It must be some accomplishment to be gaining ground on Amazon, considering they are the top retailer online and command a whopping 20 percent of the e-commerce sales in the fashion niche. That is exactly what Kate Hudson’s Fabletics is doing, and when we say doing, we mean pulling on over $250 million in sales over a three-year period. Unlike traditional shopping experience, the secret to Hudson’s success seems a little unconventional to say the least.
Recently, Hudson was asked to talk about how her company was pulling in such huge numbers working in the same space as Amazon. She went on to credit the success to her membership plan and the process of reverse showrooming. When a customer visits the Fabletics store in the mall, the store does not rely heavily on these women making any purchases at all. Instead, they are encouraged to shop the racks, try on anything they like, window-shop, apply for the free membership, and even take the Fabletics Lifestyle Quiz. This is an ideal way for busy women to get their hands on the merchandise without having to buy, for now anyway.
Hudson says that the secret to the success of her athleisure brand comes later when these same women are home. In that relaxed atmosphere, they head to the Fabletics website and find all the items they tried on in the store waiting for them. Now since they know which sizes fit best, they add more of those items to the cart, and grab some things they might not have even seen in the store. Now they can use their membership to unlock lower pricing, free shipping, and even get the help of their very own personal assistant.
Each month, that personal assistant goes over the answer to the quiz, looks at items tried on, and even considers new arrivals, then adds one piece to the cart for the women to consider. The key to buying at Kate Hudson’s Fabletics is no pressure, so if you like or hate the item chosen for you, there is no commitment on your part to buy. Women love the modern active-wear available at the site, and want to be the first at the gym to show off the latest workout gear they discovered on the site. If Amazon is not careful, Hudson’s Fabletics could be climbing over them for the top spot in e-commerce apparel sales for the women.