The band Fall Out Boy drove a 30-percent increase in merchandise sales through a personalized push on retail application Yoshirt in which concert attendees were prompted via text to order customized products.

Concertgoers at the band’s current Wintour is Coming tour are able to purchase products unique to each venue that feature selfies taken by the band. Fall Out Boy is driving sales while also making a lasting impression on fans, as not many other bands are using this kind of product push.

“Yoshirt was able to drive a 30 percent increase in gross merchandise sales with this new form of customized, on-demand band merchandise,” said Billy Shipp, head of marketing at Yoshirt. “And we are working on ways to grow this to a 300 percent increase in total sales as we unlock new models for fan engagement, creativity and self-expression.”

Driving mobile sales
The mobile app Yoshirt allows the band to share customized apparel and accessories for sale. Fall Out Boy is shared new products for each stop on its tour, which featured a selfie including the venue crowd with the band.

Attendees received a link via text after the Fall Out Boy concerts and were able to purchase the apparel or accessories that showcased the fan-centric selfie. Users were able to personalize products such as t-shirts, sweatshirts and other various merchandise that feature the selfie or other exclusive images from the band, along with their choice of logos, text and other content.

Fall Out Boy is continuing its partnership with Yoshirt after the successful product push on its tour that recently ended. Hoping to drive post-tour sales, Yoshirt will be tapping into user-generated content on social media to create more unique apparel and memories from the shows.

Mobile customization
Similarly, Zappos made the shopping process even more streamlined for its Android customers by updating its mobile app to include a series of personalized widgets, proving that offering in-app recommendations based on previous purchasing behavior is a valuable strategy for mobile and online retailers (see more).

Natural foods grocer New Seasons Market updated and customized its in-store checkout experience, a strategy that included the rollout of iBeacons next year (see more).

“We powered a first-ever experience with Fall Out Boy on the Wintour Is Coming tour,” Mr. Shipp said. “Each night of the tour the band would take a selfie from the stage with the crowd behind them.

“We would take that picture and mock it up on various pieces of merchandise while the show was still in progress,” he said. “As folks were leaving the venue, we would send a text message to registered attendees with a link to the stage selfie from that night and the various pieces of merchandise that they could purchase.

“And using the power of the Yoshirt platform, users could then customize those products to include the stage selfie plus custom stickers, text and more. This activation drove fan engagement, merchandise sales and first-ever fan experience around on-demand, customized merchandise.”