NEW YORK – Just in time for the holidays, Totsy.com has joined an increasingly crowded field of online sites that offer invitation-only limited sales.
But Totsy aims to set itself apart from its rivals like gilt.com, hautelook.com and ruelala.com because it specifically targets expecting moms and families with young children with items like diaper bags, maternity clothes and strollers.
The site, which already had 15 sales events for different labels since it launched in mid-October, is expected to have more than 200 brands within the next six months. The labels are mostly European with limited distribution.
Among some of its recent hot-selling items were Zigo strollers and My Vintage Baby diaper bags.
Members are alerted to these flash sale events of individual designers 48 hours in advance. Each brand’s exclusive sale lasts for a total of 72 hours. Discounts range anywhere from 40 percent to 70 percent.
Guillaume Gauthereau, CEO of Totsy, which also launched in Canada, projects that sales in its second year will reach $100 million. He noted that the private sales model started in Europe about six years ago, but he believes that the opportunities in the U.S. are “even greater” and finds the demographic of families with young children to be “an ideal audience.”
Meanwhile, Totsy.com’s competitors are revving up for the holidays.
Gilt.com, which focuses on top designer names for men, women and children, was expected over the weekend to unveil a site called GiltMan.com, which will offer a one-stop shopping portal for men with items including sporting equipment and accessories.
New labels will include Alexander McQueen, Ducati Watches and Strida. HauteLook.com, which sells trendy brands for men, women and children, is unveiling a “five weeks of gifting” program, starting Nov. 2, when it will highlight discounts on watches.
Other coming sales spotlight beauty products, home furnishings, children’s items and fine jewelry.
Procrastinators or early birds?
Will stores see more early-bird holiday shoppers than last year?
According to a recent holiday survey conducted by consulting firm Accenture, 52 percent of consumers are likely to shop on the day after Thanksgiving this year compared with 42 percent last year. The survey, which polled more than 500 people, also found that 69 percent of consumers expect to do the bulk of their holiday shopping by Dec. 7, compared with 60 percent last year.
Janet Hoffman, Accenture’s managing partner of the global retail practice, reasons that stores may be doing a good job in pulling shoppers in earlier because of the aggressive discounts planned during the entire month of November. But she also said that shoppers may be worried that they won’t find what they want if they procastinate because stores have cut back on merchandise offerings.
“There is this trepidation about inventory,” Hoffman added.
But merchants are going to have to keep plying shoppers with discounts. The survey found that for two-thirds of consumers polled, discounts are very important in their purchasing decision. And most consumers are not moved to buy without a discount of 20 percent or more.
New Mattel site lets shoppers chat online
Barbie and Hot Wheels maker Mattel Inc. has revamped its e-commerce site to include and onsite feature allowing families to chat online together.
At new site MattelShop.com, the company offers its ShopTogether feature, created by DecisionStep, that allows browsers to chat in real time on the site about the toys they are viewing.
At the site, browsers can also roll over videos to get a description and price of toys shown, and shop by age, gender or play preference. The site also offers some deals like free shipping on Hot Wheels Battle Force and Disney Princess toys when shoppers spend $50 or more.
The revamped site comes ahead of the crucial holiday season. Rival Hasbro Inc. allows customers to shop its full catalog at Hasbro.com/shop.
