Urban outfitters is a fashion lifestyle retailer known for dealing trendy men’s and women’s apparel as well as homeware and electrical gifts. Urban outfitters focuses on lifestyle and culture, they continue to update premium basics as well as launching on-trend fashion pieces, exclusive collaborations and limited addition offerings.

Vegabond X UO collaboration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kubsYsb_VwY

Target audience/ market segmentation

Urban outfitters targets young adults aged 18-30 who are self-expressive and sophisticated, it does this through its website which offers a unique merchandise mix and its stores which reside a charming shopping environment. The company and its brand reaches out to a range of people in that it caters for all types of characters with its variety of offerings.

Given today’s digital era and multiple platforms it is essential for a company such as urban outfitters to strategically market itself. Using all its platforms such as the website, app and social media to work in sync and in a way that is accessible and fluid for the consumer. Digital marketing very much depends on the nature of the business, where it is now, and where you want it to go in the future (Ryan, 2017)

Given the audience the company is targeting I have created relevant customer personas. A Persona is the aspect of someone’s character that is presented to or perceived by others (Oxford Dictionaries | English, 2018).

 

Abdi Popoola

Background: Abdi is a Finance undergraduate student who works part time at a café. Demographics: He is male 20 year old who is currently single and living in south London. Characteristics: Abdi is a fashionable individual who keeps up to date with current trends. Day to day Abdi likes to make an impression with his outfits, creating unique looks and making bold statements.

 

 

Harvey Jefferson

Background: Harvey is a full time construction worker working for the same firm for 5 years. Demographics: Harvey is a 35 year old male with an income of 27k , he is living in Kent with his long term partner and two kids.Characteristics: he is a relaxed individual and likes his comforts, when not on the job Harvey like to eat out where he dresses smart casual.

 

 

Competitors:

In terms of comparable competitors of urban outfitters, River Island and Topman would be two contenders, all three companies offer similar products they all offer items of clothing and sell branded garments. However of the three Topman is the only company to not offer homeware. The three company websites also have some similar aspects such as the homepage layout, they all have a navigation bar at the top and key focus points such as offers and seasonal ware on the main page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Positives

• Minimalist design which is easy on the eye and helps to make the products stand out.
• Easy to navigate and the menus are very logical.
• When hovering over the menu more options are displayed, this allows the customer to quickly go to the correct subsection.

 

 

 

 

Negatives

• Menu text is very small
• Same viewing angles, Topman offers on and off model view

 

Customer Journey:

Below i have mapped journeys for both my personas, the journeys show points of interaction between consumer and the company (Forrester.com, 2018).

 

1. Abdi notices an Instagram post of a jacket
2. He is directed to UO’s website showing the jacket
3. The website displays similar items
4. He adds the item to his basket and checks out

 

 

1. Harvey received a promotional email
2. He’s directed to the UO’s new trends section
3. He views similar items
4. Adds to basket
5. Checkout

 

 

Abdi’s Journey viewpoint 

 

Links:

https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/en-gb/

http://www.topman.com/?geoip=home

https://www.riverisland.com/

(2018). Forrester : Customer Journey. [online] Available at: https://www.forrester.com/Customer-Journey# [Accessed 8 Dec. 2018].

Oxford Dictionaries | English. (2018). persona | Definition of persona in English by Oxford Dictionaries. [online] Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/persona [Accessed 8 Dec. 2018].

Ryan, D. (2017). Understanding digital marketing. London, United Kingdom: Kogan Page Limited.