By learning to use the many ways the web offers to grow sales, Neiman Marcus has grown its online sales from $3 million in 1999 to more than $200 million last year, Neiman Marcus Direct president and CEO Brendan Hoffman said at the eTail conference this week.
“The web is a living, breathing channel,” he said, adding that Neiman Marcus has applied several lessons learned in recent years regarding e-mail marketing, cross-channel marketing and working with partners.
December 2004 web and catalog sales rose 25% over December 2003, due partly to an extended holiday shipping deadlines – to noon on Dec. 23 for standard delivery by Christmas.
Neiman Marcus has also increased the frequency of e-mails of customers of NeimanMarcus.com, to as much as six days per week during the last few weeks leading to Christmas, Hoffman said. Although he acknowledges that that degree of frequency may scare off customers of many retail sites, Neiman Marcus found that customers would accept high-frequency of messages designed to inform them about fashion instead of just selling them something.
“People see us as a fashion leader, so we e-mail them information on the latest trends” along with product offers, he said. “You have to find a message goes beyond pushing a product.”
Hoffman added, however, that six-day e-mail frequency probably wouldn’t work for Neiman’s Horchow.com home-furnishings site, where there is less customer demand for trend updates.
Neiman has fostered growth among both catalog and the web by running more cross-channel promotions. When catalog shoppers view Manolo Blahnik footwear fashions, for example, each page includes the message: “Find more Manolo Blahnik on NeimanMarcus.com.”
Neiman has been developing “sitelets,” or special sections of its suppliers’ sites, to build sales with key fashion designers including David Yurman and Salvatore Ferragamo. Visitors to those designers’ sites now have the option to purchase products through Neiman Marcus. By clicking into the shopping sections at DavidYurman.com or SalvatoreFerragamo.com, shoppers will see the Neiman Marcus logo and messages such as “Brought to you by Neiman Marcus.” “So the customer knows the order will be fulfilled by Neiman, with Neiman Marcus packaging and Neiman Marcus customer service,” Hoffman said. “It has generated a lot of traffic we weren’t getting.”
Although Neiman expects to launch shopping connections with two more designers’ sites this year, Hoffman cautions that the effort can distract his online team from their core operations.
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