Specialty / Apparel & Accessories:
Guess what: They will buy apparel online

Guess what: They will buy apparel online

Internet Retailer's Best of the Web 2005

eBags.com
EddieBauer.com
LandsEnd.com
LLBean.com
NeimanMarcus.com
Nordstrom.com
SaksFifthAvenue.com
Zappos.com

Few product categories have pickier customers than apparel has. The wrong fit, fabric, or look will instantly consign an article of clothing back into a shoe box or onto the dressing room floor. It's one reason that, early on, some said apparel sales would never take off online. But the apparel retailers in this year's thriving Specialty/Apparel and Accessories category prove them wrong.

Saks Fifth Avenue stores deliver upscale customer service wrapped around top-end fashion, and its web site follows the same formula. At SaksFifthAvenue.com, customers can communicate with fashion experts online, find a selection that equals the stores', and get information on how designer brands fit, the latest fashion trends, and access to online trunk sales from leading designers.

Luxury apparel retailer Neiman Marcus' web site similarly replicates much of what distinguishes its stores. "Their web site is truly reflective of the brands they sell," says Lauren Freedman, president of The E-Tailing Group Inc. "The graphics, product imagery, service, everything says high end." Neiman has used the web to push its brand into new territory: the company reports about half of its online sales are to customers outside regions served by its stores.

And it isn't just fashion aficionados who've embraced the web as a way to shop. Apparel retailer stalwarts such as Eddie Bauer and L.L. Bean report the web as a fast-growing channel. In addition to its utility as a sales channel, Bean uses LLBean.com as one way to get feedback on products and service from its customers, with a window for customers to enter and send comments spread throughout the site.

Such continual input has helped build a site so well-tuned that Patricia Seybold Group senior vice president Susan Aldrich uses it as the standard to illustrate what she calls the four Es of e-merchandising-emphasis, environment, excitement and education. "L.L. Bean does a good job with all of them," Aldrich says. That keeps Bean's e-commerce sales growing at the rate of about 30% a year, positioning web sales to overtake catalog sales--the foundation of the 90-plus year-old brand--within a few years, Bean has disclosed.

Eddie Bauer's web site played a key role this year in communicating the brand's new commitment to style and fit. EddieBauer.com makes the web site's importance clear with new features such as its fit guide and a "shop by fit" option that lets shoppers sort tops and bottoms according to cut and style. The site took the fit message even further this fall with a video jeans guide, which lets shoppers launch video clips of models wearing different styles of jeans.

What this year's category winners have in common, whether outfitting shoppers for a night on the town or a trek through the woods, is that they've figured out how to compensate for the online channel's chief impediment to sales--shoppers' inability to touch or try on clothing before buying--and instead play to its strengths.

When you've got a winning formula for selling a product over the Internet, it is tempting to let well enough alone.

But the "if it's not broke, don't fix it" mentality doesn't exist at eBags.com. There, executives know that online shoppers are a demanding group that expects new features, merchandise and functionality from online shops.

"EBags.com is innovative in a practical sense--it's not afraid to try new things and spend money on innovation--but management is smart not to waste money," says Lauren Freedman, president of The e-Tailing Group.

Among new features is a section that allows frequent shoppers to view only the merchandise that is new since the last time they shopped. That may be helpful given that ebags.com sells 12,000 totes from 230 brands.

One of the new features planned for the site is better coordination between merchandise sold on eBags.com and Shoedini.com, a spin-off online shoe store. After the first of the year, shoppers at Shoedini will be able to call up merchandise from eBags.com to match with Shoedini products. That would allow women to match handbags with shoes or students to match shoes with book bags.

"We're always looking at how we can improve the site," says Peter Cobb, co-founder and vice president of marketing. "On each page of our site, we have a link that says 'How can we improve this page?' Customers let us know what changes they'd like. We get 50 to 100 comments per day."

Successful existing features include a sophisticated search function that allows eBags.com's customers, for example, to specify which airlines they frequently fly so they can be shown luggage that meets carry-on requirements for those specific airlines. Customers looking for laptop computer cases can specify the brand of laptop they have and get product suggestions, or they can just key in the dimensions.

