Flash sales are enticing consumers to browse and buy with the promise of coveted products at discounted prices. In fact, Business Insider predicts that the flash sale market will be worth $6 billion by 2015.
To keep pace with this anticipated growth, Privalia, a flash sale retailer, is working with IBM to increase online sales, according to Lucas Carné, Co-Founder of Privalia. Specifically, the eTailer is leveraging Smarter Commerce software and solutions to harness mobile and social media more effectively and in turn, better connect and engage 11 million consumers across Brazil, Germany, Italy, Mexico and Spain.
“The fashion flash sale business keeps growing, especially in certain markets such as Brazil and Mexico,” Carné said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “In recent years, our global results have been increased annually, and in 2013 that trend will continue, thanks to penetration of e-Commerce in the markets in which we operate.”
Advertisement
Utilizing tools offered through Smarter Commerce, Privalia can automate marketing, sales, and customer service, enabling executives across the organizations to work more productively. Moreover, the flash sale retailer now has a comprehensive solution that offers more flexibility so customers can have pleasant experiences, regardless of the channel or device they are using.
“We believe that IBM Smarter Commerce is helping Privalia better connect to the growing marketplace of members who already buy across channels, including online, mobile and social,” Carné said. He added that Privalia has a customer base that consists of women (70%) and men (30%) between the ages of 20 and 45, which are “very powerful consumer groups,” largely due to their innate cross-channel shopping behaviors.
Creating A Thriving Flash Sale Community
In terms of innovation, the Privalia team is striving to improve the member experience by “providing more options to empower consumers to connect wherever and whenever they want,” Carné explained. As a result, Privalia is focusing on refining and social strategies, and making them play a central role in marketing campaigns and overall engagement strategies.
“Both mobile and social add value to brand experiences and are helping our business grow in the e-Commerce world,” Carné said. “That is why we require a technology solution that works in a multichannel environment.”
Mobile has been an effective channel for Privalia, offering consumers instant access to sales while at home or on the go. In fact, Carné noted that more than 30% of overall traffic and 20% of total sales were derived from mobile devices in 2012.
Social initiatives, such sale “preopenings,” also provide a sense of exclusivity to Facebook fans. By offering followers on the social network VIP access to sale information before they open, Privalia has obtained a more than 10% sales turnover during the first two to three hours of sales. These results, Carné reported, make the Facebook page a key loyalty channel.
In the future, personalization will play a role in campaigns and messages disseminated across channels: Privalia has plans to customize the e-Commerce site based on customers’ browsing and buying histories, and offer “the best possible deals combination for members according to their genders and style preferences, items, brands and other data points,” Carné stated. “We will be able to offer our members the appropriate promotions based on their selection, their behavior and their life cycle so that their site experience is the best, increasing likelihood that they will complete purchases and eventually become loyal customers.”
