Live from ETail: Otto High on Rich Media

Quick, what’s the least effective selling channel in terms of presentation?

Hint: It’s not catalogs or retail.

No, it’s online, where products are lined up the same way on almost every Web site.

“I’m not convinced that’s how people shop online,” said Chris Poad, head of e-commerce for the Otto Group. “We’ve created this process because it is, frankly, convenient.”

To deal with that, Otto studied “high-street” retail brands like Top Shop and Selfridges.

“They create pace,” Poad said. “They create a sense of theater and a sense of design.” Even their catalogs resemble magazines, with their creative layouts, he added.

And how can a company achieve that online? Through rich media.

For example, Freeman’s, an Otto brand with “the world’s worst home page,” is now using online videos to show how clothes fit, Poad said.

Consumers can choose from one of three Catwalk Collections area started animation movement from a link on the home page right through the ordering page. It starts with models on the runway.

This must have been pretty sophisticated, considering that Otto can afford A-list models, right?

No.

“We took the attitude of a small company,” Poad said. “We hired cheap models and built the set ourselves.”

But it has worked. Videos typically produce a 30% conversion rate. And the average returns have fallen from 50% to anywhere from 40% to 45%.

Freeman’s also introduced a flash carousel.

“Once again, conversion went to 30% in the first stage,” Poad said.

Then there’s Oli, a new Otto brand. It offers a feature called the Look Book, which enables the viewer to drag and combine individual clothing items to create an outfit.

Poad demonstrated it by putting together a mismatched ensemble.

He noted that it is a “huge investment in content” to include 25,000 SKUs.

Is it working? Poad said that “40% of the sessions use Look Book, but connecting it to sales is quite tricky.”

Eventually, consumers will be able to share their outfits, he added.

The biggest requirement when using rich media? Maintainability.

“You have to make sure it is frequently refreshed,” Poad said. “The products sell out in two seconds. It’s important to have dynamic stock control.”

But he urged marketers not to lose sight of the sales process.

Poad pointed to one Otto brand that features a fashion shoot on its Web site. The consumer can turn off the lights and play around with it in other ways.

“Only about five people have used it,” Poad joked. “That’s a case of rich media being developed for its own sake, in my opinion.

He concluded: “Maximum benefit will come to those who can align two things: rich, intuitive presentations with the discipline of automated, rules-based merchandising.”

Based in Germany, Otto has total revenue of $15 billion, and owns 123 companies in 21 countries, including Crate & Barrel in the U.S. Its UK brands produce combined annual revenue of $1.4 billion, 30% through the online channel.