Roots Canada is getting into social commerce with the launch of a shoppable Instagram account.
The platform, which goes live on July 14, will act as a “virtual showroom” for the fashion brand’s leather goods, which include handbags, jackets and backpacks. The page features images of items launching in the coming months, and allows customers to buy products before they hit stores.
“We feel that Instagram is the best way to connect with our customers in a fast and relevant way, leading with images,” said James Connell, VP of ecommerce and marketing, Roots Canada.
It also lets customers in on product previews, which are typically reserved for media. “When we’ve done press reviews in the past, it’s been a very targeted market, and when people post pictures from those events, our customers are the ones who got most excited about it,” said Connell. “So, we’re sort of skipping a step to a certain degree at this point and going directly to them, in addition to doing [press previews].”
At launch, customers can buy items that are coming out in August, and preview the September and October collection (which will be available for purchase 15 to 20 days before they hit stores). The Instagram page bio links to a feed, developed by virtual commerce company Candid, which is shoppable via Roots’ ecommerce site. The product pages are only visible to shoppers who went through the Instagram/Candid page.
Some products have a “wait list” option, and customers are notified when the items become available.
The showroom will serve as a research tool of sorts, allowing Roots to get a read on what leather goods are going to be popular before they’re made. “The fact that we have our factory here in Toronto allows us to be really responsive, so if we see a certain item is trending and we’ve only produced a sample, we can actually change our buys online and in-store nationally,” said Connell.
While the plan for now is to run the site until October, Connell said the hope was to run it on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.
“Integrating social into the buy path and into a more directional product promotion and product sale is where we feel social is going,” said Connell.
