How can fashion etailer ‘Mode Urbaine’ improve trust?

You may have seen print adverts for new website modeurbaine.com.  Leon Bailey suggests five improvements the website should have made before embarking on an advertising campaign.

1. Brand consistency

Offline marketing for the store includes a promo photo, the URL as www.modeurbaine.com and the text ‘Urban Fashion’.

Type in ‘mode urbaine’ or ‘urban fashion’ into Google UK and you won’t find the website. Shoppers lucky enough to remember the URL will be treated to a logo that bears no resemblance to the one in the print ad – this can cause confusion for visitors receptive to the print ad.

2. Catalogue and a shop?

Once you get to the website, you can browse five different categories or click another link to get to the online shop? Confused? So was I. It seems there is a catalogue which isn’t e-commerce enabled, as well as a shop which is e-commerce enabled.

3. Browser URL

Visitors that do click on the link to be directed to the online shop will be surprised to see the URL in their browser change to http://trial208320.ecomtest.com. This too is confusing for the visitor, and dare I say a bit dodgy?

Visitors will notice the words ‘trial’ and ‘test’ in the URL.The website also breaks out into a completely different design, that doesn’t look like the homepage or the print adverts.

4. Design

People buying clothing online want to purchase in glamorous and/or fun environments to emulate how they feel when buying these things offline. Design is crucial, as that will set the tone for how the shopper feels, including whether or not they ‘trust’ the store.

This store doesn’t look fun, glamorous or trustworthy. A modern cleaner design is needed. Lipsy is a good example of an online fashion retailer that is fun, glamorous and trustworthy.

5. Editorial

No fashion e-commerce website will last without editorial. Whether it’s a fashion blog, trend articles or celeb news, I can’t stress enough how editorial is needed. The editorial gives the website what I call the ‘fashion trust factor’.

Buying from online stores is like buying from a boutique. You want to know the people running the boutique know about style and fashion. Editorial is a way to demonstrate that you do.

Leon Bailey is an Online Marketing, PR and Partnerships professional specialising in fashion, beauty and celebrity media. He currently works for OSOYOU.com.

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