Saks Fifth Avenue Focuses on Personalization With New Saks.com

Need to Know

• Saks partnered with Salesforce Commerce Cloud for the new website, which emphasizes personalization, better search capacities, and COVID-tailored shopping options.
• Personalization is key to the new Saks homepage: for users identified as menswear shoppers, for instance, saks.com will open to a new dedicated menswear page.
• Shoppers can now select from Buy Online, Pick Up in Store (BOPIS), or Same Day Delivery options.

Analysis

Luxury clothing retailer Saks Fifth Avenue has unveiled its new e-commerce commerce experience at saks.com, with personalization, editorialized content and imagery, and pandemic-tailored shopping options at the forefront of the new design.

Saks teamed up with Salesforce Commerce Cloud for the website relaunch, which is the retailer’s first major e-commerce overhaul in five years. This partnership is key to the new website: with Salesforce, Saks can capture more data on users, leading to increased on-site personalization. For instance, a user who had been identified as a menswear shopper on a previous visit to the website will be sent directly to Saks’ all-new menswear-only homepage.

“As luxury consumer shopping habits evolve, Saks is meeting our customers where and how they want to shop and experience the best in fashion and beauty,” Emily Essner, CMO at Saks, said of the website relaunch. “With that, we are making strategic investments across all channels—including our online experience—to solidify our position as the go-to luxury shopping destination.

“In reimagining our site, which has been underway for some time, we listened to our customers and developed an online experience that sets the standard in luxury e-commerce. With the new saks.com, we are able to deliver a seamless, personalized experience while offering our fresh, fashion-forward perspective. We look forward to welcoming customers to our revamped digital flagship.”

Other new features on the website include a more prominent “new arrivals” section, which is updated weekly, and an expanded “edit” section that includes shoppable, curated editorial content. This content includes articles, Q&As, and gift guides, and is refreshed weekly. Kristin Maa, senior vice president, digital, said in an interview with Women’s Wear Daily that, previously, “the edit was a curation of trends but we couldn’t really do the storytelling.”

The new saks.com will also feature a “designer spotlight” showcasing new and up-and-coming designers and brands (as well as pillar brands for the retailer). The website’s “wish list” function, meanwhile, will show users much more information about their wishlisted items, including product availability, whether inventory is limited, and if there are sales or promotions available. Shoppers will be notified whether there are still items on their wishlist when they check out.

Finally, and crucially, the new website is built to ensure there are fewer clicks on “the path to purchase,” Maa said. There are also several “complete the look” product recommendations on each product page, so shoppers can build (and buy) a complete outfit, as curated by Saks. Shoppers will have the option to see whether options are available for in-store pickup or same-day delivery, as Saks is making an effort to cater to shoppers who may want to avoid bricks-and-mortar stores due to COVID-19.

Saks joins a number of businesses that have revamped or fine-tuned their websites and apps in recent months, as the ongoing pandemic has turned shoppers towards e-commerce rather than in-store shopping. These include social-media companies such as Facebook, which has diversified its in-app shopping capabilities across its various platforms, including WhatsApp and Instagram; hotel chains such as Wyndham, which relaunched its app in September, now allowing for contactless payments and reservations; and gas stations such as 7-11, which has integrated in-app contactless payment into its loyalty system.