'More than just order history': Farfetch's Kelly Kowal and Sandrine Deveaux on the new standards of personalization
The Glossy Podcast · with Kelly Kowal and Sandrine Deveaux · June 9, 2021 · 43 min
Summary
Farfetch's Kelly Kowal and Sandrine Deveaux explain how the luxury marketplace achieved significant growth by supporting boutique partners and embracing technology during the pandemic. They share insights into their
Key takeaways
Retailers must look beyond basic order history for personalization, leveraging advanced data and AI to understand customer behavior.
Embrace a 'now, next, and future' mindset for innovation, accepting that not all new technologies will succeed but the investment is crucial for scaling.
Marketplaces can be a vital channel for luxury brands, offering support and access to new clients, even while some brands prioritize direct sales.
Invest in technology and R&D to stay ahead of customer demands, even if it means taking risks on unproven solutions.
The definition of personalization is evolving; retailers need to adapt to deliver sophisticated, tailored experiences.
Marketplaces were among the big retail winners of the past year, and Farfetch was no exception.
“We performed really well, as an overall company,” said Kelly Kowal, chief platform officer at Farfetch, on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. In its first-quarter earnings, released on May 13, Farfetch reported a 46% year-over-year revenue increase, to $485 million. “Nobody ever wants to capitalize off of a pandemic, but one thing that we were really excited about, and something that we really championed on the marketplace side, was keeping our boutique [partners]online and able to trade. And then on the platform side, we saw an increase in new clients and in new technology being adopted. We were really fortunate to be able to have both sides of our business firing on all cylinders.”
And that’s despite the fact that new competitors, including The Yes and Amazon’s Luxury Stores, entered the market. What’s more, some luxury brands remained hellbent on keeping to their own sales channels.
“What we find sometimes is that customer demands are way ahead of what retailers can do,” Kowal said. “But we spend a lot of our time thinking about what we call ‘the now, the next and the future.’ Keeping our eye on that has allowed us to scale at pace. Innovation is at the heart of our platform.”
Focused on what’s next is Sandrine Deveaux, Farfetch’s evp of Future Retail, and her team. “We know only one out of 10 [new technologies] will work, and sometimes one out of 100,” she said. “But because we are a tech company and we can take those risks, and we have this investment in the backend to support our vision, we are the best place within the industry to [explore] them.”
Retailers must look beyond basic order history for personalization, leveraging advanced data and AI to understand customer behavior.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Embrace a 'now, next, and future' mindset for innovation, accepting that not all new technologies will succeed but the investment is crucial for scaling.
What does this episode say about ai & automation?
Marketplaces can be a vital channel for luxury brands, offering support and access to new clients, even while some brands prioritize direct sales.
What does this episode say about customer retention?
Invest in technology and R&D to stay ahead of customer demands, even if it means taking risks on unproven solutions.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
The definition of personalization is evolving; retailers need to adapt to deliver sophisticated, tailored experiences.
