inSparq a merchandising platform for retailers and brands has me really excited for the fashion industry. Lead by Veronika Sonsev, inSparq has a goal of increasing growth sales through conversion rates and customer referrals. It’s as if your brand has hundreds of thousands of ambassadors sharing what they purchased to the world. In creating the Fashion 360 Conference, we wanted to tap into every major part of the fashion industry. For Fashion Designers and other retailers, growing their customers was a key topic we wanted to discuss. With startups on the rise we sought after a company that answers the question of how does a designer build shopping solutions that improve product discovery. In steps Veronika a 12-year Internet Executive for AOL and Jumptap. We sat down with Veronika to delve into inSparq and how Fashion 360 attendees will benefit from what she has created.

 

District Fete: We have heard of e-commerce before, but you raise the bar to make e-commerce into social commerce. Can you explain the difference? inSparq: Social Commerce is broadly the intersection of social networking and ecommerce. Social Commerce ranges from social shopping sites like Wanelo to ecommerce on social networks (which is facilitated by companies like Chirpify and 8th Bridge) to social functionality on ecommerce sites (which is where inSparq plays).  inSparq is a Social Merchandising Platform. We want to make it as easy as possible for retailers to connect customers with products they love. We do this by social-media enabling ecommerce sites and feeding back the data in the form of recommendations that show what’s trending on the site in real-time. Retailers benefit from an increase in sales driven by improved conversion rates and higher engagement rates.  District Fete: How important is it for fashion brands selling online to be more social? inSparq: Very important. Social is critical for a few reasons:  1) It plays highly in top-of-the funnel awareness. Brands that engage with their customers garner higher loyalty, engagement and ultimately awareness.  2) Social is also a cost effective way to drive referrals. Customers trust what their friends recommend and social provides efficient tools for customers to make recommendations.  3) Social helps drives improved conversions. Leveraging social on your site can help your customers discover products they love, but didn’t know they wanted. Using social for recommendations is really powerful and drives immediate ROI. District Fete: Should fashion brands be afraid of selling online because they feel its too time consuming and difficult. inSparq: Not at all. The key is to know your customer, have a voice and use the right tools to support your efforts. If done correctly, social will pay dividends for your brand. District Fete: What topic do you want to highlight while at the Fashion 360 Conference that will benefit the attendees? inSparq: I want to talk about strategies for levering social technologies on the ecommerce site. There are a number of interesting solutions on the market (including inSparq) and I think this segment of the market is just starting to take off. I’m looking forward to the conference in September!  To receive a demo of how inSparq works click here.

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