Breakfast with the Disruptors At The Project New York … · 2016-09-06 · their Snapchat stories. Successful Brands Use Data Analytics to Understand and Deliver Customized and Personalized

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DEBORAHWEINSWIG,MANAGINGDIRECTOR,FUNGGLOBALRETAIL&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2016TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.

Breakfast with the Disruptors At The Project New York Conference

• FungGlobalRetail&Technologyco-hosteda“BreakfastwithTheDisruptors” panel event with First Insight at the PROJECT NewYorkconference.Panelistsquestionedhowimportantmillennialsreally are as a demographic, as Generation Z, the generationborn after 1995, influences more than $600 billion worth ofcommerce.

• Thepanelistsagreedthatsuccessfulbrandsusedataanalyticstounderstand and deliver customized and personalized products.Brands today have somuch information about consumers thattheyshoulduseittotargetspecificcustomers.

• When asked aboutmessaging, the panel noted that customersareopentoreceivingmessageswhenthemessagesaretargeted,relevantanddirected.

• With regard to technology, the panelists are focused on fittechnology, personalization, microsegmentation, augmentedrealityandproducttesting,andontoolsthatallowasingleviewofthecustomerandtheinventorysystem.

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Fung Global Retail & Technology co-hosted a “Breakfast with TheDisruptors”paneleventwithFirstInsightatthePROJECTNewYorkconference.PROJECTisheldtwiceannuallyinNewYork,inJanuaryand July, and offers a buying experience for the contemporarymenswear market. The panel took place at P1VOT, a new show-floorareahighlightinginnovative,tech-basedbusinesssolutionsfordesignersandretailers.P1VOTwasfoundedbyErikUlin,PresidentofMen’satUBMFashionGroup,andLuisFernandez,CFDAMemberandCreativeDirectorformenswearbrandCraftAtlantic.

Deborah Weinswig, Managing Director of Fung Global Retail &Technology,moderatedthepaneldiscussion.ThepanelistsincludedGregPetro,CEOandFounder,First Insight;ScottLux,VPofDigitaland E-Commerce, John Varvatos; David Yi, Fashion Editor,Mashable; Lisa A. Gavales, CEO, Things Remembered; and JoeFerrara,Co-FounderandCo-CEO,ResonanceCompanies,andBoardMember,BodyLabsandTommyJohn.

Ulin, ofUBMFashionGroup, kicked off the breakfast session. Thepanelists covered topics that included the millennial market, theomni-channel store shopper and the rise of customization, dataanalytics, retailtainmentand the futureof the in-storeexperience,andretailersinthemedia.

There Is a Question About the Importance of Millennials as aDemographic

FirstInsight’sGregPetrocommentedthatmaybemillennialsarenotasimportantashasbeensuggested.Hesaidthatwearediscoveringmillennialsataspecific stage in lifemostlybecause therearedataand technologyavailable today thatwerenotavailable inpreviousgenerations.He suggested that thebuzz regardingmillennialsmayjust be about patterns of behavior that we all go through as wegrowupandintoadulthood—andthatthesearenotspecifictoanyone generation, but life stages common to all. Petro advised theaudience to tap into and use all the data available to understandandsegmentgroupsofpeople.

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“Millennialsareboring.GenZaresomuchcooler,”DavidYi,FashionEditorofMashable,said.HesaidthatweshouldbefocusingonGenZ because that generation influences more than $600 billion ofcommerce a year and is notable for being independent, discreet,genderless, empowered, not brand loyal and into cool brands. YisaidGen Zers do not care about quality or social cachet, and thattheydonotwanttobecreepedon.HealsosaidthattheyactivelydeletetheirInstagrampostsanddonottendtoallowotherstoseetheirSnapchatstories.

Successful Brands Use Data Analytics to Understand and DeliverCustomizedandPersonalizedProducts

Thepaneldiscusseddataanalyticsandtheimportanceofusingdatato drive decisions. Joe Ferrara, Co-Founder and Co-CEO ofResonanceCompaniesandaprofessorofentrepreneurshipatNewYork University, spoke about microcommunities andmicrosegmentation. He said that brands today have so muchinformation about consumers that they should use it to targetspecific customers. He cited cart abandonment to illustrate hispoint. He said that retailers and brands have visibility into whichconsumersgetrightuptothepointofpurchaseandthenabandontheircarts.Ferrararecommendedthatbrandslearnasmuchastheycan about these customers, including what sizes they are buying,theirages,wheretheyliveandotherdetails.Hesaidthatifyoudonotunderstandandhavehyperslicedandhyperfocusedcontentforyour customers, your competitors will. He recommended callingthesecustomersandasking,“Whydidyouleaveyourcart?”

