How BigCommerce helps fashion companies outpace the competition

The retail landscape is always shifting, but it is clear that 2020 fast-forwarded one key change: the rise of omnichannel. Fashion retailers worldwide witnessed a huge shift to online shopping, with everyone from students to grandparents turning to e-commerce after non-essential physical stores temporarily closed down. As consumers and retailers alike come to terms with what the future of retail looks like, the need for smart, agile, and fast solutions is thrown into sharp relief. Enter BigCommerce, a leading SaaS e-commerce platform, which aims to give apparel retailers the tools they need to build a business ready for the next era.

"Fashion retailers today need to be on a platform that is incredibly agile and fast," says Jim Herbert, Vice President and General Manager of EMEA for BigCommerce. "They need to be on a platform they can integrate with, that offers them plenty of partner apps and an easy to use interface." Although e-commerce will never replace consumers' need for a physical shopping experience, in Herbert's opinion, using an open, flexible SaaS platform like BigCommerce gives retailers the freedom to build, innovate and grow their business from anywhere in the world. “A testament to the ease of the platform is the fact that I don't have a web or product management background, yet I've been able to seamlessly pick up launching products, running promotions, and building coupon codes pretty quickly," commented Daniela Nardellia, Digital Marketing Manager at Heist Studios, one of BigCommerce clients.

Working with a platform that helps retailers develop an innovation roadmap is also vital for success. "There are always opportunities for retailers who think outside of the box, and BigCommerce is there to help them." At the same time, fashion retailers should be looking for a platform that works with several different merchants across all industries. By working with small, medium and large merchants in the apparel, beauty and accessories sectors, BigCommerce has further developed its solutions and provides even better tools that help retailers sell online, seamlessly integrating the backend and third-party apps. "We have 50,000 plus merchants on the platform, and we strive to offer individual, tailor-made solutions for each of our customers."

The dedicated product marketing team and strategy team ensures BigCommerce keeps its pulse on key market trends, so they can integrate any new developments seamlessly, without retailers having to worry about updating their platform. "We were launch partners with Facebook to unlock checkout on Instagram in the US, for example. Our merchants were the first to adopt this new feature that offers a seamless way to buy via Instagram. Once these features are launched in Europe, our retailers will not have to do any integration work. They will just have to go to Facebook, onboard their business and enter their credentials into the BigCommerce backend, and they are good to go." To Herbert, that level of innovation and agility is essential for fashion retailers, as it ensures they can react to any market changes almost immediately. Of course, not every fashion retailer will be looking to integrate the same tools or third-party apps, which is why BigCommerce offers several different subscriptions plans based on the size and individual needs of the retailer. They can choose to scale up as their business grows and opt for solutions such as headless e-commerce, which decouples the frontend from the backend, giving brands the freedom to simultaneously operate multiple stores across various front-end solutions single BigCommerce account. "The importance of being able to integrate quickly into any marketplace is key, and we have a dedicated team which oversees that."

With more retailers taking on an omnichannel approach and seeking to blend their online and offline shopping experiences seamlessly, BigCommerce helps retailers meet and serve customers via any sales channel. Today, many retailers seek to implement new technologies, ranging from click & collect to virtual reality and augmented reality. "Retailers who can implement these technologies successfully are only sure to benefit from them." However, the amount of choice for innovative technologies and solutions can be overwhelming, so BigCommerce offers beta-testing on some technologies to its larger merchants and expert advice based on their experience. "If a merchant comes to us asking about AR, we first see if they have the right environment and scale to test it."

But perhaps the biggest challenge that BigCommerce helps fashion retailers overcome is navigating these uncertain times. As the retail situation continues to shift, with physical stores opening and closing, an agile e-commerce platform is vital to ensure success and survival. "It's all about putting control in the hands of the merchant," stresses Herbert. A platform for growth, BigCommerce does all of the hard work for their merchants, so they can benefit from a seamless e-commerce platform. "The customer always comes first, for our merchants and us."

For more information, visit: www.bigcommerce.co.uk