Member Article

Big Data:The UK’s First Online and Offline Marketing Platform for Fashion and Lifestyle Industry Launches

This new year sees the launch of StyleCard, the UK’s first online and offline marketing platform designed specifically for the fashion and lifestyle industry.

With the launch of its new site, StyleCard plans to unveil a modern approach to the customer loyalty market which has been around for decades in the hopes of capitalising on Big Data, which has largely been ignored or proved too costly for retailers to develop.

The physical and digital markets are converging and none more so than the retail space. Consumers expect the same service from every channel - mobile, online, in-store, or a combination, and to do this seamlessly retailers must utilise data.

However, small businesses have limited budgets, time and resources – therefore a focused approach to targeting the right audience provides the most likely chance of success, rather than a one-size-fits-all campaign which is unlikely to have much impact when trying to build a brand. A campaign which focuses on a specific audience, for example a new women’s work wear brand targeting females, aged 25-40 and city/office workers, would have a much higher chance of success if the right target audience is reached and impacted, versus a generic advertising marketing campaign in the broader fashion or lifestyle press – this is where Big Data comes in.

Founded by Paraag Amin, former equity analyst at Goldman Sachs, Citi and Credit Suisse, StyleCard was developed to act as a free marketing platform that allows retailers to capture and analyse customer activity. This includes who the customer is, where and when she shops, what she buys and so on. They can then use this information to send push marketing messages direct to customers’ mobile phones, offering a specific marketing route to each client via the StyleCard application.

The offer to consumers is a year round savings of up to 30% on high street fashion, independent boutiques and designer labels across the globe, and up to 50% on a range of beauty and lifestyle services.

For the small annual fee of £39.99, members will receive their personalised StyleCard to use at participating retailers, in-store and online. Considering the average shopper spends at least £1000 a year on clothing and accessories, the cost of StyleCard is covered within a few shopping trips.

As a start-up, StyleCard have positioned themselves on the fast track to success with the founder Paraag Amin’s background in business analysis and data, and an energetic team of more than 20, they’re setting out to shape the future of loyalty.

We aim to disrupt the industry by servicing the growing demographic of mobile-savvy customers who have been overlooked and underserved by other established loyalty programmes, comments Paraag Amin. “At the same time, retailers can now benefit from more customer data and insights, increased customer spend, as well as reaching new customers. We are entering an untapped and neglected market—and we’re ready to tackle it head on.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by VP .