2016 Has Seen the Biggest Change in Online Shopping

last updated 13 August 2019

The way we shop is constantly changing—new technologies, including the internet, have had a huge impact on the shopping experience—especially fashion. If you think back a few years ago, chances are your online purchase accounted for only a portion of all your transactions. A quick survey in the Who What Wear Australia office found that among an entire team of shopaholics, there’s only been one in-store purchase made over the past month. Shopping online is just way too easy, and if you’re not shopping online, it’s likely something you’ve spotted online that has influenced your in-store purchase. How many screenshots from Snapchat and Instagram or Who What Wear Australia articles do you have sitting in your camera roll, waiting for a time you can make it to try on in store? We all do it.

So what’s different in 2016? Well, we’re renting more designer dresses for a one-time wear, and new technology has swept in to revive the once-popular system of lay-by. Lay-by was pretty much forgotten about once we started shopping online, but clearly the demand was still there. Enter: Afterpay and zipPay—safe and simple payment options that give you the opportunity to buy now, pay later. The fine print is different for each, but basically you make equal instalments (over four or six weeks) to pay off your purchase. There’s no interest, and you’re given a set credit limit, so you can’t spend beyond your means.

Curious to learn more? We tapped Eleanor Glass, managing editor of ArchFashion, one of the biggest Australian marketplaces to introduce zipPay, to find out how its customers are embracing the new technology. Keep scrolling!

Who What Wear Australia: Since ARCHFASHION introduced zipPay have you seen an increase in sales?

Eleanor Glass: We sure have. Orders made on ARCHFASHION using zipPay outperformed the average order value—they were 11 percent above the average PayPal order and 5 percent above the average credit card order. Our average order value is on the up across the board, as are transactions and revenue value.

WWW: What percentage of your shoppers use zipPay?

EG: We measured the first $100,000 of transactions after launch in late July, and zipPay accounted for 30 percent of the business' total transactions. Beyond these volumes, our average order value is up across the board, as are transactions and total revenue. Customers feel confident using zipPay. We are seeing new customers increase and customers using zipPay transacting multiple times.

WWW: How do you predict we’ll shop online five years from now?

EG: It might be cliché, but shopping is being driven more and more by experience. Locally, we’re a few years behind our international counterparts. In the U.S., we are seeing large growth in VR and AR along with new ways to integrate technology. With major digital players opening stores and major chains working hard to get a single view of customers and inventory digitally, the big win here will be for the customers.

We work hard to help our customers capture “that moment”; to ensure they can find exactly what they are searching for, their way. It’s personalised shopping. It’s a little like room service at a five-star hotel—you don’t have to stock to the menu. Instead, you can have anything you crave at any time.

WWW: Who is your customer and what is she buying?

EG: Our customer knows what they want and they stock up on the essentials of the labels they love—think denim, simple shirting and plenty of swim—as well as investment pieces like a trench or a jacket. But also we see a lot of demand for occasion wear—the perfect dress to wear to that wedding and so on. We see a lot of variety in what they buy—she comes to us for one thing and leaves with many.