When it comes to a direct-to-consumer approach, the more personal the experience, the better. And what’s more personal than the fit and style of those Levi’s® jeans?
Marc Rosen, EVP and president of global e-commerce at Levi Strauss & Co., recently sat down with Piers Fawkes, the founder of PSFK, for their latest podcast to discuss our direct-to-consumer model as well as implementing emerging technologies and seeking out the right partners to more directly attend to the particular demands of our consumers. Below is an excerpt from that conversation.
Q: Talk to me about the trends and forces that are driving the marketplace and causing companies like yours to think about DTC and other e-commerce strategies.
Marc: If we think about consumer trends right now, what we see is that the consumer is much more in control of their shopping journey. The consumer absolutely expects a seamless experience when they interact with retail and a seamless experience between digital and in-store.
The way that’s happening for them is generally on their mobile devices, but we also see a big shift to chat and conversational commerce. We’re watching that, and we believe that’s going to be one of the next big trends that’s changing the way people shop. We think it’s important that we be a leader in that, and that we think about the way the consumers are going to be shopping in the future.
That’s one of the trends we’re watching. We think social media is also a big trend that is evolving and the mixing with commerce. The other thing that’s changing is the role of a brand site in the marketplace. We see more consumers coming to a brand site as the trusted site for inspiration about a product.
For us, being the denim leader, it’s about what’s trending in jeans. What’s new? What is the right fit? How should I style them? How do I put outfits together? We see more and more that consumers are coming to the brand sites for that inspiration and then for information. A brand site is the most trusted place for information about fit and product care information. The role of brand sites has changed to be heavily about inspiration and information. The consumer then is in control of that shopping journey and where they buy.
Q: What are the lessons or insights that you hope to share to help retailers in their own work?
First of all, it’s about thinking of the role of a brand site. I also think it’s about how you use technology and how you partner with those who can drive innovation to bring a solution to the consumer.
We’re a 165-year-old company. We’re a 145-year-old brand, and we continue to innovate every day. Our innovation has shifted heavily to digital because that’s the way the consumer’s shopping now. That’s where we are investing. We believe that our points of differentiation are going to be around fit, style, personalization and customization. A lot of what we’ve done is to invest very significantly in solving that fit problem for consumers.
Read the full Q&A on PSFK.com now.
