In this edition, we highlight the topics discussed in Glossy’s member-exclusive executive roundtable event hosted with Hervé Léger, supported by recent data from Glossy+ Research.
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The research behind what executives discussed at Glossy’s Roundtable event with Hervé Léger
Last week, Glossy and Hervé Léger hosted the latest Glossy+ member-exclusive Executive Roundtable event with dozens of executives from fashion brands, retailers and agencies. The attendees participated in a group discussion about the challenges facing the industries and the strategies they’re using to navigate them.
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Here are three of the biggest challenges attendees brought up along with what our research data has shown:
Using new technologies to combat rising product return rates.
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Many retailers have started adding restocking fees to their return policies. But others are hoping to counter return rates with more detailed product images or investing in new technology like virtual try-ons.
Virtual try-on (55%) and real-world overlay (54%) came in second and third among marketer uses of AR. Brands offering virtual try-on and real-world overlay hope to curtail financial losses from returns by giving consumers the opportunity to experience fit and see products in their homes before purchasing.
“Part of the issue is education. We need to say how this fits and what the true measurements are, and really give the customer more of a 3D image and more [advanced] technology so she can see what it looks like.”
– Rochelle, Executive Roundtable attendee and lead of a 38-year-old ready-to-wear company stocked at Macy’s and JCPenney.
READ MORE ABOUT HOW BRANDS ARE USING AR
Driving long-term customer loyalty through UGC content.
To stay relevant and build trust among new customers, attendees agreed that leveraging social media influencers and UGC content is important — in addition to making consistently good products.
Sponsored video content on Instagram saw high average engagement rates — defined as views to follower count — across most influencer collaborations. Beauty brand sponsorships generated high engagement ratios when posted by both fashion and beauty influencers.
“We have some great influencer partnerships. Content is king, and having that user-generated content helps. If an influencer has the ability to vouch for Hervé Léger and say, ‘I trust this,’ you will see that trickle to her followers, and then they can create that user-generated content.”
— Melissa Lefere-Cobb, division head of Hervé Léger at parent company Centric Brands
READ MORE ON DEVELOPING INSTAGRAM BRAND PARTNERSHIPS
More marketing through Pinterest, Shorts and Reddit.
Attendees agreed that marketing on Meta platforms is expensive, while other platforms like YouTube, YouTube Shorts and Pinterest are allowing for better customer segmentation.
Meta continues to be the predominant player within social. However, a large portion of marketers (59%) are using YouTube, and nearly a third (30%) are using Pinterest. The smallest percentage of marketers reported using Reddit, at only 9% of respondents.
“There’s a lot of interesting stuff happening on Pinterest where people are looking for inspiration. And Reddit is a really big platform that we’re seeing some beauty brands jumping on, because a lot of conversations are happening there. … You’re able to capture a different customer. Somebody who’s coming from TikTok is mostly a Gen-Z customer. But somebody on Pinterest could be anyone, because it’s somebody who is visually driven to inspiration. Somebody on YouTube is consuming that long-form content. So you really are able to capture different target groups and different age groups.”
— Executive Roundtable attendee and brand representative from a luxury fragrance brand
READ MORE ON BRANDS’ SOCIAL PLATFORM BUDGETS
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