EBags is also known for one of the top ratings services that typically includes reviews from hundreds of customers. Additionally, shoppers are asked if they found reviews helpful and the reviews are ranked so that the most helpful ones get top placement. Shoppers can also prioritize reviews by their own criteria--for example asking only to see reviews that were negative.

eBags Inc.
6060 Greenwood Plaza Blvd. Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Date Launched
March 1999
Unique visitors (monthly)
3,000,000
Annual Web-Based Sales
$38,350,000**
Vendor Relationships
Site Design
In-house
E-Commerce Platform
In-house
Web Hosting
Inflow
Site Search
Endeca Technologies
Content Management
In-house
Order Management
In-house
Payment Processor
Paymentech
Fulfillment
Speed FC
Affiliate Marketing Management
Commission Junction
Search Engine Management
In-house
E-Mail Marketing
In-house
CRM
In-house
Web Analytics
Omniture/In-house

Content Delivery Network
Akamai Technologies
**Internet Retailer Top 300 Guide est., 2003

Retail starts with having the right products. The rest has to do with how well product benefits are communicated to consumers, and how easy the retailer makes it for consumers to buy. Eddie Bauer hits the mark this year with significant enhancements on all three measures.

It's recognized the importance to today's consumer of not just sizing but fit, and updated its pants and shirts to bring them in line with contemporary tastes. And it's effectively leveraging the web to communicate that message. "There is a huge opportunity in helping consumers find clothing that fits them better," says Mary Brett Whitfield, senior vice president at consultants Retail Forward. "Eddie Bauer is thinking about the merchandise from a fit and a fashion perspective, not just a functional perspective."

EddieBauer.com makes that clear with new features such as its fit guide, which shows with text description and graphics how garments will fit: whether a blouse is designed to be loose or figure-hugging, for example. Among other ways to sort, the new "shop by fit" option lets shoppers sort tops and bottoms according to cut and style, pulling up only apparel with the preferred fit.

The web site takes that a step further with its video jeans guide, which lets shoppers launch video clips of models wearing different styles of jeans to show how they'll fit. "Not every consumer wants the same fit or has the same shape, so we've gone out to help consumers understand that we do have their fit and we are going to help them find that on the web site," says Troy Brown, vice president of e-commerce.

Supporting the updated approach to fit and fashion this year is a new online wardrobing feature, "Complete the Look," and new ability to zoom in on, rotate, and swap color on product images. "They've always provided a clean shopping experience, but they're continuing to improve on and evolve the ability to shop easily," Whitfield adds.

Recent results suggest customers approve. In August, the month Eddie Bauer launched its updated fall jeans collection and video fit guide, denim sales were double the volume of denim sales the previous August, according to Brown. "We're seeing tremendous response," he adds.

EddieBauer.com/ Spiegel Inc.
14850 NE 36th St. Redmond, WA 98052
Date Launched
1997
Unique visitors (monthly)
1,500,000
Vendor Relationships
Site Design
In-house
E-Commerce Platform
Microsoft
Web Hosting
Fry Inc.

Site Search
Endeca Technologies
Content Management
In-house
Order Management
In-house
Payment Processor
Chase Merchant Services
Fulfillment
In-house
Affiliate Marketing Management
Performics
Search Engine Management
Performics
E-Mail Marketing
CheetahMail
CRM
In-house
Web Analytics
Coremetrics

Rich Media
RichFX

Staying ahead of the competition is often harder than playing catch up. So give Landsend.com its due. Nearly a decade after its debut on the web, Lands' End remains a leader in site design and technology. Its success hinges on the creation of a high quality, seamless shopping experience. The experience is so good that some industry experts argue the retailer's web site has eclipsed its flagship catalog in terms of quality.

"Lands' End is always on the leading edge of introducing new web site technology and they retool as needed," says Mary Brett Whitfield, senior vice president for Retail Forward.

Lands' End is such an established leader in online retailing that parent Sears, Roebuck and Co. is borrowing several of its subsidiary's innovations for use on Sears.com. One feature is Lands' End My Virtual Room which Sears.com has recast as the virtual home. Visitors can view an image of a bedroom, the décor of which they can change at will. Visitors start by clicking on room view and then select colors for the room's walls and the type of flooring they prefer. Visitors can select colors for bed linens, pillow shams, bed skirts and comforters. Once completed, the view of the room can be rotated to three positions and zoom in on elements.

"People want to be able to try out the look of what they are buying for the home," says Bill Bass, vice president and general manager for Sears Direct. "Our aim is to make it easier for customers to shop when and how they want."

