Innovation sits at the heart of FARFETCH

Global platform for luxury fashion FARFETCH is building a bridge between fashion and crypto cultures, leveraging sustainability-centric solutions and continually looking at new ways to create a compelling customer journey with innovation at the heart of everything.

In an exclusive Q&A Kerem Atasoy, VP, Commercial – FARFETCH Platform Solutions spoke about the platform’s innovation strategies for 2023.

Let’s start with FARFETCH’s major milestones over the past 12 months.

Starting with the announcements of several key strategic partnerships with leading international brands including Reebok, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and Ferragamo. Another huge moment was the launch of our first Japanese FARFETCH Platform Solutions partner, Sacai. Furthermore, the partnership with Yoox Net-A-Porter/Richemont was a milestone. This partnership will leverage FARFETCH’s technology platform to advance our Luxury New Retail programme and see YNAP adopt FARFETCH Platform Solutions to facilitate its shift towards a hybrid retail marketplace model. Richemont will adopt FARFETCH Platform Solutions to advance the delivery of the omnichannel strategy of its maisons, which will also join the FARFETCH Marketplace, boosting, among other categories, FARFETCH’s watches and jewellery offering.

Technology if leveraged well can drive great experiences. How do you leverage technology in your business?

The products we build will leverage the intersection between the retailer, the environment and the consumer to deliver a truly personalised customer experience powered by technology. This will not only help in expressing a unique brand identity but also create an emotional connection with the consumer. We have built platform technology which not only connects retailers to all their inventory globally (stores, warehouses etc) but the platform’s eConcessions model enables brands to connect this inventory to a global audience. This technology is designed to maximise sell-through at every customer touchpoint globally.

Being big on sustainability, what kind of innovations has FARFETCH undertaken in this regard?

Our sustainability work and service offerings are aligned to the four pillars of the Positively FARFETCH Group strategy which are to be cleaner, conscious, circular and inclusive. This drives our mission to become the global platform for good in luxury and empowers everyone we work with to choose, act and think positively. In terms of concrete initiatives some key innovations from FARFETCH Platform Solutions include:

• Partnering with API-first carbon removal marketplace Patch and enabling FPS brands and retailers to neutralise any unavoidable carbon footprint of their shipping activity.
• Acquiring and integrating Luxclusif, a leading provider in resale and the operator behind FARFETCH’s Second Life to bring luxury resale’s best available services for both consumers and our platform partners.
• We launched Good Measures to help brands become more sustainable and expand their conscious offering. Good Measures is an independent hub helping brands to benchmark their performance on key sustainability issues and understand how they can enhance customer engagement and commercial benefit.

Will social commerce play a key role in FARFETCH’s strategy in 2023?

Recently we have integrated several partners and features into the platform to enable social commerce. This includes Smartzer (shoppable videos), Bambuser (shoppable live streaming) and a new shoppable Instagram feature which are all designed to enable a seamless customer journey from live content to product purchase.

Moving over to collaboration what kind of partnerships are you planning for 2023?

With Ferragamo we will leverage the platform to accelerate their digital capabilities, create new shopping experiences for Millennials and Gen Z luxury shoppers and elevate their omnichannel customer journey with our Connected Retail technology. Through our strategic partnership with Reebok, we will enable the business to take their branded retail stores and e-commerce operations to the next level while also driving wholesale distribution for the brand. With Neiman Marcus we will be launching some of our modular platform solutions and for Bergdorf Goodman we will be launching a full global platform bringing the iconic New York department store to a global audience for the first time.

Looking ahead, what are your future innovation plans?

In 2023 our innovation strategy will focus on three key product developments:

• FPS Logistics: Our bespoke end-to-end logistics experience will fuel international growth. From a full end-to-end solution to international checkout and post-purchase fulfilment modules we will leverage the platform’s unparalleled expertise to power a world-class logistics experience.
• eConcessions: This is a new sales model to meet the evolving demands of the digital luxury customer. Through a single integration of our platform this innovative online concession model unlocks new sales opportunities for brands, allowing control of product and positioning. For retailers, the model can entice consumers with a wider variety of inventory without the commitment and risks associated with traditional wholesale models.
• Connected Retail: Creating a seamless luxury experience no matter where the customer is by merging online and in-store interactions with omnichannel technology to construct a compelling customer journey.