Anthony Khera had a theory: The customers that spend the most money are most concerned about the value they’re getting.
Months after launching a beta version of online marketplace Fashionism.com, Khera thinks he was correct. Fashionism refunds shoppers a portion of the purchase price, and Khera has been surprised by how much shoppers are spending and how often they’re purchasing. The average order value is $350, and the first purchase made on the site was $1,600, Khera says. And 75% of first-time buyers make another purchase within the next month.
Fashionism travels with the shopper. A shopper installs a browser extension, which adds a button to her browser that she can use on the web sites of participating retailers. When the consumer is on such a site, clicking on the Fashionism button reveals discounts. For example, a visit to Nordstrom.com reveals a 4% cash-back offer throughout the site as well as a 25% discount and 25% cash back on wedding and bridesmaid dresses. When a consumer accumulates $100 in refunds, she can select to have the funds transferred to her PayPal account, or she can keep accumulating the cash.
Although he wouldn’t release specific numbers, Khera says 35% of Fashionism’s users are downloading and adding the browser extension. Shoppers can also shop from Fashionism.com, which directs shoppers to a retailer’s site. Right now, the marketplace is giving shoppers $20 as a credit to her account to add the button.
Khera comes from an e-commerce background. He helped Aeropostale Inc. launch its e-commerce business and held marketing positions at Ralph Lauren and coupon site Kgbdeals.com. Part of his mission in creating Fashionism was to lead shoppers to the e-commerce sites of retailers, rather than aggregate products on a stand-alone site. “I worked at these brands,” he says. “We want to drive people to that experience that the retailer spent all that time and money to create.”
Currently, Fashionism is working with 200 brands and retailers. They pay a commission to Fashionism for every product sold through the platform. Fashionism then refunds consumers a portion of that fee. Khera wouldn’t release details about the commission fee, but he says the average discount being offered through the marketplace is 7%.
Fashionism officially launched last week, and Khera has been able to see his theory play out on a wider stage. “The more affluent the consumers, the more in tune they are with the value of their dollar,” he says. “They will spend money, but want value; they want to be rewarded.”
Fashionism currently lists among participating retailers Top 500 e-retailers Alex and Ani LLC, No. 342; Coach Inc, No. 85; Gilt Groupe, No. 59; Kate Spade, No. 176; Nordstrom, No. 24; RueLaLa.com, No. 81; Wine.com Inc., No. 242; and Yoox Group, No. 184.
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