Nearly 1 in 5 Top Fashion Brands – Including DKNY, Reebok & Versace – Lack a Mobile-Optimized Site, According to New IAB Research Study

NEW YORK – With New York Fashion Week underway, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and its Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence are unveiling “Fashion on Phones,” an in-depth study that looks at the mobile readiness of the Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) official list of “Top 100 Fashion Brands” – revealing that 17 percent are without a mobile-optimized website. Leading apparel, technology and high-fashion brands that lack a mobile site include:

“Eighty-three percent of WWD’s list of top fashion brands have mobile-optimized websites – but 100 percent of them should have one. These brands may be driving the fashion trends of today, but many are missing a trend that could help them connect directly to style-loving consumers – mobile.”

In addition to auditing each of the labels on the WWD list for mobile-optimized sites, IAB looked at whether or not they offer key features mobile consumers are likely to seek:

The study’s structure also allowed for the creation of a “M-score,” an index that grades and ranks the list of top fashion brands on their overall mobile web presence. As a result, four labels garnered perfect scores:

Without either a mobile site or any mobile-friendly features, three were sent to the bottom of the rankings:

“A strong mobile presence should be the ‘must-have’ item on every fashion brand’s shopping list this season,” said Anna Bager, Vice President and General Manager, Mobile Center of Marketing Excellence, IAB. “Eighty-three percent of WWD’s list of top fashion brands have mobile-optimized websites – but 100 percent of them should have one. These brands may be driving the fashion trends of today, but many are missing a trend that could help them connect directly to style-loving consumers – mobile.”

Beyond the factors that were included in the “M-score” rankings, IAB examined the fashion houses on the list against other key mobile strategies as well:

“This research shows that a great number of fashion houses aren’t as mobile-savvy as they need to be in today’s digital world,” said Joe Laszlo, Senior Director, Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, IAB. “Not all of the brands in the study are focused on e-commerce, but those with a direct retail presence have the strongest imperative to offer great mobile experiences. Doing mobile right will help drive sales both on smartphones and in stores. And, even those without that retail arm can only benefit from a robust mobile presence in the marketplace.”

To download the IAB “Fashion on Phones” report, please visit www.iab.net/fashiononphones.

Methodology

IAB started with the Women’s Wear Daily top 100 brands as listed in their report from December 13, 2012. The WWD 100 is an authoritative list of the most well-known brands in the fashion world, based on a survey that WWD commissions. The resulting list included two ties, so comprised a total of 102 brands. The IAB excluded brands that had either been discontinued or become exclusively in-house store brands and lost a separate brand presence on the web. This reduced the sample by 8, leaving a final sample of 94. For those remaining brands, IAB examined their mobile web presence, looking for the presence or absence of several key features – factoring into the brand’s ultimate “M-score.” Those scores are a weighted index based on having:

In addition, IAB also searched both the Apple App Store and Google Play, to see whether each brand had branded applications available for download. Separately, use of responsive design was investigated as well.

For mobile web, two reviewers examined each brand. Where both reviewers found the same result, it was accepted. Where the two reviewers disagreed, a third person conducted a “tiebreaking” review. IAB reviewers used Android and iOS smartphones, and conducted their survey from July 14-31, 2014, with an additional review of mobile-optimized sites – the most important mobile-friendly criteria – conducted on September 4, 2014.

About the IAB

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 600 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling 86 percent of online advertising in the United States. The IAB empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. The organization educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City.