Shopping tool Hukkster hits Time Inc’s top 10 NYC start-up list for 2013

Time Inc has revealed its third annual list of the 10 start-ups to watch in New York City, and… there’s a fashion name in there again.

Hukkster, as it’s called, follows in the footsteps of Fab.com and Warby Parker (in 2012 and 2011 respectively) – highlighted by the Time Inc group as one of the most promising companies to transform the shopping space.

In this instance, it’s a tool that notifies shoppers when the products they want go on sale. Hukkster tracks more than 1,000 popular online stores, allowing any user to add its bookmarklet to their browser and then hit “Hukk It” when there’s an item they want to keep tabs on.

Once the price drops you get an email, a text or push notifications. You can also opt to only find out when it goes down by at least 25% or at least 50%.

According to WSJ’s profile on the start-up in 2012, and its founders Erica Bell and Katie Finnegan, each time a user buys an item they’ve been watching, Hukkster collects a fee for lead generation, using a third-party service that has relationships with more than 18,000 retailers. Its top revenue drivers, back when the piece was written, were J.Crew, Amazon.com’s Shopbop and Macy’s.

Furthermore, in November 2012, the Winklevoss twins led a $750,000 investment in it.

Hukkster appears in Time Inc’s list this year alongside nine other start-ups from a variety of fields. Included in them are ArchetypeMe, Custora, FiftyThree, Fitocracy, Grouper, IMRSV, Klooff, Qwiki and Upworthy.

Kmart #shipmypants ad goes viral

 

If there’s one brand grabbing the viral video headlines at present, it’s Kmart. The US retailer has released an ad that plays on the phrase “Ship my Pants” to tout its new free shipping service for loyalty members when items are out of stock in store.

The 30-second spot, created by agency DraftFCB Chicago, sees a series of characters situated in store stating the fact they can “ship my pants”, “ship my drawers”, “ship my nightie”, and “ship my bed”. Say that a few times over and you get the joke. Accordingly it has nearly 13m views on Youtube in the week since it was released. One in nine viewers are reportedly sharing it. It’s also being pushed with the hashtag #shipmypants.

The ultimate ingredient for viral video success is proven once again to be comedy.

Despite a handful of protests toward it being inappropriate, overall response to the ad has been extremely positive. The Huffington Post called it “puerile and pure gold”, while Mediapost.com’s Barbara Lippert says you should “never underestimate the power of a doody joke“.

It might be true schoolyard humour, but we’re all in on it.

Alice + Olivia, Topshop kickstart prom season with online push

A number of designers and retailers are reaching out to teens through a variety of online initiatives in the build-up to the forthcoming prom season.

Alice + Olivia is one such example; utilising social media to do so. The brand’s designer and founder Stacey Bendet is hosting a live Twitter chat on Tuesday, April 2 at 3pm EST. She will be answering questions and giving styling tips to help shoppers achieve the “perfect prom look”.

Users can submit questions via the hashtag #askstace.

Topshop is also looking to prom with a series of store events held in specific cities during March (three in the US and five in the UK), and a collection of dresses, accessories and shoes inspired by a touch of Kurt Cobain grunge.

All of that is tied together with online content including the below film from director Sean Frank. Referred to as a “vintage-inspired ride in getting prom perfect”, the clip is cast with a filtered light as the model is seen getting ready for the evening, dancing under a disco ball and ending up jumping in the swimming pool.

The British-based high street retailer has slowly been upping its focus on more holiday-based marketing – pushing out relevant collections around the likes of Halloween, holiday and Chinese New Year with dedicated campaigns. Doing so is of course further cementing its presence in the US market especially. Expect more to follow.

Paul Smith partners with artist Kate Moross for #LFW Vine clips

Another example of how to use Vine to beautiful effect has just come in from Paul Smith. The British designer has partnered with London-based artist Kate Moross, who is shooting a series of imaginative six-second clips in the run up to tomorrow’s London Fashion Week show.

BLINDS: Artist @KateMoross is taking care of our Vine in the run-up to #LFW. Let there be light! #firstpost vine.co/v/brnTJ3bbIZ3—
Paul Smith (@PaulSmithDesign) February 15, 2013

The first, called BLINDS and shown above, sees shutters opening and closing on the Paul Smith logo. Others so far, and as below, have been titled REFLECT and INFINITE, hinting at the venue and print and pattern respectively,

“We’re drawing influence from the themes and palette of the collection revealing glimpses of what’s to come in Sunday’s catwalk show,” said Moross. “The format is so immediate, all professional video tools are off limits, instead we’re creating animations, loops and video effects using colour filters, miniature lenses and simple objects.”

REFLECT: Seeds planted, our #Vine is growing fast. Excited for tomorrow's
#LFW women's show? A hint at the venue: vine.co/v/brDE26ATeaV—
Paul Smith (@PaulSmithDesign) February 16, 2013

INFINITE: Pattern. Print. Repeat. #loop #LFW vine.co/v/brj05vbKr6u—
Paul Smith (@PaulSmithDesign) February 16, 2013

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McQ debuts AW13 collection through online film

Alexander McQueen’s sister brand McQ has launched a short film showcasing its new autumn/winter 2013/14 collection in line with the start of London Fashion Week.

