Women who loves to shop and socialize online are the new darlings of the e-commerce industry. Many reports have stated the growing trend of women making purchases online and the big potential it implies. Businesses big and small have come to recognize their importance.
Chen Nian, founder of the apparel e-tailer VANCL, and Liu Qiangdong, the CEO of 360Buy CEO, were interviewed by local media last week. Coincidently, they both talked about the difficulties of wooing women online.
During last June, more women registered an account at 360Buy than men. It was the first time that had happened, and it pleased Mr. Liu. “This is a good sign. If this trend keeps growing, in two or three years we will have as many women as men shopping at 360Buy.”
Mr. Liu also believed that for an online retail platform, you need to have women shopping there to prosper. Men usually buy goods that have very low gross margin, while women prefer items that are more profitable, such as clothes, cosmetics and home products. “We want to build up a super online shopping platform where both women and men shop. We can’t afford to lose either.”
For Mr. Chen of VANCL, the difficulty of understand the opposite sex remains ever elusive after five years of catering to their needs. Although over 65% of those who buy VANCL are women, Mr. Chen insists that “women are just mysteries.” He also claims that women are hard to satisfy, as they regularly return goods.
“Five years ago, we made only two models of men’s shirts. All I had to worry about was how many shirts a man needs during a year. But things all changed very quickly when more women started to shop at VANCL. This has event impacted the T-shirt business: women started to demand more kinds of shirts for different occasions.” Even if it’s a hassle, Mr. Chen believes it is worth it, and in the future VANCL would strive to satisfy the female buyers of providing “more products in less time”.
Vancl’s dedicated minisite for Women
