Fashion retailer bebe announced its upcoming release of a responsive mobile site, aimed to narrow in on personalization to propel the consumer experience.

Also prioritizing data-driven metrics, the brand will learn more about its consumers to deliver tailored content and offers. Up until this point, the brand has maintained the majority of its sales via in-store transactions, but this move will likely give the brand the push it needs to modernize its capabilities.

“Retail is in a constant state of flux,” said Mark Choueke, global communications director at Qubit, London. “The way consumers buy goods and services is evolving at great pace. Businesses with the vision to see the opportunities ahead are realizing that a truly personalized ecommerce operation is increasingly becoming their best marketing and sales tool.”

Traversing to tech
Bebe appointed digital experience management group Qubit to build a wide-reaching platform. The agency’s technology integrates analytics and personalization, so the brand will be able to use a variety of data points to diagnose segments of the customer and areas that are worth testing. The data points collected range from visitor opinion to visitor behavior.

Given this targeted technology, bebe will be able to target consumers based on their previous purchases. The retailer can also deliver relevant information to its consumers while they shop, based on each shopper’s needs and preferences.

Ultimately, the retailer can measure revenue data through this transformation, giving it a modern edge and window into its consumers’ ways of shopping.

“The data exists to help retailers and marketers understand their customers’ needs and act accordingly to drive not just conversions but high-value, long-term relationships with shoppers,” Mr. Choueke said. “However, the only way to deliver on this promise and bridge the gap between customers’ expectations and their experiences is by harnessing that data to make every interaction a meaningful and personal one.

“At Qubit we have the technology and skilled workforce to make that kind of real-time retailing a reality for our clients.”

Bebe’s new site should launch within a few weeks.

The importance of detail
Experts have deemed product detail to be especially important on mobile, which is a feature bebe will likely focus on, also.

Fashionistas, like tech nerds, thrive on being ahead of the curve but also culturally aware, so when speaking to this influential social group, marketers must think beyond the mundane.

When speaking to the fashion crowd, not only does the message need to be right, but also the production quality. Fashion shoppers need to be able to zoom in to see the pattern, turn the pieces around and be able to view an item on a mannequin, so they can see how it looks (see story).

Footwear and accessories label Nine West is another fashion establishment to put a focus on mobile. The label announced its plans to expand its live chat to mobile after seeing an increase in sales and customer satisfaction with the feature online.

Realizing the importance of a live-chat option within the omnichannel space, executives hope to provide a way to research on the mobile site while consumers are shopping at its partner retail stores. Consumers have shown an affinity for live-chat systems that can lead to more informed purchases (see story).

Personalization continues to be a priority among fashion brands, allowing their presence and targeting efforts to be more successful.

“The trouble ecommerce brands have is how to evolve as fast as consumers who are using multiple devices to explore and research their purchases,” Mr. Choueke said. “Whether they’re buying clothes, holiday gifts or household goods, no two customer journeys from research-to-checkout are the same.”

Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon, editorial assistant for Mobile Commerce Daily, New York