Why shoppers are going Elsewhere

An online solution, Shop Elsewhere, has been launched to help the less well-known fashion labels to get their name out there. Jennifer Chan takes a look into this pro-bono project to find out if it could be a glimpse of light for independent fashion designers.

Independent fashion brands are facing enormous challenges as they look to compete against bigger and more established retailers, particularly in a brand-driven city such as Hong Kong.

Competing against big budgets and finding a retail space that hasn’t been priced out of their budget are just two issues facing independents across the city.

But a solution – using mobile phones and QR codes – is giving independent retailers across the city a fighting chance.

Called Shop Elsewhere, the service, pioneered by Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong, allows independent brands and fashion designers to recommend each other’s products.

Shoppers browsing in one designer’s store can scan the QR code on an item and gain access to the Shop Elsewhere mobile site with recommendations for other designers’ products that have been preselected to match.

To purchase a recommended product, customers are directed to the designer’s store via Google Maps. The platform assists shoppers in putting together complete outfits – from clothes and shoes to handbags and accessories. It is free to use and can be accessed via any mobile application with a QR reader.

“Small fashion retailers are scattered around the city, but they actually end up working alongside each other,” said Paul Ho, creative director of Geometry Global, a WPP-activation agency which helped create the idea.

“There are a lot of collaborations between the designers as they need each other’s recommendation to drive sales. The retail community network is all there, just waiting for a platform to unify.”

The initial concept derives from the automatic recommendation service on e-commerce websites such as Amazon, eBay and Taobao, which is based on purchase history. “We try to build on top of this model to get designers to give professional suggestions to their customers.”

If executed correctly, the platform is a replacement of investing a massive chunk of money on advertising, he said.

Initial hopes are high, but there have been concerns raised over the user base scale by digital savvies such as Charlie Bodycote, managing director at Bolei Digital and PureComm.

“With only a small number of people exposed to the service, and only a fraction of those downloading a QR-scanning application and scanning the QR code, there will be a small user base,” Bodycote said.

Ho admitted the platform was still in its initial stage, which is, at this point, targeting a small circle of people who understand fashion.

“I agree it’s a bit hard to get instant results, but the platform is sanguine in the long run. It’s just a matter of time and opportunity to fine-tune the platform.”

The team had been meaning to keep the channel an in-store activation, however, in order to size up the model, getting online is almost impossible to avoid.

Much has been discussed about the effectiveness of QR codes, and if they can actually drive sales, especially after Pricerite and AEON’s adaptations of QR code-driven virtual grocery store billboards in recent years, but Ho stays upbeat.

“There are many incorrect ways of using QR codes. It is, however, a very useful tool when it is used correctly. It depends on which media it is put in.”

QR codes on billboards may be generic, he argued, but on garments are personal enough to speak directly to customers one-to-one. The interaction increases the intimacy and cements trust between fashion designers and customers, and referral business starts from there, he said.

“The mechanism is all set and now it becomes the question of where it should be put.”

Nine months after the launch, the retail model has seen 10 local designers sign on and four lining up. Sizeable reach still looks a very long way off, but it stands a good chance to succeed if designers rally the troops in hard times to serve for the same purpose.