California Apparel News

About 30,000 retailers shop for fashion on the online trade show ShopTheFloor, which is owned by UBM, the parent company of MAGIC.

The forum for online trade shows is increasingly becoming more complex, and more trade shows are producing digital extensions of their events. Vince Tsai, senior vice president and general manager for ShopTheFloor, recently unveiled some updates for the digital trade show.

“This launch includes a redesign of the shopping and order-taking process as well as a new mobile-friendly responsive design to accommodate our ‘on-the-go’ retail buyers,” he said.

For buyers, the revamp offers a more user-friendly ordering process. Buyers have more options to order in multiple categories, sizes and colors. The site also provides trend forecasts and tips into what retailers are buying.

For brands, more tools are provided to manage online showrooms and build brands’ profiles. The site is more user friendly for mobile users. Earlier this year, ShopTheFloor unveiled a soft launch for ShopTheFloor Premium. The premium site’s new features include SalesMatch, a matchmaking service that aims to connect store brands and prospective customers. Another new feature, Lead Insights, gives brands intelligence on which buyers are shopping its products.

Later this year, ShopTheFloor will offer a feature to process credit cards, so transactions can be done on the site, Tsai said. The service had not been offered before. Many of the site’s vendors told the show that they process orders through their brands’ websites.

However, an important part of being on the site is being able to have a presence. “More of these brands are saying that you can find me at the trade show. You also can find me on this platform. For any brand trying to sell product, it’s important to be on multiple channels,” Tsai said.

OffPrice Show also recently introduced OffPrice365, an online extension of its biannual show in Las Vegas, said Stephen Krogulski, the show’s chief executive officer.

“Not everybody will go to Vegas. We are giving people an opportunity to go to the show,” he said of the digital forum.

On this site, preapproved exhibitors post images of products on an online storefront. Buyers can shop the exhibitors’ profiles and negotiate deals. They can make transactions in another forum.

Offprice365 is being pitched as a complement to the physical show, said Melissa Miller, Offprice’s marketing manager. “It allows buyers to learn more about the vendors. Our show can be intimidating. It’s massive. Offprice365 can be a planning tool for when you are onsite in Vegas. You can use it to negotiate beforehand,” she said.