cultureblog

This past summer, Durrani launched SkullsAndWings (S.A.W.), our very own online retail division. Now that the site has been live for six months, we’ve seen it grow and take on a life of its own. But with steadfast monitoring, we’ve been able to adjust a variety of factors to make the shopping experience positive for our customers in a fast-paced, ever-changing retail market.

You’ve heard it many times: "If you build it, they will come." We know that isn’t enough on the Internet. A website, particularly an e-commerce site, must constantly be monitored after its launch to ensure it’s goals are being met. We like to compare it to a rocket launch. When a spacecraft leaves Earth, the NASA team on the ground doesn’t just pack up and go home. Throughout the journey, they carefully monitor the astronauts, mechanics and external conditions among many other factors to ensure the success of the mission. It’s really no different than launching a website! Well, maybe just a little different.

So with the launch of S.A.W. and subsequent findings, we’ve reaffirmed the importance of constantly keeping track of activity. Here are some our observations:

• Refining the checkout process to ease the customer’s shopping experience is absolutely necessary, and comes with time after learning what works and what doesn’t.
• Measuring analytics often is another important tool— Where is traffic coming from? How long are people staying on a page? Why may they leaving immediately? These are all questions that have arisen from following analytics, and have allowed us to adjust accordingly.
• Offering new promotions and changing promotional banners to reflect sales or new arrivals is key to keeping content fresh for visitors. Fresh content = repeat buyers.
• Monitoring inventory, even inventory that isn’t stored in-house, can be easy by maintaining constant communication with vendors. Staying up-to-date on inventory has avoided hassles.
• We’ve gained momentum by learning what customers want. If a particular product is hot, we’ve featured it on the homepage, offered promotions and begun selling similar products.

Durrani is very pleased with S.A.W.’s success, which we attribute to giving it time to find its way but leading it there in the right direction.

With the launch of the new Durrani online retail division, S.A.W., we have had to take all of the advice we’ve given clients through the years about e-commerce and put it into practice in a very real way.  We always tell clients to stay in touch with their customer and their industry, and stay ahead of the curve when it comes to new trends, products, and techniques.  Since tradeshows are often a great way to do this, this weekend meant a trip to the Action Sports Retailer (ASR) show in downtown San Diego for the Durrani / S.A.W. team. 

In the Action Sports apparel industry, ASR is THE place to be, as it showcases products from over 700 brands in the action sports fashion and streetwear industry and promises to "ensure the growth of your customer base and keep your current customer satisfied."  It’s a place to check out new product lines, get a feel for the way the industry is trending, get some face-time in with the brands we already carry and forge relationships with those we’d like to carry.  Michaela McNamara, lead buyer for S.A.W., said,

"Meeting with others in the action sports retail community and networking are invaluable to our business.  The biannual ASR show is a great opportunity to see what products and trends will be a hit next season. It gives us a chance to forecast our purchases and determine the direction we’d like to take S.A.W." 

Some of the people and brands we were introduced to over the weekend include: Andre Sickinger with Filtrate Eyewear, an Australian sunglasses brand breaking into the US market; Ryan Farrelly, co-founder of Freeline, a company that invented and sells custom skates designed to give the feeling of skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing all in one; Malan Lai, owner of Laiph (pronounced Life), a Hawaiian brand that is dedicated to surfing, the ocean, and the outdoors. Their music, art and surfing influences are translated into their t-shirt, boardshorts and hoodie designs; and Ryan Davis with Spacecraft, an eco-friendly brand that specializes in handmade beanies that are knitted by local Indonesians in their villages.  These are some of the newer brands we’d like to incorporate into S.A.W.’s product line in the near future.  Check out S.A.W. online at www.skullsandwings.com