Shot by photographer Roger Deckker, the spot is reflective of the team’s search for alternative ways to showcase the new season’s line. For context, mainline Alexander McQueen will also not show on the catwalk in Paris this season as creative director Sarah Burton takes maternity leave.

The resulting film is comprised of a series of vignettes shot over a twenty-four hour period. It features models Maria Bradley and Botond Cseke and is inspired by “twentieth-century avant-garde Czechoslovakian and post-war Italian cinema”. Set in both London and the British countryside, its aim is to reflect the brand’s rebellious and street-inspired heritage.

Also joining it are two lookbooks (menswear and womenswear) and a mood image series, as shown below.

 

How to follow #NYFW online

In case you didn’t already see it, and now that New York Fashion Week is a go, be sure to check out this piece from Mashable on keeping abreast of it all from home: How to follow New York Fashion Week online

Digital snippets: Louis Vuitton, Target, John Lewis, M&S, Chinese shoppers

Some more great stories from around the web surrounding all things fashion and digital over the past week:

 

• Louis Vuitton releases Retracing the Trunk video (as above) [Dazed Digital]

• Target hosts interactive runway show powered by Twitter [BrandChannel]

• Q&A: John Lewis on the ingredients of a successful multichannel retail strategy [Econsultancy]

• Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s M&S lingerie advert complaints dismissed [Vogue.co.uk]

• Chinese shoppers have gone mobile. So should brands [JingDaily]

• Fashion 2.0: Online vintage heats up [BoF]

• Three major hurdles brands face launching e-commerce in China [Fashion’s Collective]

• 50 must-have fashion apps to download now [StyleCaster]

• The most influential personal style bloggers right now [Fashionista]

KCD’s Digital Fashion Shows open to the public

The Digital Fashion Shows initiative launched by PR agency KCD in 2012 as an invite-only online catwalk series for press and buyers, will be open to the public for the first time this season.

Kickstarting for autumn/winter 2013/14 during New York Fashion Week, the virtual runway shows aim to provide fans with the same “front row experience” as industry insiders. A slicker version than live-streamed affairs, however, they incorporate a pre-recorded catwalk presentation, high res images ready for download, detailed notes about the collection, and even beauty shots.

“The log-in response from non-invitees was tremendous and as it continued to grow with each digital show it became necessary to respond to our client’s request to open the platform’s doors wider for greater exposure,” said Rachna Shah, KCD’s digital managing director.

Accordingly, the now open nature of the platform will also enable users to share each show via email and social media for the first time this season, as well as invite friends to watch.

Designers Peter Som and Pierre Balmain have already announced participation, hosting their runways on the site on Wednesday, February 13 at 9am EST, and Friday, February 8 at 9am EST, respectively.

Som said: “The eye goes through an added process designing for the digital runway. You see the looks more dimensionally and more cinematically which is an inspiring new challenge.” He explained that the format will provide “an opportunity to try out a new platform that can reach a lot of people. The show will tap right into the digital and online presence of my brand and it will allow me to try something new creatively.” It is being shot at Made at Milk in New York and wil feature eight models.

Pierre Balmain meanwhile is using DFS for the second season, previously with a show recorded in Beijing, this time in Paris. Menswear brand Alexander Plokhov will also show on the site on Saturday, February 9 at 10am EST. Further announcements will follow for Paris.

Site and mobile optimisation key for online retailers in 2013

Online retailers in the US will prioritise site optimisation, mobile and tablets in 2013, according to a new report from Forrester Research in conjunction with Shop.org.

The State of Retailing Online 2013 (SORO) study shows the aim will be to “improve the customer experience and increase web conversion and loyalty across all devices”.

Over half (51%) of those surveyed cited site optimisation as key, referencing a focus on checkout optimisation, alternative payments, user experience, testing, and product detail page enhancements.

Meanwhile, 43% outlined that they would be focusing on mobile and tablets this year, investing in new or improved mobile apps and mobile-optimised sites, analytics, and traffic and conversion growth.

Shop.org executive director Vicki Cantrell, said: “While direct mobile commerce is still small, mobile services are now an established and significant part of the shopping experience. Retailers this year are smartly investing to create a holistic customer experience across stores, desktop, and mobile to improve conversion rates, grow crucial repeat customer business, and even capture their share of customer demand from international markets.”

A pick of the best fashion films for holiday 2012

In the fast-paced run up to Christmas madness, here’s a little Friday respite with a highlight of 10 of the best festive fashion, retail and luxury films:

1. Topshop: Winter Wonderland

 

2. Barneys: Electric Holiday

 

3. adidas: The Cautionary Tale of Ebenezer Snoop

 

4. Warehouse: Christmas SOS

 

5. Selfridges: Not Your Usual Christmas

 

6. Cartier: Winter Tale

 

7. Debenhams: Christmas Made Fabulous

 

8. Macy’s: Another Miracle on 34th Street

 

9. Gap: Love Comes in Every Shade

 

10. John Lewis: The Journey