ScottLux,VPofDigitalandE-CommerceatJohnVarvatos,saidthatyouhavetounderstandthedataandcapturethe insightsthedatapoint to.Hesaidthat it isvery importanttogetbacktothebasicsandnotbedistractedbyallofthetechoptionsintheindustry.Luxalsoadvisedthatretailersrememberwhatisrelevanttoconsumersandwhatwillhaveadirectbenefitfortheendcustomer.

FirstInsight’sPetrosaidthatdataanalyticsisonlyonepieceoftheequationandthatretailershavetobetruetotheconsumerintermsof balancing data with their intuition when they make businessdecisions. Petro’s company provides clients with a platform fortesting new products and uses metadata to help retailersunderstandwhatwill resonatewith theircustomers. Inadvanceofthe breakfast, First Insight analyzed a number of menswearcategories and found that menswear prices in eight out of ninecategorieshaddecreased,by27.8%onaveragebetween2013and2016.Petrosaidthatpricesaredecreasinginmostofretail,butthatmen’sunderwearpricesareupby34%duringthissametimeframe.Headdedthatmenswearasacategoryisdoingwell.Thetrade-offisunit sales versus volume. Petro said that First Insight found thatmorethan50%oftheproducts ittestedcouldbearahigherprice,whichindicatescustomersarewillingtopayfullpriceforitemsthathavevalueforthem.

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CustomersWanttoReceivePersonalizedCommunication

ModeratorDeborahWeinswigaskedThingsRememberedCEOLisaGavales about how far is too far in proactively reaching out tocustomers.Gavalessaidthatweliveinapersonalizationspace,andso need to make sure that customers receive messages that arepersonalizedforthem.Shesaidthatitisafinelinebetweencateringto customers and showing that you know exactly what theypurchased. She added that customers see the value in sharinginformationifitisusedinawaythatispersonalizedforthem.

LuxhighlightedJohnVarvatos’sstrategiesformarketingtodifferentgenerations, such as baby boomers, Gen Zers andmillennials. Luxechoed Gavales’s comments about sharing information, and saidthathefeltthatcustomersareopentocommunicationifitprovidesvalue to them. He said that John Varvatos creates a holisticcustomer brand experience connecting all of its social media. Forexample, the company sends out email communications and thentracks how many customers visit the store the following day. Itmakesassessmentsbasedontheemailcontenttodeterminewhichmessagingresonateswithcustomers.LuxaddedthatthebrandusesInstagramtoengageitscustomersandkeeptheminterestedasanaddedcomponentofbrandstorytelling.Hesaid thegoal is for thecustomer to walk by the store and connect to the brand, andadvisedtheaudiencetoengagecustomersratherthanpushthem.

TechnologyFocusfortheFuture

Weinswig wrapped up the discussion by asking the panelists tocommentontheonetechnologyonwhichtheyaremostfocused.

Ferrara said that fit technology, personalization andmicrosegmentationwillbearoundforthenext20years.HeaddedthatBodyLabs isanothertechnologythat isoff thecharts.Ferrarasaid that it is very difficult to use algorithms to deliver a productthatispersonalizedandtrulycustomized.

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Gavales said that Things Remembered is focused on having oneviewofthecustomerandoneviewoftheinventorysystem,whichsoundssimple,but,infact,isnot.Shesaidthatveryfewhaveallofthepiecesconnected.

Operational decision management, fraud control and real-timedecision-making capability are priorities for John Varvatos in thefuture,Luxsaid.Healsosaidthecompany isseekingopportunitiestohelppersonalizethecustomerexperiencewithfashionlooks.

Petro said that customer segmentation, testing products andaugmentedrealityinthestorearethefocusforFirstInsight.

Yi said that he is focusedon thewearable technologymarket andhowtoinfusethetechnologyintoshoppableexperiencesandmakeit lessgimmickyandmore fashionable, so thatpeoplewillwant towearit.

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DeborahWeinswig,CPAManagingDirectorFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyNewYork:917.655.6790HongKong:852.6119.1779China:86.186.1420.3016deborahweinswig@fung1937.comErinSchmidtResearchAssociate

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Breakfast with the Disruptors At The Project New York … · 2016-09-06 · their Snapchat stories. Successful Brands Use Data Analytics to Understand and Deliver Customized and Personalized

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