One of the most interesting things about taking a decent summer break, and particularly one in August, is observing what happens during that time. Traditionally still the month that most of Europe closes down, it is also the time just before fashion weeks begin again and therefore the perfect opportunity for quiet on the news front full stop. We’ve certainly noticed that with regards to digital campaigns or tech stories over the past six years that Fashion & Mash has been running. And yet, not so much this year…
August 2016 proved busier than ever in terms of news in this space, ranging from Burberry’s new see-now buy-now campaign to Kate Spade’s wearables launch, Dior’s WeChat moves and various new high-tech store openings. What that does of course is continue to prove the relevancy of this world to the industry’s growth and success.
Read on for a full breakdown of what you might have missed…
PS. We’ve rebranded our regular “Digital Snippets” series to this “What you missed” feature in a bid to bring you a broader range of relevant stories, as well as a breakdown by category to make your consumption that much easier. Note: this version includes a month’s worth of links – normal weekly service will now resume.
PPS. A new must-read site/newsletter in this space is LeanLuxe – edited by Paul Munford, and providing “stories, analysis, and opinion on the world of modern luxury business”.
TOP STORIES
Fashion needs a more robust approach to technology education [BoF]
Burberry reveals campaign it hopes will woo shoppers to first ‘straight-to-consumer’ collection [The Drum]
Dior in first with luxury WeChat handbags [China Daily]
Consumers prefer see now, buy now, wear now model, says Verdict [The Industry]
BUSINESS
Luxury armageddon: Even Chanel takes a hit as sales and profits plunge [Trendwalk]
Gucci among world’s hottest fashion brands, while Prada cools [BoF]
Prada sales slide as weak demand weighs on luxury-goods maker [Bloomberg]
Macy’s to shutter 100 stores as online players pressure brick-and-mortar [WWD]
How Demna Gvasalia is revolutionising Balenciaga from the inside out [Vogue]
SOCIAL MEDIA
Burberry sponsors Snapchat Lens for My Burberry Black launch [The Industry]
For Kit and Ace, Snapchat doubles as a TV channel and customer service assistant [Digiday]
Nike and others dive into Instagram Stories: why marketers already like it better than Snapchat [AdAge]
While some retailers ignore Snapchat, others are killing it with lens and geofilter ads [AdWeek]
Snapchat found a way to bring its ads to the real world [QZ]
Burberry becomes first luxury brand to personalise on Pinterest [Marketing Week]
Grindr officially gets into the menswear game [Fashionista]
Pinterest opens API to retail partners [TechCrunch]
Google’s Eric Schmidt invests in retail tech designed to help personalisation and data measurement [WWD]
Here’s why ‘The Internet of Things’ will be huge, and drive tremendous value for people and businesses [Business Insider]
Why companies desperately need to make wearables cool [Wired]
How brands get shoppers to volunteer their personal data: transparency and better experiences [PSFK]
Social media drives less than 1% of shopping sessions, study says [Fashionista]
Fashion retailers are still failing to optimise email marketing for mobile [Econsultancy]
What retailers can learn from mobile commerce in the UK [Shop.org]
15 stats that show why click-and-collect is so important for retailers [Econsultancy]
Note: Look out for a separate holiday-specific digital round-up later this week, featuring all the top retail campaign stories as well as insights into the biggest innovations being pushed for the festive season.
