After working with January Consulting, the consulting arm of January Digital, Steve Madden Ltd. named the parent company its digital agency of record in North America. “January Digital will be responsible for developing and executing Steve Madden’s digital media strategy and investment,” the companies said in a statement. Terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
January Digital will build, plan, execute and analyze all of Steve Madden’s digital media advertising. Steve Madden designs, sources and brings to market fashion footwear, accessories and apparel (for men, women and children). Aside from its namesake brand, the company has additional brands including Dolce Vita, Betsey Johnson, Blondo and Greats. The company also has a private program with retailers and licenses handbags and footwear under the Anne Klein brand.
BigCommerce’s latest research report on fashion apparel and footwear showed gross merchandise value increasing in the first half of the year versus the same period last year. The data, culled from the company’s retail clients, also showed a sharp gain in average order value. But jittery consumers may have a negative impact on the second half. The report’s author noted that steep discounts are likely, while holiday season sales are still a question mark. Recent consumer surveys back up that perspective.
A separate consumer survey from KPMG showed that inflation is consumers’ top concern, at 82 percent (followed by shipping delays at 50 percent). Due to inflation, shoppers polled said they would be actively researching retailer websites (60 percent, which is up from 52 percent in last year’s report), brand websites (51 percent, up from 38 percent) and social media apps and influencers (30 percent, up from 20 percent).
Those polled said they are more “value-oriented” this year, with KPMG’s report showing that 78 percent of shoppers will take advantage of Black Friday sales. Forty-nine percent are expecting more promotions this year and 29 percent are planning to shop the day of Thanksgiving.
For the first half of the year, though, fashion retailers and brands who are BigCommerce customers seemed to fare well. The company said gross merchandise value grew 7.3 percent in the first half compared to last year’s period. GMV jumped 8.1 percent in the Americas by region while growing 4 percent in the EMEA and 6 percent in APAC.
And the average order value, or AOV, increased by 8.3 percent globally.
The BigCommerce fashion clients who use the company’s “Enterprise” platform saw GMV swelling 10.8 percent in the first half with total orders increasing 3 percent and AOV gaining 7.7 percent year-over-year.
The report also noted that the top three trends driving growth in the fashion sector are “the rise of generative AI capabilities to customize the user experience, an influx of user-generated content to enhance brand loyalty and an increased focus on sustainability are all said to contribute to industry growth.”
In other BigCommerce news, Nisum, the global tech consultancy, is now a certified BigCommerce Agency Partner. The company said as a member of the program it will now offer BigCommerce, the open SaaS commerce platform for business-to-consumer and business-to-business brands.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The partnership forms as retailers and brands move away from “one-size-fits-all” tech platforms and turn to more innovative SaaS providers. The goal is to offer more dynamic and engaging shopping experiences for consumers.
“This strategic partnership reflects Nisum’s ongoing investment into the latest and most innovative commerce technologies to meet the evolving needs of their clients and of today’s competitive market landscape,” the companies said in a statement, adding that in partnership with BigCommerce, “Nisum is committed to providing agile commerce technology and best-in-class services to build innovative digital solutions and facilitate scalable global transformations.”
Martin Lewit, senior vice president of corporate development at Nisum, said with the shift to open SaaS, “we see the potential to offer scalable, enterprise-grade, digital commerce solutions with superior customer experiences coupled with our advanced data-mining capabilities, world-class agility services, security, and commerce innovation.”
Daniel Fertig, vice president of agency partnerships at BigCommerce, said as brands and retailers “continue moving away from a one-size-fits-all suite approach to a best-of-breed, best-of-need approach to modern tech stacks, digital experience experts like Nisum have become more important than ever. Whether it’s consulting on digital transformation or implementing chosen technologies, Nisum has demonstrated an impressive commitment to supporting the needs of BigCommerce customers in both the U.S. and LATAM [Latin American] markets.”