The virtual bedroom builds on Lands' End's My Virtual Model technology, which it pioneered in 1998, and is intended to deliver products individualized to the customer's taste. Customers using the feature spend 8% more per purchase and have 34% higher conversion rate than customers who do not. In some apparel categories, custom fits represent as much as 40% of sales.

The technology is also attracting new customers. About 25% of customers purchasing custom pants and jeans are first time buyers. With no signs of slowing down the introduction of innovations for its web site, Lands' End, making its sixth appearance in the Best of the Web, is expected to remain well out in front of its competitors.

LandsEnd.com/ Sears, Roebuck and Co.
5 Land's End Lane Dodgeville, WI 53595
Date Launched
1995
Unique visitors (monthly)
1,634,000*
Annual Web-Based Sales
$511,000,000 (2003)
Vendor Relationships
Site Design
In-house
E-Commerce Platform
In-house
Web Hosting
Berbee Information Networks
Site Search
EasyAsk

Content Management
Vignette
Order Management
In-house
Payment Processor
Paymentech

Fulfillment
In-house
Affiliate Marketing Management
LinkShare

Search Engine Management
In-house
E-Mail Marketing
Responsys
CRM
Trilogy
Web Analytics
Coremetrics

Content Delivery Network
Akamai Technologies
Rich Media
Scene 7

When a customer buys from the same merchant that his parents, grandparents, and maybe even his great-grandparents did, the brand becomes more than a brand, it's a family tradition. Few brands have that kind of heritage to mine, and fewer do it as effectively as 92-year-old L.L. Bean does. "We consider ourselves fortunate to have customers who feel so strongly about the brand," says e-commerce vice president Mary Lou Kelley.

Case in point is LLBean.com. On top of customer comments gleaned from its call center, ongoing usability research, and a comprehensive annual usability review involving hundreds of users, L.L. Bean this year launched a mechanism to gather customer feedback about products directly from the site. Featured on the home page, department pages throughout the site and in its customer service area, shoppers can submit open-ended comments with one click.

That continuous input results in a web site so well-tuned that Patricia Seybold Group senior vice president Susan Aldrich uses it as the standard to illustrate what she calls "the four 'E's' of e-merchandising-emphasis, environment, excitement and education. L.L. Bean does a good job with all of them," she says. The home page, for example, emphasizes the cross-channel experience by not just offering a link to order the catalog, but also showing a picture of it. "The site works for excitement and education by showing top-sellers on the home page and offering an extensive guide to choosing outerwear," she adds. "Those are merchandising tactics that also help customers accomplish what they need to accomplish."

LLBean.com this year put its own spin on the growing custom trend among retailers by offering custom backpacks online. With more than 350,000 possible combinations of colors and features, it was a huge hit during the back-to-school season, Kelley says--in part because Bean worked with its supply chain to shave delivery time on custom orders to two weeks.

Kelley adds that e-commerce sales at L.L. Bean are growing year over year at about 30%, catching up to the catalog in overall volume. In fact, they may soon do more than that. "Our current trend suggests that within a few years, the e-commerce channel will be the larger of the two," she says.

L.L. Bean Inc.
Casco St. Freeport, ME 04033
Date Launched
1995
Unique visitors (monthly)
1,872,000*
Annual Web-Based Sales
$289,000,000**
Vendor Relationships
Site Design
In-house
E-Commerce Platform
IBM Websphere
Web Hosting
In-house
Site Search
In-house
Content Management
In-house
Order Management
NA
Payment Processor
First National Merchant Services

Fulfillment
In-house
Affiliate Marketing Management
Performics
Search Engine Management
Performics, iProspect
E-Mail Marketing
CheetahMail
Content Delivery Network
Akamai Technologies
*comScore Networks report, October 2004
**Internet Retailer Top 300 Guide est., 2003

Shoppers at Neiman Marcus know that the store is all about top-name designer brands that are not available just anywhere. And it's no different at NeimanMarcus.com, where brand names rule.

Making this high-end merchandise available nationally is a major function of the web site. "We've reached points of distribution through our web site that were not possible before," says Brandon Hoffman, president and CEO of Neiman Marcus Direct. Indeed, he points out that about half of Neiman Marcus' online sales are to customers outside regions served by its stores.

But in making designer products available nationally, Neiman Marcus never lets the customer forget who she is shopping with. "When you shop at NeimanMarcus.com you get the sense that you're shopping at an upscale store. The graphics, product imagery, service, everything says high end," says Lauren Freedman, president of The E-Tailing Group Inc.

