Tim's Foundry site (I still can't find that one) reminded me of my very favorite eCommerce model that is getting very popular...club sales sites. They pretty much work like Costco, you become a member and get access to great deals (usually 50% off retail, or more). Unlike Costco, you don't have to pay to join. Usually, you have to be invited by a current member. Or just send in your email and they sit on it for a few days before you get "approved". they're trying to create EXCLUSIVITY here, folks. This is a CLUB, not just a regular internet retail store, right? Right.
Another great part about this, is that these clubs usually reward their evangelists. If someone signs up through you, you get store credit towards purchases. So, if you know a bunch of people interested in similar stuff, you can end up with some really big discounts.
Here are a few of my faves:
TheClymb.com - Outdoor Stuff
LeftLaneSports.com - Sports Stuff
Ideeli.com - Designer Clothes, Travel
Fab.com - Design-forward home stuff and clothing
MyHabit.com - Hip clothes
These sites are an interesting way for brands to clear out excess inventory without devaluing their product on the open market. They also use social media really aggressively in pushing their stores, which is a smart, cheap way to find loyal customers. You won't see any of these deals show up on Google shopping, they're "private events". For the consumer, it's a fun way to get great deals on cool stuff.
Full disclosure: A few of those links are will put me down as a reference for membership, so use them!
Got more? Feel free to share in your comments....
Creating exclusivity is an excellent marketing tactic. Maybe the next thing will be to put a "cap" on the number of members each of these sites will allow to join to create scarcity. Exclusivity + Scarcity= Double Whammy of Marketing concepts
ReplyDeleteLooksy is another website that is membership only. They have celebrities, stylists and other influence-rs of fashion pick out items and are offered to members at a discount. It's a great way to engage the shopper as not only are they getting designer items at a discount, they get to buy products that are sponsored buy people they idealize in the fashion spotlight.
ReplyDeleteI also have noticed this trend online. A few weeks ago, I noticed my partner on the site Pinterest. I didn't like it at first and saw it as another site that would come and go (I was wrong). Eventually, my partner asked if I would be interested in joining Pinterest and I looked at her funny because she said she needed to send me an invitation. I felt like I was trying to join a credit union again haho! It makes sense that this trend is happening. Even though social media may allow everyone to connect to each other in a unique way, people love forming groups around common interests and feeling like they have some power over others (in this case, they can access the site). Im sure the deals at these wholesale or "discount" e-stores are good, but I also fear the repercussion that eventually, everything is going to switch to invite only.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the scarcity sentiment. Like with RockMelt and (I think?) Spotify, building suspense by only giving a few folks access is a super easy way to make people covet your product.
ReplyDeleteAlso, JackThreads is a good one for men's fashion.
Prof. Christy's site you originally are referring to is "The Foundary" (http://www.thefoundary.com/ )
ReplyDeleteRewarding evangelists is a great way to gain market share and spread the word in a more "natural" way vs. Push advertising.
Although when it comes to the "Invite Only" thing- I think that's will only work with certain companies who offer certain products or services. For instance- how many traditional invite only Brick and Mortar stores are as main stream as Costco?
Look at how "Invite only" web based sites like Google+ have done! Then again- look at how "invite only" message board sites like Pinterest have done!
Really just depends on the commodity.
*that... I hate typos!!
DeleteThanks for the tip... I'll check these out.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the website that Tim mentioned has done great job, but I don't really get to see the consumers-advantage of making retail websites to be "invite only," unless they have similar systems like The Foundary which gives credits to the influences. Personally, it’s just annoying that consumers have to sign up to see what retailers sell.
ReplyDeleteI have used Feb.com several months ago to have fun looking at the products on the website. However, everything’s expensive on the website even it’s on sale, and I don't think these are worth that much money, seriously. I think I’m not in Feb’s segment probably, so I’d rather go check dealnews (dealnews.com), which provides any kinds of deals constantly to anyone.
I agree with Ashley's point that “invite only” would work with certain companies. I think it works depends on how a firm generates the revenues… Oh, and I think Google+ is a different case because I consider that it is like Gmail which used to be “invite only.”
being exclusive is always a great marketing, pinterest is another great example, even though they don't really offer discounts like these examples but they've gotten so popular so fast, but they have to be careful with being only exclusive because it's a hassle for many people and they can get discouraged from wanting to join.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Xuan, exclusivity always attracts people and creates buzz. I would be interested to know how these companies use the email addresses they collect and what type of marketing besides word of mouth they use.
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