kate spade new york: Innovating the 360° Experience

The Kate Spade signature experience is as bold and colorful as its brand. Its 2013 strategy proved to be ahead of the curve, offering an amalgamation of consumer interactions across all touchpoints for a unified 360° experience.

Last summer, the luxury brand partnered with eBay to create a unique way to bridge digital with the brick-and-mortar world, transforming “window shopping” from a figurative expression into a literal action.

For one month in New York City, four of its Kate Spade Saturday store locations turned their window displays into a 24/7 interactive adventure. It enabled shoppers to purchase that “must-have” piece in the window, from the window, via touchscreens. And shoppers could schedule that item to be delivered within one hour anywhere in the City (e.g. a last minute present delivered to a party you have to miss, that anniversary gift you forgot to buy for your wife… again).

Mary Beech, Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, refers to their decorative windows as “a little piece of theater.” “Our store windows are moments of whimsical storytelling that express our core values in every venue,” she explained at The Hub Live 2013 conference. “[T]here’s a sales goal related to these. But we have fun doing it.”

In true kate spade new york innovative style, the luxury retailer ran the first shoppable online video banner during the 2013 holiday season. See an item you like in the digital ad? Simply click and purchase. “The technology provided an immediate, seamless, shoppable element that enhanced the experience, rather than pulling you out of it,” Beech explains in an interview with Design Taxi.

Efforts are paying off. kate spade new york reported a 30% increase in comparable store sales in its 2013 fourth quarter as well as a surge in last year’s stock price. Further, in early 2014, then parent company Fifth & Pacific was renamed to Kate Spade & Company to focus singularly on the Kate Spade brand.

Beech notes that they’ve carefully identified complementary experiences to carry through different social media channels. Facebook is for customers seeking information on products and seasonal designs. Twitter offers the voice of the Kate Spade woman tweeting about local events and other delightful discoveries. Instagram paints a picture her story and NYC lifestyle through the use of images. Tumblr displays inspirations behind the design process while content like fun, foodie cooking demonstrations are presented through its YouTube channel.

kate spade new york is fast becoming a trailblazer in the marketplace, developing unique ways to engage and even entertain its biggest and brightest fans to keep the brand both fashion and marketing-forward.

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