Asos to invest deeper in social content as half of orders now made on mobile
Asos has laid bare its ambitions to put more marketing investment behind content and social media channels, in a move that sees the e-commerce site rebrand its marketing team to Asos Creates,
An encouraging six months was fuelled by a content strategy that is starting to yield clear benefits for the retailer. The number of active customers Asos reaches with its content hit the 10.9 million mark at 29 February 2016, an increase of 17 per cent since the comparative period. Average basket value increased by 2 per cent.
The company upped marketing costs by 5.2 per cent of sales in the period as Asos continues to expand its digital marketing activities, particularly on mobile, in order to drive awareness and grow market share.
In February, Asos saw 50 per cent of orders placed on mobile – a first for the business – and the retailer has now racked up 17 million followers across its social channels. While the investment is unsurprising given Asos'’ core audience and their browsing and shopping habits, chief executive Nick Beighton told analysts this morning that it is this renewed focus that will “differentiate” the brand from its competitors.
“Our emphasis on customer engagement through a constant stream of fresh, stimulating content is an Asos differentiator that we are putting increasing resource behind…We are creating content at a greater scale than ever before in a more localised way than ever before.”
This includes a local version of the ASOS magazine to customers in France with a German version following soon.
Beighton also hailed Snapchat as an “increasingly important channel for our customers” alongside shoppable Instagram content and user generated images on the ASOS website. It is something of a turn-around for the brand which is enjoying a rosier period, having reported a 12 per cent rise in group revenue to £667m in the six months to 29 February, with UK retail sales up 25 per cent. That upturn follows a gloomy period marred by profit warnings and poor sales performance.
Asos also launched its first loyalty programme Asos-List in February to offer its UK customers points on purchases, which built in Asos vouchers as well as other rewards such as birthday discounts, free next day deliveries and exclusive competitions.