Forever 21 turns to e-commerce after retail failures
Fast fashion brand Forever 21 has announced its e-commerce strategy targeting consumers in Canada, Asia Pacific and Latin America.
Global-e will work on an improved and localised e-commerce experience for international shoppers.
The embattled millennial-focused brand filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US in 2019 and shut 350 of its 815 global stores. It blames substantial real-estate cost, and lagging innovation and sustainability efforts for the troubles it faced.
It has now tapped e-commerce specialist Global-e to work on an improved and localised e-commerce experience for international shoppers.
According to Forever 21, implementing Global-e’s cross-border e-commerce solution will allow it to provide its customers in Canada, APAC and LATAM with an enhanced online shopping experience based on local market’s characteristics and shoppers’ preferences.
This includes supporting more than 95 currencies, over 150 local and alternative payment methods, tax and duties calculation with an option for real-time pre-payment at checkout, localised checkout in 21 languages, a wide-range of shipping methods and easy returns process.
Furthermore, with Global-e, Forever 21 can now tailor its offering per market according to its marketing strategy and business goals, including running market-specific promotions.
“E-commerce forms a large chunk of the profitable core of our operations and as part of our new global strategy, Forever 21 will leverage Global-e’s technology to offer international customers an outstanding online experience. To engage digitally-savvy consumers today, retailers need to invest in creating a unique online experience that speaks directly to the shopper,” said Alex Ok, president of Forever 21.
“With the continued increase in demand from international shoppers for our brand, we recognised that an advanced global online shopping experience is a fundamental part of our future growth. The seamless localised shopping experience our consumers around the world can now enjoy is a vital milestone in our mission to use the latest retail technology to bridge the online gap between the convenience of ecommerce and the local experience of in-store.”
As department stores like Forever 21 globally are closing brick-and-mortar stores in the face of the huge growth of e-commerce, some department stores in China are thriving with the help of technology.
The Drum previously looked at why this is happening and what a legacy department store like Robinsons is doing.