This document discusses the tension between branding and conversion in online fashion retail. It notes that brands often rely on unique but delicate images cultivated through aspirational photography and stores. However, online success requires conventions that make profitable stores look similar. The document then outlines how brands can resolve this through communication, behavior, and appearance that reflect their personality. It provides examples of how brands have incorporated storytelling, community-building, advice, and unconventional designs to differentiate themselves online while driving conversion.

1. 1
- Pieter Jongerius, Louise Roose -
FASHION ECOMMERCE MEETUP
CONVERSION VS. BRANDING?
In fashion, perhaps more than anywhere else,
branding is everything.
Many fashion brands have spent decades building
up a unique but delicate brand image: they often
rely on staying enigmatic, using aspirational
photography and inspired physical stores to
differentiate.
In an increasingly online world, this imposes a
problem. Success in e-commerce is determined by
laws of conversion, use of conventions and by
enabling choice. This is why all profitable online
fashion stores look more and more the same.
Do you recognize this paradox?
Let’s share our experience!
Entire slide deck:
http://bit.ly/brandconv

2. DON’T MESS WITH…
Get creative?
Watch out, dont mess with
things like these.
May seem trivial but I see
so many shops violating
this!
· Main navigation
· Basket top-right
· Scannable and scrollable
PLP
· Filters left,
maybe top
· Clean PDP layout
· Size guides &
measurements
· The “fold”
· The buttons.
…and much more
2@PIETERJ @LOROOSE #BRANDCONV

3. appearance
communication
behavior
brand
personality
@PIETERJ @LOROOSE #BRANDCONV 3
At every brand’s core: personality.
Your brand reaches the market
through three dimensions.
This may be a real personality, such as Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld or Anna Wintour.
Or it may be more abstract, such as Diesel or Nike.
There are special techniques to discover and describe brand personality,
such as the Aaker brand personality system.

4. ?
@PIETERJ @LOROOSE #BRANDCONV 4
Story telling Persuasive design
Tone of voice & copy
appearance
communication
behavior
brand
personality

5. BRAND DRIVEN COMMUNICATION
5@PIETERJ @LOROOSE #BRANDCONV
Rapha: a sports wear brand,
tells stories accompanying
many of their products.
By doing this in a relevant
way, they create added value.
scarcity
SHOE GURU: Notice the SOLD
signs? They communicate
scarcity.
Pharrel Williams’s shop:
Look what happens when I
add something to the
basket J

6. ?
Behavior is the most exciting one by far,
Because it’s all about innovation.
Commerce
Advice
Relation
Community
Emotion
@PIETERJ @LOROOSE #BRANDCONV 6
appearance
communication
behavior
brand
personality

7. BRAND DRIVEN BEHAVIOR
7@PIETERJ @LOROOSE #BRANDCONV 7
ADVICE
Dailydressme.com: if you
have a unique way or see
a chance of providing
advice, this is an
excellent way to
differentiate.
COMMUNITY
Threadless.com: The
classic example of building
a community around your
brand.
They challenge their
community to design T-
shirts and the successful
designs get produced.
EMOTION
Uniqlo has a strong history of
creating interactions that
have emotional meaning.
Such as the very happy
wakeup app, that actually
wakes you up by singing the
weather for you.

8. Finally: appearance
it is all about adopting your own color.
@PIETERJ @LOROOSE #BRANDCONV 8
appearance
communication
behavior
brand
personality

9. APPEARANCE EXAMPLES
Thesting.nl:
this is the homepage. It was one
of our earliest sketches and
they wanted it quite badly, even
though it went against all rules
and conventions for a
homepage. Actually it worked
very well and had a very low
bounce rate.
However after a year, we all got
a bit tired of it, so now it’s been
replaced anyway.
9@PIETERJ @LOROOSE #BRANDCONV
Mallettantiques.com:
mix of traditional values
and the oppenness
required by today’s
ecommerce.
In short, we had to create
“a museum where you can
buy things”.
Viktor-rolf.com:
Designer Victor & Rolf,
being a bit perky, decided
to ignore all conventions
and wanted us to create a
round website.
But then again, they’re not
selling anything :)

10. 10@PIETERJ @LOROOSE #BRANDCONV
§§
Want to know more?
Please contact us at pieter@fabrique.nl or louise@fabrique.nl
Pieter Jongerius
@pieterj
Louise Roose
@LoRoose
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