Seller Blog
Advice, help and support for ASOS Marketplace sellers.
Seller Case Study: Offline Vs. Online.
I was one of the first sellers on ASOS
Marketplace, starting off as an individual seller then becoming a boutique
after a few months, alongside running my vintage Boutique of the same name in
Margate, UK.
The key to this balancing act is all
in the juggle. Offline & Online can work together really well, you just
have to plan for both aspects and make as much work for both – thus minimising
your costs and maximising your time. Online boutiques are an excellent way of keeping
a steady flow of traffic even when your physical shop is a bit quieter, for
instance – my boutique is based in a seaside town, and so the shop is naturally
a little quieter in the winter months.
Our ASOS Marketplace boutique not only
lets us ride out the slower months, but it’s also great for shifting wintery
stock. We never have trouble selling summer dresses, but a beautiful fake fur
or a winter gown might take a bit more marketing than simply relying on foot
traffic – and that’s where the beauty of keywords and online product
descriptions come in. It’s Google foot traffic!
My top 3 things to remember when
running an online boutique alongside a physical one....
Plan to be interrupted & stay organised.
So you’ve set up your work space in
your boutique and you are mid way through uploading something when a customer
comes in. Trust me, it’s going to happen, and always at the most inopportune moment.
Plan to be interrupted at every stage, and then you won’t begrudge it. Similarly,
if you are doing a shoot in or near your store, expect customers to not only be
interested, but also want to buy the item you have just styled to shoot and
then sell online.
Be rational, a sale is a sale, but
if you think you will get a better price online, then it might be worth keeping
that stock and shooting it when your store isn’t open. Alternatively, always
have a few alternatives on hand, so if a customer buys the scarf you just
knotted beautifully around your models neck – you have another similar one you
picked out earlier to take its place.
It’s just a personal preference, but
I do tend to keep my ASOS Marketplace items separate from the shop floor for
the first week, just to make them more exclusive and so I can keep my head
around stock management.
On that note – organisation is key.
You can’t have an item sell on ASOS Marketplace, and then realise it sold in
your shop the day before. That’s poor customer service. Excel spreadsheets. A sticker
system...whatever works for you – stay on top of your stock!
Use your ‘down’ time well.
I know that my shop is quieter on
cold wet days, and the mornings are generally less busy than the afternoons. Scheduling
a shoot for a Monday or Tuesday morning generally means I can man the shop
whilst simultaneously shooting product. I style the model in the store then
the Photographer goes out to shoot the items with the model outside. I can stay
store based whilst they return to the shop for each re-style and to download
images (and cups of tea!).
I would never schedule a shoot for a Saturday
afternoon – unless I definitely had someone else working in the shop. Keep
everything you need to send out an order in grabbing distance. I love that I
have the time to wrap internet-bought items beautifully and send them out that
day. It’s the key to great customer service. Remember that when people search
for your physical boutique in Google, your ASOS Marketplace boutique will come
up too – so everyone can see your feedback. Keep customers sweet to encourage
return visitors.
Also, as most people that run a shop can tell you, there are
days when it’s dead, the admin is done and it’s very, very dull if you work by
yourself. Twitter and Facebook are your friend! Work on promoting your boutique
through every social channel available.
If you can, work with a photographer you trust.
I originally took my own photos,
which were fine, but I wanted to step up ASOS Marketplace my game so I could
support my physical boutique through the quieter winter.
I used to have to shoot outside my
first shop, whilst still serving customers – which a got a little too unmanageable
for my liking.
I decided to ask around if any
photographers wanted to work with me in exchange for portfolio shots as I knew
with my lovely model and my clothing that they would get some beautiful shots, and
I wasn’t wrong, the pics were amazing, and also made my boutique look a lot
more professional whilst boosting the portfolio of local student photographers,
or photographers with new businesses. Since then I’ve started using a few more models and
photographers of who I have found on Facebook and Twitter, and it’s a great way
to build local community business links and help each other out. Don’t ask –
don’t get. I’d also recommend using what you’ve got, location wise.
Margate is
a lovely setting for the photos and really lends itself to that retro seaside
styling, If I lived somewhere more urban, then perhaps my styling would reflect
that and I choose to style my vintage in a more alternative/indie way.