But while selling to new markets, Neiman Marcus doesn't forget its loyal customers. The store has an aggressive e-mail program that three times a week updates customers on latest trends in fashion as well as alerts them to special promotions and events occurring not only on its web site, but in its stores.

As part of its strong customer service, Neiman Marcus has begun using a personalization feature that alters what customers see on the Neiman Marcus home page. Based on what the store knows about the customer, the merchandise on the home page will vary slightly--a single male shopper, for example, won't see as much women's apparel as others see.

To get consumers to visit the site from search engines, Neiman Marcus has continued to invest in brands. "We don't pay to show up on searches for generic terms like bedding or shoes. We pay to show up on brand searches," Hoffman says.

For the near future, much of Neiman's emphasis will be on helping high-end designers sell even more merchandise online. The retailer has a deal with designers David Yurman and Salvatore Ferragamo, whose current web sites refer customers to stores or online retailers. Soon the two will offer their own online boutiques where shoppers can make purchases. These shops will be co-branded with and managed by Neiman Marcus.

Neiman Marcus Group Inc.
1 Marcus Square 1618 Main St. Dallas, TX 75201
Date Launched
July 1999
Unique visitors (monthly)
1,337,000*
Annual Web-Based Sales
$230,800,000**
Vendor Relationships
Site Design
In-house
E-Commerce Platform
In-house/Firepond
Web Hosting
In-house
Site Search
In-house
Content Management
In-house
Order Management
In-house
Payment Processor
NA
Fulfillment
In-house
Affiliate Marketing Management
Performics
Search Engine Management
In-house
E-Mail Marketing
CheetahMail
Web Analytics
Coremetrics

*comScore Networks report, October 2004
**Internet Retailer Top 300 Guide est., 2003

When shoppers go to Nordstrom.com, they almost feel that they've just walked into a Nordstrom store. The web site carries nearly identical merchandise to what is offered through brick-and-mortar channels, offers online chat to enable customers to get the same advice and assistance they expect from a sales associate and has a site design that tries to replicate what customers would see in the store.

Take the twice-annual storewide sales that the department store chain is known for. When Nordstrom throws a sale, online shoppers are able to purchase most of the same marked-down merchandise at the same prices as offered in the stores. And while brick-and-mortar shoppers get a postcard in the mail announcing the sale, online shoppers get an e-mail. The difference is that the latter customers get a hyperlink with their e-mail that allows them to go directly to the sale.

Nordstrom even tries to make its web site look like one of its stores. "They do a great job of making each department within the web site look like what that department should look like," says Lauren Freedman, president of consultants The e-Tailing Group. "When you go to the juniors department, for example, it looks hip and cool like a juniors department should look. If you go to the babies' department, you get a different experience."

Indeed, replicating the store chain, which is known for quality merchandise and strong customer service, is essential to Nordstrom's online goals. "We want to create a seamless experience so that customers enjoy the same Nordstrom experience no matter which channel they choose," says Julie Bornstein, vice president of e-commerce and catalog sales. "We hope our sizes, selection of merchandise and the site usability set us apart."

As part of an effort to replicate the hands-on service that Nordstrom is known for, Nordstrom.com has live chat available 24/7 so customers can get help as well as get suggestions.

"Their live chat is one of the better experiences on the web," Freedman says.

To further help customers find the right merchandise, Nordstrom has refined its search capabilities so that customers can search by product category, brand, store department, size or color.

Nordstrom Inc.
1616 6th Ave. Seattle, WA 98101
Date Launched
June 1998
Unique visitors (monthly)
2,870,000*
Annual Web-Based Sales
$144,000,000**
Vendor Relationships
Site Design
In-house
E-Commerce Platform
In-house
Web Hosting
In-house
Site Search
In-house
Content Management
In-house
Order Management
Ecometry

Payment Processor
NA
Fulfillment
In-house
Affiliate Marketing Management
LinkShare

Search Engine Management
In-house
E-Mail Marketing
In-house
CRM
In-house
Web Analytics
Coremetrics

Content Delivery Network
In-house
*comScore Networks report, October 2004
**Internet Retailer Top 300 Guide est., 2003

Being a fashion trendsetter isn't easy for an Internet retailer. Online shoppers can't try on the merchandise or get advice from fashion experts.

