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Today at Digby, we’re pleased to announce Fox Head’s release of a mobile-optimized website. In celebration, we’re sharing the following guest blog post written by Fox Head’s VP of Global E-Commerce, John Hazen.
The analogy of hunters and gatherers of prehistoric times has long been applied to today’s consumer, shopping habits and brick and mortar retail economics. The theory is this. Women forage, examine, select products the same way they examined two different mushrooms, determining which was poisonous and which was food. Men, on the other hand, hunted for food the same way they would now execute a SWAT mission to the local neighborhood Costco.
For a large portion of e-commerce’s short history these precepts have also been generally believed to be true. Much time has been spent on both building gorgeous, well merchandised online stores, a la Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus, as well as building ultimate hunting machines such as Google Shopping or Amazon that allow hunters to shop effectively and “get in & get out.”
A site such as a Shop Bop is a perfect example of a site tailored for a computer or tablet user togather on. Great collections, beautiful photography, a place to be inspired, to discover, to shop. That type of shopping takes uninterrupted time, and that sort of time is becoming more and more scarce. Mobile Commerce, on the other hand, has made those lengthy gathering experiences less necessary in finding the perfect look and the trend will only accelerate.
A traditional gatherer, coupled with a mobile phone is now a hunter.
Life itself has now become the gathering process, where to be inspired. The former gatherer chooses to want something and executes that choice, that hunt, via their phone. The hunt is happening in mobile commerce, on a smart phone, in real time. A colored skinny jean in a magazine. The new fall boot, on a pinterest post, a must-have item seen on a fashionista on Sunset Blvd. You see it, and buy it, on your phone while waiting for your lunch partner to arrive. The former gatherer has a spear, and better yet it fits in their pocket and makes phone calls.
Brands need to be aware of what their best customers need; those are the consumers who pay full price. The brand ambassadors are going to inspired, lest I say, tempted to purchase more while on the move than at any other time. A great brand knows how to meet their customers’ needs ahead of the curve, to “read their minds.” Those former gatherers have much more precision than they ever had in the past. If you can provide them an easy target, they will become great hunters that contribute the most to your bottom line.
John Hazen is the VP, Global e-Commerce at Fox Racing. John has 15 years in the apparel business and launched e-commerce at several action sports companies in Southern California including Hurley and O’Neill.
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