Why a Shark Tank judge thinks Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS is a world-class e-commerce business

Opinion

4 minutes ago

Okay, okay: I’m giving Kim Kardashian her dues. SKIMS is one of the best e-commerce brands in the world.

I see. You’re probably already rolling your eyes at the premise of this article. As a marketer, it’s easy to dismiss celebrity success. Of course Kim Kardashian can sell. He has 364 million followers on Instagram, and the SKIMS brand page itself boasts over 5.8 million followers.

The amount of eyeballs SKIMS attracts will make any digital marketer cry 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 this?

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It’s easy to sit around complaining about celebrity culture and the selfie apocalypse until the cows come home. The truth is, however, that the only way to improve your own e-commerce marketing efforts is to examine why and how some of the world’s largest retailers operate: even if that retailer is Kim Kardashian.

Creating a winning e-commerce marketing strategy takes blood, sweat and tears. You must dedicate yourself to mastering the tools, strategies and tricks that separate the winners from the losers. Because ideas are easy, but execution is the most important.

Back to SKIMS: I am a regular customer and regularly buy their products for my wife. But that’s all – for shapewear? Those big beige things your grandma wore under her Christmas dress? Yeah, and Kim made it fun. She saw a gap in the market and filled it.

The key lesson is to innovate or evaporate. SKIMS didn’t just follow the crowd – it blazed its 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 praising SKIMS just because of the product itself. You can closely examine the SKIMS e-commerce website to discover exactly how the reality star turned her shapewear brand into a billion-dollar business.

From the moment you land on the home page, you’re greeted by a sleek interface that screams sophistication. As someone who appreciates smooth navigation and captivating graphics, I can’t help but praise SKIMS for its attention to detail.

When you look at actual products, Kim has learned how to turn her product pages into conversion machines. First, customers are hooked on sizzling copy, and then she hits them with volume breaks, order increases, cross-selling, and pre-purchase upselling – all to increase AOV (average order value).

SKIMS follows a cross-selling strategy. It’s the art of tempting customers to add more to their carts, with each product page strategically suggesting complementary products. The brand tempts customers with cross-sells such as strapless bras, thongs and shaping bodysuits, all aimed at increasing AOV.

Let’s not forget about the transaction process. By strategically positioning recommended products, SKIMS encourages customers to spend more, making each transaction as profitable as possible. It’s a masterclass in performance and comfort that pays off big time.

So if your e-commerce strategy is stuck in a rut, don’t waste time whining and complaining. Instead, take a page from Kim K’s playbook and channel that energy into becoming better, stronger, and more relentless than ever before.