Etsy

A relatively new dynamic marketplace online, 1stDibs has shoppers covered on many items not so commonly found on other luxury or boutique websites. Covering everything from antique furniture to vintage fashions, 1stDibs items come straight from the Paris flea market, as well as American and European dealers. This is an incredible resource helping consumers to find tons of unique items from all over the globe, all on one friendly site.

Interior Design

1stDibs has fast become the Etsy, Ebay, or flea market for many interior designers of the amateur and professional type. Although this remote form of design may have some cons when it comes to matching colors or fabrics, or even high shipping cost on heavy items such as furniture, the sellers on 1stDibs seem to make up for any excessive cost with sometimes incredibly affordable prices. However, one noticeable con for many is that very pricing. Because 1stDibs is a luxury online boutique, they do have specialty items that are rather costly, bringing the average cost of items on site higher than those you are likely to find on Etsy or Artfire.

True Specialty Shopping

While there may be many boutique shopping websites available, not many of them will have the uncommon listings like those at 1stDibs.

Furniture & Lighting
Fine Art
Jewelry, Watches, & Silver
Fine Homes
Fashion

It seems like many top designers, artists, and dealers have already embraced 1stDibs. 1stDibs is helping them to make the full transition from local foot sales to online entrepreneurship. Currently there are over 1,200 dealers and designers on site and 1stDibs is selling well over 6,000 items each month. There are many dealers queued on the waiting list who want to join.

Aside from the obvious convenience this can offer to those in the interior design industry, other industries that have begun to benefit from 1stDibs include:

High-End Realty
Fashion Designers
Arts Dealers
Fine Jewelers

Matt Cohler, the general partner at Benchmark Capital stated that,

” Both literally and figuratively, 1stdibs has the goods to significantly extend their leadership position in the online luxury category.”

According to a study conducted by Bain & Co.’s on Luxury Goods Worldwide Market, the luxury goods market grew over 14% globally in 2012 allowing it to reach an astounding $256.6 billion dollars as an industry.

Author:

@BasilPuglisi is the Executive Director and Publisher for Digital Brand Marketing Education (dbmei.com). Basil C. Puglisi is also the President of Puglisi Consulting Group, Inc. A Digital Brand Marketing Consultancy that manages professional and personal branding for Fortune 500 CEOs, Hedge Fund Managers and Small Business Owners.

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Although Fab.com was founded in early 2010 as a social network for gay and lesbian users, it has quickly turned into an e-commerce site with an incredible following. As their social network base grew it made the leap from networking site to high-end flash sales. This young endeavor is already making a huge impact in its industry.

Lessons from Social Commerce Summit 2012 #SCS

Sheezan Bakali, director of marketing for Fab, spoke at the recent Business Insiders’s Social Commerce Summit. She revealed the basic points behind the strategy that brought Fab.com over 2 million users in just seven months. Sheezan shared that Fab’s keys to success was based on three elements in their marketing strategy.

Product

Sheezan shared that they provided “virtual products and physical products that must delight every day.” She highlights that the product itself should never be skimped on. The consumers who purchase need to be provided with a quality, end product that will serve as its own selling point. Customers need to feel the satisfaction of purchasing a quality product along with the comfort of having a user-friendly front end.

Make sure the product that arrives on your customers doorstep speaks for itself.

Social Media

Fab was created to be social. To keep everyone on Fab in-the-know, they now have a calendar listed on site that displays products that are soon to go on sale or have just went up for a sale price. This means their consumers usually begins to post on Facebook or Twitter without needing additional prompting. No one likes hearing about a great sale after it ends, but Fab’s analytics show them that this particular strategy really gets their followers talking, or tweeting. Currently, every 30 seconds, someone is tweeting about a Fab.com deal.

In one great test of their marketing power and reach, Fab promoted a product known as Beardo. This unique product is a combination of a a stocking cap and a knit ‘beard’ to keep the face warm. This quirky product sold quickly and became a huge success on Fab.

Users are encouraged to invite their friends, earn credits, and engage with other Fab users.

Strategic Advertising

Fab didn’t come out of the gate with endless funds for costly worldwide advertising possibilities, but they also have full understanding that social media cannot do all of the work either. In order to find the perfect balance, they target their marketing as specifically as possible.

Just at launch time, out of the 175,000 members, over 50,000 of them arrived via ads. Those early influencers helped to fuel the pinwheel that helped to create such a significant jump in their user-base. During their advertising process, Fab goes out of their way to target brand new communities that they believe can appreciate what Fab has to offer. This strategy can also go a long way in feeding back into social media.

From Artfire to Etsy, Fab now joins a growing list of boutique and economy retail sites that are gaining ground by providing consumers with a level of customization that may not have been possible before, at least not when on a budget. The option for budget clothing is available in every Walmart across the country, the option for customized clothing that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg are only available on sites like Fab.

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