The Rise of Fashion E-Commerce and Man’s Escape from the Mall

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[Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Thomas Rankin. It is subset of his original post, which is a collection of thoughts and research compiled during some of the earliest exploration into the Dash Hudson business model. ]

The Set-up

E-commerce is on a rocketship, with clothing retailers and brands using technology to create new ways to engage with customers online. In fact, clothing and accessories is the fastest growing segment of e-commerce. A study done by Emarketer projects that online sales of clothing and accessories will continue to grow year over year at a rate faster than even the electronics and books segment, with sales reaching $73 billion by 2016.

Don’t Forget the Dudes

Despite the trope of women as fashion-obsessed shopaholics, men also have a desire to buy things they know they’ll look good in. However, most department stores and shopping malls are designed with the female shopper in mind, leaving men to fewer clothing options, particularly for those who are sartorially-inclined. This void, combined with growing presence of internet and mobile technology in fashion e-commerce, creates a perfect storm of opportunity for online brands and retailers that offer affordable, convenient, and fashionable options for men. According to research from Rakuten Linkshare, 83% of men surveyed prefer to shop online. Not only are men flocking to online retailers to get their new threads, but according to Chris Ventry, the general manager of Gilt Groupe’s GiltMan, men are out-shopping women by 20-30% in all areas of online shopping.

Where the Boys Are: Men’s E-Commerce Companies

A number of men’s e-commerce companies are cashing in on men’s interest in buying fashionable and trendy clothes online. Companies such as Frank & Oak, Bombfell and Trunk Club are at the forefront of offering a curated subscription service that makes shopping efficient for guys. Subscription commerce has proven popular with men who wish to avoid the complex decision making involved with shopping. Other online-exclusive fashion companies like BonobosJack Threads, and Mr. Porter offer quality men’s fashion at various prices. Bonobos is for the guy who likes the crusts cut off his peanut butter sandwich, Jack Threads for the guy who likes crusty dive bars and Mr. Porter for the socialite upper crust. J.Crew is a well-known traditional unisex offline retailer that offers an expansive online selection for men. H&M, Uniqlo and Zara compete for the disposable fashion market at a lower pricepoint. Streetwear companies like SuperdrySaturdays Surf NYCNeed Supply Co.Union Made Goods, and Stussy offer casual and weekend wear for dudes that take their looks seriously. For the slightly avant garde, it’s all about the Nordic brands: Matinique, Norse Projects and Selected Homme are doing some of the best work in men’s fashion today.

Beautiful Matinique people from Mantinique 2010 catalog.

Beautiful people  from Mantinique 2010 catalog.

Just Show me the Good Stuff

Clearly the world has changed, as there are a growing number of fashion options for men. So many that it is easy for guys to get overwhelmed, like a child lost at Nordstrom. According to research from Rakuten LinkShare, 48% of young male shoppers between the ages of 18-25 are overwhelmed by the plethora of choices with online shopping. Refinement of those options is a serious challenge. A survey conducted by Dash Hudson indicated that more than 60% of guys aged 18-24 want social validation and recommendations before buying. This contrasts with women, where over 75% want to discover content on their own. Guys readily admit that they need help looking good, and want guidance on what to buy. For the sartorially interested male, the growth in popularity of social commerce sites has been a mixed blessing. Pinterest launched in 2010, giving consumers the ability to take part in a taste-based community that curates photos of fashion, food, architecture, hairstyles and many other things. Now social shopping companies like WaneloFancySvpply, and Fab are making it easier for fashion-conscious shoppers to curate their style, draw inspiration from other users, and connect to their favourite stores and brands. A review of Alexa data shows that each of these shopping sites is much more likely to be frequented by female shoppers, something that is evidenced in their communities and user experiences.

Mind the Gaps in the Market

Despite the growth of men’s fashion e-commerce, there remains a great deal of room for innovation. Although social shopping companies like Wanelo and Pinterest allow users to curate their style, the plethora of available products can be overwhelming for the male shopper. Our research at Dash Hudson indicates that over 80% of men come to a shopping platform with the intent to buy as opposed to create content. The prevalence of dead and broken links in social shopping sites often interrupts the demonstrated intent. I am Jack’s complete frustration.

Oops

 

So close.

New social marketplaces must solve the problem of enabling the customer to search great content and then convert intent into purchase. This is especially important in the case of the need and immediacy-driven male shopper.

The Future of E-Commerce Is In Your Hands – Literally

The trend of men shopping online will continue to grow with mobile shopping becoming the newest way to efficiently discover and purchase clothing. Mobile technology can capitalize on men’s desire to shop on the go, making the fashion e-commerce experience more efficient than ever. According to Forrester, mobile currently accounts for 5 percent to 10 percent of all retail transactions. Yet for most online retailers, the big story is that mobile commerce is increasing at a rate of up to 185 percent. For men’s retailers who have caught the mobile wave (ahem, Jack Threads) this is great news. The DDB Lifestyle Survey in 2013 indicated, of men aged 18-34, 30% use shopping apps on their phone and 24% typically shop for and buy items on their smartphones. In the age of the digital urban lifestyle, convenience wins.

