With prices rising and wallets shrinking, the post-pandemic trading environment has been difficult to navigate for some retailers, particularly in non-essential areas like fashion.
Despite this, Inditex-owned chain Pull & Bear sales soared 15% to €2.15bn in its last financial year.
The retailer’s chief digital and marketing officer Ana Belen Garcia Luque tells ShopTalk Europe how the fashion retailer‘s focus on integrating its digital and physical operations has been key to its success.
Breaking down the barriers between online and stores
Luque says Pull & Bear aims to “eliminate barriers” between the experiences we give customers online and in our physical stores.
In practical terms this means making sure shoppers have the same experience whatever channel they shop.
For example, the business drops new items every week in-store and online so one channel doesn’t lag behind the other.
While online shoppers may have exclusive products such as more colour options, Luque says it also brings this to in-store customers via iPads in store.
“You must have the same product message, it doesn’t matter what channel they prefer,” she says.
Pull & Bear has also looked to connect its offline and online inventories, optimising stock from distributors because it “benefits customers and the company”.
“Gen Z users can be anywhere so it’s important to give them an integrated message,” says Luque
A focus on click-and-collect
The retailer has also focused on services such as click-and-collect, which allows customers to receive products quickly.
The business offers an in-store service that allows shoppers to browse and purchase online before collecting a few hours later from their nearest store.
This service is now active in 35 countries and Luque adds that “it’s important to innovate in service and tech” through elements like click-and-collect to ensure shoppers can get what they want when they need it.
Marketplaces: finding the sweet spot
Countless brands can now be found on marketplaces, from Zalando and Amazon to retailer-owned platforms such as M&S and Next.
Luque believes that retailers “have to find the balance between both” marketplaces and their own channels.
The retailer launched ecommerce back in 2011 and started working with marketplaces two years later.
Since then it has partnered with a range of marketplaces internationally, all with different business models, which Luque says has helped them learn a lot.
“They have strong brand awareness, service propositions, marketing and traffic,” she says.
But, she stresses that while it is “important to be present in marketplaces, that doesn’t mean we can just leave our own online operations”.
She says Pull & Bear focuses on offering online exclusives on its own website, such as limited edition ranges and exclusive colourways to “give consumers a reason to come to our platform”.
Using social media to build its community
It’s no secret that retailers big and small are using social media to help drive sales.
“TikTok’s influence on the decision-making process is undeniable,” Luque says. “Anybody can become a creator and make a product go viral and brands are learning from that.”
Because of this, social rather than editorial is now the marketing priority for Pull & Bear.
This has stimulated much innovation from the retailer. It has even hosted an augmented reality concert for its customers.
This innovation is seen throughout its marketing where it is embracing storytelling, according to Luque.
When the brand launched a clothing collaboration with Netflix series Money Heist in 2021, it simulated a nighttime robbery of one of its stores alongside a host of interactive activations.
“We knew it was a fan phenomenon and we had to capitalise on that.”
Despite the range launching during the pandemic when physical stores were forced to close, the collaboration was a major success. The teaser video became its most shared video on Instagram for the entire year, Luque says.
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