In recent years we have seen numerous examples of digitally native vertical brands proliferate on the Internet: digital native brands that are born on the Internet, live and grow on the Internet, with a lower risk business model, easier to launch and proposals that engage with digital consumers.
These are brands such as Allbirds (shoes), Casper (mattresses), Away (suitcases), Glossier (cosmetics) or Claire (paintings). A typology that also has a presence in Spain through Hawkers (sunglasses), Colvin (flowers), Marmot (mattresses) or Pompeii (shoes), among many others. Some of them are ephemeral or still far from being profitable, but, on the whole, they are becoming more numerous and more present in the markets.
A generation of emerging brands that do not understand sectors, although they are perhaps more present in the field of fashion and accessories. Disruptive, different, simplified companies with a distinguishing feature: they are born in digital, with Instagram as their medium par excellence (although not only). But their digital nature makes them unique in other ways: they are firmly committed to user experience, offer a simplified range of products, present themselves as a careful mix of style and convenience and, generally, have efficient customer service and logistics services associated with them. Some of them, over time, also move into the physical world, opening shops -permanent or ephemeral- to complete the brand experience.
Keys to communication in the 21st century
Design, convenience, simplicity, ease of use... digital native brands owe their success to the simplicity of their proposition, which connects well with consumers who are particularly practical, used to shopping online, who are looking for reasonable prices, good style and who are committed to the freshness of exclusive and innovative brands.
Authenticity, proximity, credibility and extraordinary customer service complete the characteristics of this type of brand. Studying how they work is full of lessons; their itinerary offers a real master class on how to do communication and marketing in the 21st century.
Among the main lessons are: strategic positioning, its limited offer, excellent service, the ability to make the purchase easy and the relationship, its authenticity, which reaches a point of informality (in style), compatible with a highly professionalised service. A series of characteristics that users value and reward.
In fact, with them, the consumer perceives little sense of risk: they generally have adjusted prices for quality products and an efficient and free returns service, key to the success of ecommerce platforms. The coming months are likely to bring new names to augment the DNVB category, with brands set to conquer new audiences and simplify the complicated world of digital retailing, with experiences and practices full of learnings to communicate successfully in today's markets.
Juan de los Ángeles
Founder of C4E Consulting Services and professor at the School of Communication of the University of Navarra.