Final Thoughts

Experiences need to become tailored to how men shop by getting the best, most validated clothing in front of the shopper for their final purchasing decision. As more social shopping experiences become tailored for men, and as better retail products are built for mobile devices, male shoppers will start to feel the warmth of a market that finally understands them. At the end of the day, it’s all about being the coolest version of yourself. Finally, guys are being given the tools that make it fun and easy for this to happen.

Announcing David Cohen’s Visit to Toronto and Waterloo, April 22-23 2014

I’m very excited to announce that David Cohen, Founder  & CEO of Techstars will visit Toronto and Waterloo, April 22nd-23rd 2014.

David Cohen PicTechstars is the largest accelerator network in the world, with programs running in New York, Boston, Boulder, Austin, New York City, Seattle, Chicago and London, UK.

This is David’s second Canadian visit (he was a speaker at Startup Empire in 2008), but this time I’m going to take him around to a few startups and tech accelerators in Toronto and Waterloo.

The two main public events that you don’t want to miss will be the fireside chat interviews, similar to the previous one I did with Albert Wenger on Oct 23rd 2013. David loves to interact with entrepreneurs, so we’ll be in for a treat during the Q&A period.

Schedule Details

  • Toronto: April 22nd, 5:30PM-8PM. Location: OneEleven Centre, 111 Richmond West, 5th Floor. Register early at $9, before the price goes up to $11.
  • Waterloo: April 23rd, 6PM-8:30PM. Location: Tannery Event Centre at the Communitech Hub, 151 Charles Street West. Details will be posted on the Communitech Events page.

As a preamble to this visit, I asked David a few questions:

Q- Why have you decided to spend 2 days in Toronto and Waterloo?
David: I’ve been hearing about the fantastic startup community that has evolved there, and I want to see it with my own eyes!

Q- What important trends are you seeing in the tech/VC startup scene that young entrepreneurs should know about?
David: I think there are now about 10 great startup communities in the world to build Internet startups. I won’t start a war by saying which cities I am referring to. However, part of my personal mission and part of the mission of Techstars is to bolster that number to 50 or 100. We can do it. The idea that you have to be in Silicon Valley is so passé now. Sure, that’s one great place to be. But there is widely available information about great startups starting in many other communities now, so it’s certainly not the only place these days. I love that our generation gets to drive this change.

Q- Reflect on 2014 vs. 2007 when you ran the first program, and where Techstars might be in 2018?
David: Well, in 2007 this was nothing more than an experiment. Could we use a little capital and a ton of intense mentorship and the support of an entire community to attract great startups to apply? It turns out we could. Would they be able to raise money? Yup, $500M and climbing. Would they be successful? Yup, 33 exits now and billions in portfolio value. It has far exceeded my expectations. We have taken the idea of mentorship driven accelerators to great markets in the US. I can see us expanding a bit internationally in the coming years. We are also helping amazing corporations like Disney, Barclays, Sprint, R/GA, Kaplan, and more by running accelerators for them as they “give first” to founders in their areas of expertise. We’ll do more of that.

These 2 events will be sold out to capacity, so I’m inviting you to register asap, for Toronto or Waterloo.

David Cohen’s Bio

David Cohen is the Founder, CEO and Managing Partner of Techstars. Previously, David was a founder of several software and web technology companies. He was the founder and CTO of Pinpoint Technologies which was acquired by ZOLL Medical Corporation (NASDAQ: ZOLL) in 1999. You can read about it in No Vision, All Drive [Amazon]. David was also the founder and CEO of earFeeder.com, a music service which was sold to SonicSwap.com in 2006. He also had what he likes to think of as a “graceful failure” in between.

David is an active startup advocate, advisor, board member, and technology advisor who comments on these topics on his blog at DavidGCohen.com. He recently co-authored Do More Faster with Brad Feld.  He is also very active at the University of Colorado, serving as a member of the Board of Advisors of the Computer Science Department, the Entrepreneurial Advisory Board at Silicon Flatirons, and the Board of Advisors of the Deming Center Venture Fund. He is a member of the selection committee for Venture Capital in the Rockies, and runs the Colorado chapter of the Open Angel Forum. His hobbies are technology, software/web startups, business history, and tennis. He is married to the coolest girl he’s ever met and has three amazing kids who always seem to be teaching him something new.

Toronto Location

OneEleven, 111 Richmond Street West, 5th Floor, Toronto. OneEleven is Toronto’s newest accelerator. It’s your chance to visit this brand new 15,000 square feet facility, dedicated to accelerate the commercialization of cutting edge research and development for the economic prosperity of the region.

Eventbrite - Fireside Chat with David Cohen, CEO of Techstars

Location

OneEleven, 111 Richmond Street West, 5th Floor, Toronto. OneEleven is Toronto’s newest accelerator. It’s your chance to visit this brand new 15,000 square feet facility, dedicated to accelerate the commercialization of cutting edge research and development for the economic prosperity of the region.

This event is organized by Startup Management and hosted by OneEleven. It is made possible due to a sponsorship of OMERS Ventures.

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Startup Management is a knowledge resource for growing, scaling-up and managing startups.

OMERS Ventures invests in companies with significant growth potential and market opportunities, seeking partners with a shared vision of building a vibrant knowledge economy.

OneEleven is a unique centre for commercialization that will create the talent and technologies that shape our future in ‘Big Data’.

Eventbrite - Fireside Chat with David Cohen, CEO of Techstars