Homewares and apparel online
Online sample sales clubs are now a trending way to attract immediate sales and are also fast growing across UK. The origin of these clubs can be tracked to the US. In fact, the biggest online sample sales club, Gilt serves the US. However, no matter where they are based, they will always be a result yielding marketing technique. These online clubs are also said to be a technique which blasts of time-dated offers to targeted prospects via email. Online sample sales clubs are now a synonym to online fashion apparel, online secret sales, online flash sales or online private sales.
These upmarket online fashion clubs are exclusively available to members of the portal. Though membership is usually Homewares and apparel online free, the option to become a member is available for a limited time only. Once the membership gates are closed, one has to find an existing member to vote in to the private club. The most popular online sales clubs in the UK are Secret Sales, Brand Alley and Private Outlet. At the moment, all these exclusive online clubs still accept new members without an invitation. This makes the UK sample sales market more open to new customers compared to the US one, where most of the online sample sales clubs require an exclusive invitation.
Online sample sales clubs are the newest and most popular trend in the UK because they bring in high degree of specialization and expertise on consumer demand and brand awareness. They have a dedicated team of stylists and designers who have tie-ups with designer brands and fashion houses to get the most desirable products. This brings added value to the UK customers who did not have such an online personalised service before the introduction of online sample sales clubs. However, a problem that could arise from this new business model is that these new private clubs are totally online based, so the products origin or its authenticity cannot be traced by the client.
Moreover, customers could feel that they are paying a higher price for the products when considering the extra charge for delivery. For the most important online sample sales clubs in the UK, the delivery charge starts at £4.50 and can go up to £7 for one item. This means the UK customers are not as privileged as the US ones, where the biggest online secret sales club, Gilt charges a $12 flat rate for delivery. Furthermore, the time taken for the dispatch the products may vary but it is usually long and return policies are very strict. UK based Private Outlet gives you only 3 days to send back unwanted products, while Brand Alley has a generous 16 days return policy. Most of the other British online sample sales clubs allow between 5 and 7 days for returns.
The big advantage of online sample sales clubs is that they have the best designer brands at a discount ranging from 30% to 80% off the retail price suggested by the manufacturer. Customers cannot find anywhere else in the UK such huge discounts on designer brands. This is probably one of the reasons why these online clubs have become so popular in the UK. The products sold at these secret sales include fashion & accessories, homeware & travel, sports & beauty, electronics & technology, jewellery & watches and children's wear.
On becoming a member of a British online sample sales club, one receives e-mails with personal invitations to the sale, and the option of sponsoring friends to earn gift certificates is also available. You will get £5 vouchers for every friend you bring on two of UK's most important online sample sales clubs: Private Outlet and Secret Sales. Brand Alley gives you a £10 voucher for every new customer you bring in the club. The secret sales featured in these clubs last for a limited time, usually between 12 hours and 4 days. They are basically time dated offers that arrive unexpectedly and require an immediate response. This raises curiosity in the shoppers mind as to what brands and what new product lines will be featured. Such secret sales are compelling in nature because of the huge amount of discount given and select premium brands showcased.