Why this Shark Tank judge thinks Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS is a world class e-commerce business
Shark Tank judge and CEO Sabri Suby has given Kim Kardashian her dues by labelling SKIMS as one of the best e-commerce brands he’s ever seen. Here, he explains how she did it and what marketers can learn from it.
Okay, okay: I’m giving Kim Kardashian her dues. SKIMS is one of the best e-commerce brands on the planet.
I get it. You’re probably already rolling your eyes at the premise of this article. As a marketer, it’s easy to brush off celebrities’ success. Of course, Kim Kardashian can sell. She has 364 million followers on Instagram, and the SKIMS brand page alone boasts over 5.8 million followers.
The amount of eyeballs that SKIMS attracts would make any digital marketer weep with joy. We’re talking about a level of visibility that most brands can only dream of. From viral TikToks to Instagram stories, SKIMS is everywhere – and for good reason.
But the question is: how? Why? And what can we learn from it?
It’s easy to sit there and moan about celebrity culture and the selfie apocalypse until the cows come home. But the reality is, the only way to improve your own e-commerce marketing efforts is to dig into the why and the how of some of the world’s biggest retailers: even if that retailer is Kim Kardashian.
Crafting a winning e-commerce marketing strategy takes blood, sweat, and tears. You’ve got to dedicate yourself to mastering the tools, strategies, and tricks that separate the winners from the losers. Because ideas are easy, but execution is everything.
Back to SKIMS: I’m a repeat customer, regularly purchasing their products for my wife. But all of this – for shapewear? Those big beige things your granny used to wear under her Christmas frock? Yes, and Kim made it cool. She saw a gap in the market and she filled it.
The key lesson here is to innovate or evaporate. SKIMS didn’t just follow the crowd – they blazed their own trail, redefining the shapewear industry in the process. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Innovate, iterate, and never stop pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
But I’m not just singing SKIMS’ praises because of the product itself. The SKIMS e-commerce site can be carefully analysed to uncover exactly how the reality TV star turned her shapewear brand into a billion dollar business.
From the moment you land on the homepage, you’re greeted with a sleek interface that screams sophistication. As someone who values seamless navigation and captivating visuals, I can’t help but applaud SKIMS for the attention to detail.
When you’re looking at the actual products, Kim has learned how to turn her product pages into conversion machines. First customers are hooked with sizzling copy, and then she hits them with quantity breaks, order bumps, cross-sells, and pre-purchase upsells – anything to get that AOV (average order value) soaring.
SKIMS nails the cross-selling strategy. This is the art of tempting customers to add more to their carts, with each product page strategically suggesting complementary items. The brand tempts customers with cross-sells like strapless bras, thongs, and sculpting bodysuits, all aimed at increasing that AOV.
And let’s not forget about the checkout process. By strategically positioning recommended products, SKIMS is nudging customers towards higher spending, making every transaction as profitable as possible. It’s a masterclass in efficiency and convenience, and it’s paying off big time.
So, if your e-commerce strategy is stuck in a rut, don’t waste time whining or complaining. Instead, take a page out of Kim K’s playbook and channel that energy into becoming better, stronger, and more relentless than ever before.
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