California Apparel News

Orders increased 26.4 percent over last year at apparel e-tailers.

Christmas came a little early for many online retailers thanks to Cyber Monday, which saw a nearly 14 percent increase in e-commerce sales over last year.

On Nov. 30, the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, consumers flocked to the Web to shop deals. The National Retail Federation coined the term “Cyber Monday” in 2005.

While still in its infancy, fashion e-commerce was often dogged by consumers’ concerns over the difficulty in purchasing apparel online because of fit and the inability to try on items. New online shoppers may mean that more consumers are turning to the Web to purchase their attire. According to a report by San Mateo, Calif.–based Web marketing-optimization firm Coremetrics, apparel retailers saw the biggest jump, with a 26.4 percent increase in the average dollar amount consumers spent per online order.

“We offered 25 percent off regular-priced merchandise [on Cyber Monday],” said Irene Chen, marketing and public-relations manager for contemporary fashion site Tobi (www.tobi.com), based in San Francisco. “We have daily sales goals, and Cyber Monday generated twice the sales of our planned goal. In addition, we found that our average order size also increased by around 40 percent.”

Tobi—which carries labels such as J Brand, Alexander Wang and Commes des Garccedil;ons—used the Cyber Monday opportunity to introduce a special promotion. Tobi’s “10 Days of Stylish Giving” rewards its clientele with special gifts in partnership with a handful of the brands on the site.

While some independent bricks-and-mortar counterparts were resistant to offering discounts this year, for e-commerce startup Stanton James (www.stantonjames.com), which launched earlier this year, promos and discounts are sometimes needed in the highly promotional state surrounding the holiday shopping season.

“We want to take advantage of the fact that people are shopping now,” said co-owner Brooke Price. “You have to do things to entice people to choose you.”

The Beverly Hills, Calif.–based company, which sells up-and-coming lines such as For Love and Lemons and Brigid Catiis, did offer a 25 percent discount on Cyber Monday. “We saw about three times the amount of traffic than we normally do,” Price said.

Price is working on ways to keep the shopping momentum going, including a planned “shop now and save later” promotion. Shoppers who buy in the month of December will receive a gift card that will offer discounts good for the month of January.

Palo Alto, Calif.–based e-commerce site Moxsie (www.moxsie.com) experienced a fruitful Cyber Monday with triple the sale-conversion rate—the percent of visitors who logged on and made a purchase, according to Chief Executive Officer Jon Fahrner.

Moxsie offered a 15 percent discount plus free shipping on Cyber Monday. Moxsie carries indie labels such as Hellz and Tt Collection.

Despite the onslaught of promotions and discounts, some consumers were shopping for the sake of shopping. Price and Fahrner reported that some customers did not utilize their respective discount codes over the long holiday weekend. “It reinforces that our customers are not necessarily price-driven,” Fahrner said.

Some consumers were also able to dig deep into their pockets and buy more selflessly. Moxsie donates a portion of proceeds on behalf of the customer to a charity of the customer's choice, such as the Hunger Project. “People are especially motivated to help others over the holidays,” Fahrner said.

Tobi is also working on charitable partnerships to launch in January.

E-tailers may see better sales later in December. “Past holiday consumer behavior suggests that day will come in mid-December during the last days of free-shipping promotions,” said Coremetrics Chief Strategy Officer John Squire.

“[We’re] thrilled with the performance and increased sales conversion experienced on Cyber Monday,” Fahrner said. “We are hoping to see an entire ’Cyber December.’”

E-tail Sees Cyber Monday Sales Jump 13.7 Percent

On Nov. 30—Cyber Monday—retailers saw online sales rise 13.7 percent over the same period last year, according to San Mateo, Calif.–based Web marketing firm Coremetrics. The firm measures sales data from 500 member retailers.

(Cyber Monday, a term coined by the National Retail Federation in 2005, refers to the shopping day after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in which consumers flock to the Web to shop deals.)

“Consumers are becoming more accustomed to and open to buying online,” said Coremetrics Chief Strategy Officer John Squire. “Retailers were good about enticing new consumers who hadn’t purchased on their sites before to buy.”

Online retailers were especially prudent getting the word out on promotions and deals in time for the Black Friday shopping rush, often via viral methods such as Twitter and blogs.

Reston, Va.–based online marketing research firm ComScore Inc. reported that e-tailers garnered $887 million in online spending on Cyber Monday, up 5 percent from a year ago, and matched the heaviest online spending day on record. In addition to Cyber Monday’s positive returns, Black Friday sales reached $595 million, an 11 percent increase over Black Friday 2008.

“There was a lot of concern that this year wouldn’t be great because of the economy,” Squire said. “Online retailers got out ahead of Black Friday to tell consumers what deals to expect. With the 35 percent increase in year-over-year sales growth on Black Friday and a 13.7 percent year-over-year increase on Cyber Monday, they should feel good for all their work.”

Online consumers spent an average of $180.03 versus $130.24 last year, reflecting a 38.2 percent increase.

One part of the retail sector that attracted consumers to the Web was department stores, Squire said. Department stores’ e-commerce sites attracted an increase of 33 percent for new consumers on Cyber Monday and an increase of 150 percent for new customers on Black Friday, according to Squire.