele Ferrario, CEO, ZALORA Group.
ZALORA celebrates by giving back to fashion
As part of the fourth year anniversary celebration, ZALORA is introducing two exciting initiatives: ZALORA Style Awards and Make Me a ZALORA Model. In its effort to encourage and support the region’s fashion community, ZALORA will honour talented individuals who made the fashion scene in Southeast Asia a hotbed for creativity and expression through the ZALORA Style Awards, which is set to debut in late March 2016. ZALORA strongly believes that fashion is a great enabler and by giving recognition to individuals in the industry who have been contributing to their respective local fashion communities, ZALORA hopes to inspire future fashion players to pursue a career in the industry.
In April, ZALORA will launch the first ever regional model scouting competition, using Instagram and the infamous “selfies” as a platform for its search. From a modelling contract with ZALORA to fantastic gift prizes, Make Me a ZALORA Model is an opportunity for aspiring models to fast track their career and become the newest face in modelling scene. More information will be available soon.
How ZALORA is changing the way people shop fashion in Asia
Access
From the start, ZALORA saw navigating the complex and fragmented Southeast Asian infrastructure – achieved with heavy investments in operations and logistics resources and strong local teams – as essential to the company’s success. This focused vision and execution have directly resulted in access to otherwise inaccessible global and local fashion and beauty brands for fans in second and third cities or remote places in Southeast Asia – many hours away from the closest offline store.
Bridging offline and online
To introduce ZALORA to consumers in the region and build trust with first-time online shoppers, ZALORA launched the first click-and-mortar shop in Asia that gives consumers a physical ZALORA experience where shoppers can try on products and get familiarised with shopping ZALORA’s e- commerce site. The success of the first digital pop-up store in Singapore led to the opening of more pop-up stores in the region – Penang, Malaysia, Jakarta, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam and Manila, Philippines. Designed to increase awareness, this omni-channel approach has proven to be a success as up to 90% of consumers who bought from the pop-up store are new customers.
Platforms
The number of smartphone users in Asia Pacific – more than 1 billion in 2015 – is projected to increase by almost 50% by 20192. Keeping pace with the regional growing popularity of m-commerce, ZALORA is focusing on providing a World-Class experience through its apps which are available on all Android and iOS platforms, ensuring that mobile consumers are empowered with the convenience of shopping
anytime and anywhere they go even in areas where connectivity is not yet very fast. This results in more than 10 million downloads of the award-winning ZALORA app.
Growth
In developing countries/cities where hard assets infrastructure is not as developed and distribution of goods are weaker, mobile phone becomes more than a communication tool; it is a platform to procure goods. Based on MasterCard’s Mobile Shopping Survey, half of smartphone users in Asia Pacific are shopping on their device – a clear indicator of a shifting consumer habit as more people are venturing into mobile commerce. Nearly half of the respondents across Asia Pacific (49.5%) cited convenience as the most compelling reason for shopping on their smartphone. Other motivating factors include the ability to shop on the go (43.9%). Driven by this shift, ZALORA is constantly improving its apps, enhancing efficiency and ease of use for the customers. The effort has paid off: more than 50% of site visits in 2015 were from the ZALORA App or mobile site, with more than half of the orders coming from mobile devices.
During the annual cyber event 12.12 Online Fever in December 2015, fashion thumb shoppers also gained grounds on desktop shoppers: 78.5% compared to 21.5%. Additionally, the number of customers who shopped on ZALORA through mobile had a 250% increase from 2014. This is in line with the changing consumer behaviour and the growing trend of consumers in the region shopping heavily through their mobile devices.
ZALORA’s 12.12 Online Fever – Asia’s version of Cyber Monday – played a pivotal role in the boost of the regional confidence in online purchase, subsequently converting traditional consumers into e- consumers. This initiative was met with strong support from fashion consumers across the eight markets – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taiwan – with over six times the volume of any previous day, and an acquisition of 32% first time ZALORA customers in 2015.
According to PayPal Cross-Border Consumer Research 2015, fashion emerged as the top category for both online cross-border shopping (53%) and mobile shopping (27.9%). To keep pace with the demand, ZALORA carries over 6,000 global and local fashion brands on one single site, carefully curated to provide the best fashion offering for its customers.
In recognition of the growth in online fashion shopping, ZALORA will sustain its dedication to an ever- improving and meaningful online shopping experience: the access to favourite brands and same-day delivery, all achieved with a few clicks. Every day, ZALORA is one step closer to revolutionising the way people shop and redefining the high-street fashion accessibility in this part of the world. To date, ZALORA has served close to four million customers in just a few years.
Driven by a team of young experts in fashion, logistics, data analytics, marketing, and design, paired with guidance from business consultants and tech geniuses, ZALORA’s vision is set on growth, making ZALORA the online fashion authority in Asia. ZALORA will continue to strive for excellence, enhance the customer experience by improving interface and customer engagement, particularly through mobile applications, boost confidence in online shopping and transform the way fashion is purchased in Asia to help build an e-commerce friendly environment.
Follow ZALORA’s fourth anniversary celebrations at #ZALORA4You.
