Lengow Day 2018 saw around 600 of the largest European online retailers gather at the Pavillon Gabriel in Paris this Thursday with a focus on ‘Go Beyond’, a theme which ran throughout the day. As well as the retailers who attended in Paris, Lengow Day was broadcast live via CIFNews to China.
Lengow Founder and CEO Mickael Froger (pictured above) opened the Lengow Day 2018 to talk about Lengow, but this was no sales pitch and set the tone for the day. Lengow is now nine year’s old and their mission is to help people via ecommerce and was invented for it’s customers and that’s still the key focus today. Mickael still listens to customers which is where he says Lengow’s best ideas come from and somewhat unusually for a CEO, most days Mickael still does customer support so he knows exactly what’s going on in the business.
They want it now
Talking about the Lengow customer was no accident as that theme continued throughout the day with Guido Ghedin from CIFNews talking about Chinese consumers and how when shopping they ‘Want it now’, faster than ever. Shopping is changing and whilst there are still routine purchases that are made, often the product is an impulse buy from immediate inspiration. At some events such as Single’s Day, Fashion collections are launched on the catwalk and rather than being the next season’s clothes are available to buy immediately then and there via mobile. Guido also talked about the change in ecommerce from the conversation to conversion on social media. For years, social was touted as the next big ecommmerce frontier and everyone was talking about it but no one was doing it. Now, Facebook and Instagram are building in ecommerce that works.
Retailers succeeding on Social
A retailer panel with Tayyab Akhlaq – Public Desire, Andy Liang – GLOBALEGROW E-COMMERCE, Alicia Brocal – HAWKERS and Nicolas Le Herissier – RENAULT, agreed with Guido. Alicia revealed they focus anything up to 80% of their marketing spend on Facebook and Instagram saying that all the key early adoptors of fashion are to be found there. Marketing on Instagram with over 1.2 million followers, Tayyab no longer sells on marketplaces but uses social as the key driver for ecommerce. Tayyab tells how it’s not enough just to post images of products however and Andy agrees saying it’s about finding Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) who will post your products to their followers. Tayyab added that they have taken, perhaps risky, strategies such as putting a plastic spider in with each pair of shoes sold at Halloween. A scare for customers perhaps, but the number of customers who would then share on Instagram and other social platforms is amazing.
The change in retail isn’t something limited to new innovative startups however. Renault, part of the largest car manufacturing group in the world, sold the entire 1st year production of the new Alpine on mobile without a single customer ever having seen the car. It’s all about engagement and listening and learning where you customers are and what they want from you.
If you missed Lengow Day 2018 make sure you book for 2019 when the date is announced. Many ecommerce conferences focus on what’s happening in ecommerce today, but Lengow look to what’s happening tomorrow. 2019 will also be Lengow’s 10th anniversary year and they have already promised that Lengow Day 2019 will not only be a superb learning experience but also a massive celebration of their 10th birthday.