But SaksFifthAvenue.com has worked to overcome those obstacles so its online channel earns the same respect from fashion aficionados that its retail stores do. To achieve that status, Saks makes it possible for customers to communicate with fashion experts online, has increased product lines so the web's selection equals the stores', provides information on how specific brands fit, informs customers about the latest trends, and even offers online trunk sales from leading designers.

"We've done everything to make sure the online experience mirrors what customers receive in our stores," says Denise Incandela, senior vice president of Saks Direct.

Overcoming the obstacle of customers not being able to try on merchandise has been a challenge for most retailers. "We're working with our brand partners so we understand better how each item fits," Incandela says. "Then we can advise customers which items run small and which big."

Incandela even argues that consumers get a better picture of how items go together by shopping online. "At our web site, you can see how a sweater and a skirt look with certain shoes and handbags. You can't always do this in a store because the products might be on different floors."

Having employees at the call center who can do more than just take orders is important, too. These "fashion consultants" are familiar with the merchandise and fashion trends so they can advise customers about purchases.

Content is also important. The site features the top 10 fashion trends and fashion advice columns. "Our content is similar to what is in fashion magazines. The difference is that at our site, readers can buy the items," Incandela says.

Getting to this point has come through trial-and-error. "Saks was one of the first high-end retailers out of the gate and it has an edge over competitors who are newer to online retailing," says Heather Dougherty, senior analyst for Nielsen/NetRatings. "Early on, Saks put too much on one page, for example, and customers had to do a lot of scrolling. They've cleaned up the site and today it is simpler and more targeted."

Saks Inc.
12 E. 49th St. New York, NY 10017
Date Launched
August 2000
Unique visitors (monthly)
1,000,000
Annual Web-Based Sales
$157,500,000**
Vendor Relationships
Site Design
In-house
E-Commerce Platform
NA
Web Hosting
NA
Site Search
NA
Content Management
NA
Order Management
NA
Payment Processor
NA
Fulfillment
In-house
Affiliate Marketing Management
NA
Search Engine Management
NA
E-Mail Marketing
NA
**Internet Retailer Top 300 Guide est., 2003

At Zappos.com, shoppers can choose from half a million SKUs of footwear--a market niche that Zappos handles so well that sales have more than doubled in each of its six years to a projected $175 million this year.

But Zappos doesn't see itself as only a shoe retailer. "Our goal is to build up the Zappos name to associate it with getting the best service possible online," says president Tony Hsieh.

That will set up Zappos, which already sells handbags as well as shoes, with a retail horizon unlimited in the kinds of products it can offer, he says. So far, Zappos has set a brisk pace of building up customer service as well as sales. As Hsieh sees it, the two are directly linked.

By limiting spending on marketing, Zappos dedicates more of its resources to developing a strong customer service staff, already at 100 reps and growing, as well as an unusual blend of customer-serving features. As warehouse workers scan the bar codes on new products, for instance, the reader automatically triggers an e-mail to particular customers that there's something new in their size.

Figuring that many customers like to focus on new styles, Zappos recently upgraded its site navigation to let shoppers click into a new-style-only section within product categories. "We keep focusing on providing the best service and customer shopping experience," Hsieh says.

Zappos, which Hsieh says is profitable, intends to grow into additional product categories gradually as it determines demand for them. Apparel might be a good next step, he adds.

Mary Brett Whitfield, senior vice president of consultants Retail Forward Inc., gives Zappos high marks for its site features and its emphasis on service, which includes free shipping on all orders and returns. "They give shoppers a high comfort level," she says.

But expanding into categories like apparel raises a new set of challenges, she adds. "Apparel shoppers demand more assistance with product details, which could include virtual models," Whitfield says.

But Hsieh says Zappos won't lose sight of its focus on customer service as it expands. "More than 50% of our sales are from repeat customers," he says. "That's a pretty good indicator of how happy people are with our site."

Zappos.com Inc.
500 E. Warm Springs Road Las Vegas, NV 89119
Date Launched
June 1999
Unique visitors (monthly)
3,500,000
Annual Web-Based Sales
$175,000,000 (est. '04)
Vendor Relationships
Site Design
In-house
E-Commerce Platform
In-house
Web Hosting
Switch Communications
Site Search
In-house
Content Management
In-house
Order Management
In-house
Payment Processor
Authorize.net, Tranvia
Fulfillment
In-house
Affiliate Marketing Management
Commission Junction
Search Engine Management
In-house
E-Mail Marketing
In-house
CRM
In-house
Web Analytics
In-house
Content Delivery Network
Akamai Technologies