NuOrder and Informa release digital event opening metrics

NuOrder and Informa Markets Fashion, who collectively launched several digital marketplaces under Informa Markets Fashions’ hero brands in early September, have revealed data from their digital event’s initial activity. The data shows a consecutive uptrend in attendance, high volume of retail to brand connections, and deep engagement, signaling thriving community connectivity as well as indicators of acceleration in fashion commerce. Despite challenges faced by COVID’s economic slowdown, Informa Markets Fashion’s digital marketplaces, powered by innovative virtual showroom technology from the NuOrder platform, have re-engaged the fashion trade community and are driving the regrowth of commerce during an unusual buying season.

Within the first 30 days of Informa Markets Fashion’s digital trade event, which launched on September 1, 55,000 new connections between brands and retailers were made, indicative of the industry’s eagerness to jumpstart business following decline stimulated by the pandemic months earlier. The digital marketplaces of Magic, Coterie, Project, Micam Americas, and Children’s Club collectively showcased 1,100 brands across 1,350 digital showrooms and opened with 15,000 registered qualified retailers. The event now hosts close to 20,000 retailers from over 78 countries, demonstrating a steady and healthy uptick in new registration since event launch.

“The rapid adoption of the platform signals that the industry has welcomed the paradigm shift and are embracing digital tools to conduct their businesses more collaboratively, efficiently and effectively,” said Heath Wells, co-founder and co-CEO of NuOrder, in a statement. “We have always looked at technology as a driving force and solution for the advancement of wholesale commerce. With COVID-19, demand for digital market tools and more robust technology accelerated the need, however early show metric indicators from Informa Markets Fashion digital events show how digital adoption is quickly answering immediate needs as well as how the fashion B2B landscape can be better augmented in the future,” added Olivia Skuza, co-founder and co-CEO of NuOrder, in a statement.

With an average thirty-three minutes of time spent in-platform per user, retail buyers are demonstrating deep engagement with the platform’s tools and capabilities, like NuOrder’s Virtual Showroom. This key feature allows participating brands to showcase and sell products to buyers in a completely customized, immersive, 360-degree experience. In addition to NuOrder’s intuitive platform technology, Informa Markets Fashion’s digital event showcases over 68 editorial content articles featuring over 304 unique brands and over 30 educational programming videos and guides across all five marketplaces to date. Combined, these elements offer a truly unique and distinguished trade marketplace driving a more engaged audience – retailers are discovering unique products, carefully exploring brands showroom pages, and interacting with product in a dynamic way, while also showing an increased propensity to seek out new products and valuable commercial resources through the events’ marketplace curations.

“The power of NuOrder’s B2B ecommerce technology, combined with the strength of Informa Markets Fashion’s retailer and brand communities and expertise in targeted marketing and content has made for a fruitful partnership. We have delivered a first-of-its-kind digital B2B event that is solving an immediate industry need and the engagement we’re seeing on the platform is telling us that what we have delivered is really resonating with the industry,” said Nancy Walsh, president of Informa Markets Fashion, in a statement. “Most importantly, the positive preliminary data is showing that our brands and retailers are continuing commerce this season, which signals that the industry is likely on the road to recovery.”

Given high adoption of the new event environment, Informa Markets Fashion is discovering that a more data-driven approach is a beneficial way forward for both buyers and sellers to connect and conduct business. This coupled with product curation, increased discoverability of new brands, and timely educational programming, as shown by initial data, has created a differentiated and valuable digital marketplace that is resonating with the industry. The data shows that the fashion wholesale sector is adapting, reforming, and recovering as we move into the end of 2020 and into 2021. The advanced technology, content expertise, and extensive database found in the digital trade event is proving to be a necessary catalyst forward for the wholesale fashion industry.