River Island AOV soars after adding shoppable social content

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 24, 2019

Affordable fashion retailer River Island has seen a 45% rise in average order value (AOV) after introducing shoppable social content on its website, with dwell time also up, the company it worked with to deliver the technology has claimed.

Following the launch of a gallery of shoppable user generated content on the site, the retailer also reported that customers spent more than three times longer browsing its webstore over a 12-week period, compared to the previous 12 weeks.

We’ve been hearing about a raft of UK retailers the have boosted their turnover using new tech, with Ship From Store functionality also helping a number of River Island’s peers to maximise their online opportunities.

In this case, the company has been working with Curalate to leverage social content and sell more effectively online and has created an integrated wish list feature.

Shop The Look tech allows customers to buy products from images in the gallery immediately, but the new functionality also lets them directly add specific items to their wish list by clicking on a heart symbol when they’re browsing.

“Our #ImWearingRI hashtag has been popular on Instagram for some time and we were keen to maximise its value,” said Gemma Scarfe, Head of E-commerce at River Island. “Curalate’s technology has allowed us to create a unique piece of wish list functionality which sits seamlessly within the dynamic design and layout of our site. It’s relevant to the way customers shop.”

The company said that its conversion rates almost tripled over the same period too.

Curalate currently works with more than a thousand brands and stores to make content shoppable, with notable names to use its products including QVC, Arcadia, Karl Lagerfeld and Louis Vuitton.