Photo: Craig McDean
E-retail sales in North America, which boasts the largest online shopping market, were $126 billion in 2013. This is double that of 2008 and is projected to increase to $250 billion in 2018. The growth is insane.
Western Europe will see sales of $184 billion in 2018, with the Asia and Oceania region (mainly China) close behind with $170 billion.
So, why the statistics?Well, I’m an online-shopping nut. Maybe, it’s the fact that I worked in a clothing store during my early college years and the experience turned me off of shopping, or maybe it goes all the way back to my childhood when my mom dragged me (literally) around with her when she went shopping (a daily activity). Whatever it was, I prefer the comforts of my bed and the efficiency of my phone, to physical shopping.
A quick detour: Recently, on Shark Tank, I was just as flabbergasted as users on social media who voiced their disbelief that the sharks didn’t see the genius of “Validated,” a free app that allows users to earn credits at restaurants and shops, which they can use to pay for ride-share, bike-share, car-share, parking, and mass transit. So far, Biketown, Lyft, Uber, and PayByPhone are all services that are on board.
The creators of “Validated” are just tapping into the unlimited potential of e-commerce.
This brings me to the real reason behind the statistics.
Style.com.
Style.com, which currently only ships to the UK and Europe, is making it easy (so easy) to shop the pages of magazines. Launched in September 2016 by Condé Nast, it’s a luxury e-commerce website that combines e-commerce and exclusive content from select Condé Nast’s magazines, most recently Vogue! Yes, you can now buy all the pieces model, Lexi Boling, wears in her shoot with Craig Mcdean in May's issue. Apart from shopping, the site offers tips from Vogue's fashion editor, Kate Phelan, and BTS footage from the shoot.
Somehow it works, and gives a whole new meaning to the see-now-buy-now model.
