California Apparel News

Early holiday spending online hits $1 billion.

Cyber Monday continues to attract consumers to the Web, and online retailers received some early Christmas cheer with the announcement that e-commerce sales on Nov. 29 saw a record-breaking day of more than $1 billion.

Aggressive discounting played a contributing factor in Cyber Monday’s success, and some e-tailers planned well ahead to come up with a strategy that focused more on brands than coupon codes.

“For better or for worse, [discounting is what] we’ve all collectively done as retailers at least for the near future during Cyber Monday,” said Karmaloop (www.karmaloop.com) founder Greg Selkoe.

Karmaloop had projected a robust increase of 60 percent over last year. Instead, Selkoe said, the company saw sales surge 240 percent over last year.

Karmaloop offered 25 percent off on purchases of $65 and up.

The Boston-based e-tailer carries several West Coast brands, such as Elwood, Tavik Swimwear and BB Dakota.

The streetwear-centric site saw accessories such as cell phone holders and jewelry do well for the holidays, according to Selkoe.

Selkoe said Cyber Monday typically is the fourth or fifth most-successful shopping day for Karmaloop and anticipates an even bigger shopping day to come later in December.

“This seems to [have been] the most heavily discounted Cyber Monday ever,” said Jon Fahrner, chief executive officer of Palo Alto, Calif.–based online store Moxsie (www.moxsie.com). “For a retailer like Moxsie, the abundance of promotional pricing in the marketplace meant that offering a compelling discount alone probably wasn’t enough to get a huge amount of attention.”

Fahrner said that Moxsie began planning months ago to ensure that featured designers and products presented on Cyber Monday were a strong combination of gift items and things people wanted for themselves. “We felt it was important to keep the focus on the compelling merchandise over deep discounts. It definitely paid off,” Fahrner said.

Moxsie offered 20 percent off on Cyber Monday, but the discount was not always used, according to Fahrner. Fahrner reported that Moxsie’s sales were up 300 percent over its daily average. Fahrner attributed the increase in sales to Moxsie’s unique product lines, which cater to shoppers on the hunt for indie and up-and-coming brands. Moxsie sells items from brands such as Dolce Vita, Hellz and Tulle.

Beverly Hills, Calif.–based contemporary fashion e-tailer Stanton James (www.stantonjames.com) conducted holiday sales out of the gate prior to Black Friday with a special private sale that began on Nov. 18 and presented items at as much as 70 percent off. Co-owner Brooke Price said the private sale was successful in attracting new customers to the site.

Stanton James saw a sales increase of approximately 35 percent, according to Price.

Styles that sold well on Stanton James were the “Ravishing Over-the-Knee” boot by vegan shoe line Cri de Coeur, which retails for $139, and a hooded scarf by designer Aleksandr Manamis, which retails for $349.

While sales in the staggering billion-dollar range can be a positive sign of economic recovery, some e-tailers see consumers continuing to be selective with their spending.

“People aren’t going out to spend unless it’s the right piece and [they] are willing to pay for it,” Price said.

Fahrner said that while the success of Black Friday and Cyber Monday may not necessarily mean there is a complete bounce back in the economy, he agreed that it’s the product that speaks to the customer.

“The fact that a large amount of our sales was made up of non-gift items is interesting,” Fahrner said. “From what we see and hear from our social following, people seem excited to gift themselves with products they have been eying or splurge on new things they just discovered. This is definitely a positive sign for holiday sales.”

The ability of choice and expedient search continues to make the Web an attractive shopping destination.

“I think people are getting a little tired of the Black Friday frenzy and want to stay home,” said Jennifer Song, vice president of marketing for San Francisco–based fashion site Tobi (www.tobi.com). “People are more comfortable with shopping online.”

Tobi sells pieces from brands such as Alexander Wang, Diane von Furstenberg, James Perse and Vince, as well as an array of denim lines such as J Brand, 7 For All Mankind, Citizens of Humanity and Joe’s Jeans.

Song reported that Tobi’s overall holiday sales were up but declined to state by how much.

Tobi offered 30 percent off and extended the sale until 6 a.m. on Nov. 30. “I think people are expecting discounts, and online stores have to compete with bricks-and-mortar stores,” Song said.

Cyber Monday Sales Soar to More Than $1 Billion

Reston, Va.–based Web-marketing firm comScore Inc. reported that Cyber Monday reached slightly more than $1 billion in online spending, up 16 percent from a year ago, representing the heaviest online-spending day in e-commerce and the first to surpass the billion-dollar mark.

“Cyber Monday was a historic day for e-commerce as we saw daily spending surpass $1 billion for the first time,” said comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni in a statement. “The online holiday shopping season has clearly gotten off to a very strong start, which is welcome news. At the same time, it’s important to note that some of the early strength in consumer spending is almost certainly the result of retailers’ heavier-than-normal promotional and discounting activity at this early point in the season. So, while we anticipate that there will be more billion-dollar spending days ahead as we get deeper into the season, only time will tell if overall consumer online spending remains at the elevated levels we’ve seen thus far.”

According to San Mateo, Calif.–based Web-research firm Coremetrics, a division of International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), online sales on Cyber Monday were 31.1 percent higher over Black Friday sales, and consumers had an average order value of $194.89, which was an 8.3 percent increase over last year.

Coremetrics also reported that the shopping-cart conversion rate for the apparel category was up 3.21 percent over last Cyber Monday.

“Cyber Monday has proven to be the biggest online shopping day of the year so far,” said Coremetrics Chief Strategy Officer John Squire. “Based on our analysis, it will remain the biggest day of the year. We anticipate that consumers will continue to shop and will analyze trends to determine how the coming weeks shape up.”