ASOS Marketing Mix: Seven Ps

ASOS: An Introduction

ASOS is among the leading online fashion retailers in the world catering to a global audience of twenty somethings. It sells a vast array of fashion labels including its inhouse labels and several more well-known and less known labels.

Founded in 2000, ASOS is a British brand with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. Its fully digital business model has experienced solid growth driven by heavy popularity among the twenty somethings globally.

The company sells a vast range of more than 850 fashion brands.

The ASOS online store sells around 90,000 products and offers a vast number of choices for its unique customer segment.

Instead of catering to all age groups, its focus is on the customers in the 20-25 age group.

Over the past three to four years, the company has experienced strong financial growth driven by growth in brand awareness and strengthening popularity worldwide.

The company generated £3.9 billion in net revenues during 2021 compared to £3.26 during the previous year.

Apart from technological innovation, its customer focus and excellent marketing are among the core reasons driving the growth of ASOS platform inside and outside the United Kingdom.

In this marketing mix of ASOS, we will discuss the Seven Ps including product, place, price, promotion, people, processes, and physical evidence.

ASOS Marketing Mix:

Product Mix:

The product mix of ASOS is highly diverse and focused at people in the age group of 20-25. The company focuses on the preferences of its twenty something target market in the UK and around the world.

It offers a vast range of more than 850 brands which include famous fashion labels apart from the inhouse labels of ASOS.

In 2021, the company added 118 brands to its existing range.

The inhouse labels offered by ASOS include ASOS DESIGN, ASOS EDITION, ASOS 4505, Collusion, Reclaimed Vintage, Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT.

It acquired Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and the activewear brand HIIT, £330m deal from Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Empire in 2021.

Through tis vast product mix, the company is trying to become the single fashion destination for twenty somethings inside the UK and in other parts of the world.

Place:

Founded in 2000, ASOS is headquartered in London, UK.

However, the company delivers its products to customers across the world.

It operates online which means ASOS does not use physical distribution channels like stores. Customers can purchase products online ad get them delivered to their homes.

The company operates across the globe in ten different languages and offers 19 different payment methods to shop from its platform.

In every key country, the customers can have next day or express delivery and in each major market, the company offers four days standard delivery.

The warehouse network of ASOS includes four fulfilment and five returns centers.

Its warehouses in Barnsley, UK and Berlin are fully automated.

It also has warehouses in Lichfield, UK and Atlanta, US which the company plans to fully automate by the end of the financial year 2023.

Apart from these, the company has 200,000 click and collect locations worldwide.

The warehouse and logistics network of the company enables it to provide next day delivery to 85% of its customers globally.

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Price:

ASOS sells more than 850 brands. It has more than 90,000 products listed on its website.

These products lie in various price ranges from premium to affordable.

The pricing of a fashion product mainly depends on the brand. For example, a luxury fashion brand will sell its products for very high prices targeting the higher end customer segment. On the other hand, there is also a nice range of competitively priced fashion products and products in the mid-price range on the fashion platform.

It means consumers with various kinds of needs like those looking for more affordable products or the ones that want to try high end fashion, all can find the products matching their needs on ASOS.

However, ASOS also offers its customers attractive discounts especially on its inhouse brands. It also offers free delivery and returns for customers worldwide. However, in various cases, customers can also opt for standard delivery or express delivery.

The company continues to improve its pricing strategy to attract more and more customers.

It offers its ASOS brand in more than 30 sizes but all sizes are offered at the same price.

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Promotion:

ASOS has established itself as a leading fashion destination for the twenty something population in the UK and rest of the world.

The company has gained excellent brand awareness and growth in popularity driven by its focus on innovation, customer experience, product quality and a huge collection of fashion products.

ASOS mainly uses digital marketing channels to reach its customers and a global audience. Its website and app are its main sales, marketing and distribution channels. However, it also uses some traditional channels to grow brand awareness and sales especially in its local market. For example, it has run several outdoor advertising campaigns in the past in the United Kingdom.

As a leading fashion retailer, Asos also maintains a heavy focus on its brand image. It aspires to become the favorite fashion destination of twenty somethings. However, the company has kept its focus on becoming one of the most customer friendly fashion retailers. Here is its vision statement:

Our vision is to be the world’s number one fashion destination for fashion-loving 20-somethings.

It believes in being a responsible company that while delivering positive benefits to the people also minimizes its impact on the planet. The company launched ‘Fashion with Integrity’ more than a decade ago, which has guided its approach to business since then.

It has also taken an unconventional approach to marketing and promotions. For example, instead of conforming to any stereotypes and using the types of models that are generally used by fashion brands, it works with its own 200 models that represent the uniqueness of its customer base.

It does not digitally alter their appearances either; like no reshaping or removal of stretch marks. Its models are a part of the ASOS family and the company follows a model welfare policy to support them.

In order to maintain a socially responsible image, the company also invests in social responsibility. It has created the ASOS foundation that works to empower the disadvantaged young adults and help them reach their full potential.

The company is also the official partner of the British Paralympic Association and provides the British Paralympics team with their formal and ceremonial outfits.

Apart from these, the company uses social media channels to reach out to its customers globally. It has maintained an impressive presence on the various social media channels including Facebook, and Twitter. The company uses Facebook and other social media channels for promotions and customer engagement. ASOS has around 7.2 million followers on Facebook.

In terms of marketing and promotions, its focus remains on maximizing brand awareness and outreach. During 2020 and 2021, the company increased its investment and focus on influencer marketing campaigns. Influencer marketing is being used by several other online fashion sellers also including Fashion Nova in the United States.

ASOS has also partnered with Nordstrom, a leading American luxury retail chain to grow its Topshop and ASOS brands in the US faster.

People:

ASOS is a digital platform and has limited physical operations. The company employs only 3,126 people (as of 2021). However, the company has maintained an excellent focus on employee management and regularly engages its employees on various topics influencing its business.

The company calls its employees – the ASOSers. Employees’ concerns are always considered important in terms of Board decision making.  In 2021, the company launched a new employee engagement program called ASOS Vibe.  As a part of this program the company will carry out quarterly surveys to know how the employees feel about working for ASOS.

It has also adopted a Whistleblowing policy that outlines how employees can report concerns related to suspected wrongdoing inside the organization.

Processes:

ASOS is an innovative digital platform that caters to the fashion needs of twenty something from around the world.

Its investment in technology has helped the brand find faster growth and attract customers from several markets.

While digital technology is the fundamental driver of the company’s competitive edge, it is investing in technology to grow the efficiency of its business process including sales, marketing and distribution.

The company has automated two its warehouses and plans to automate the rest two within just a few years.

Especially during the pandemic, the fashion retailer’s investment in innovation proved to be highly profitable helping it sustain its profitability.  Due to the higher flexibility and agility in business process that comes with advanced technology, the brand performed quite well against all odds.

It continues to focus on maximizing operational efficiency through investment in technological innovation.

Physical Evidence:

In the era of digital technology, when a lot of business is carried out online, there is much less space for physical evidence. Consumers around the world trust these digital businesses especially those that have invested in building trust and a strong reputation.

However, still there is a lot that can count as physical evidence in the case of ASOS including its facilities, packaging, branding material, ASOS brand products and more.

A few last words:

Founded in 2000, the UK based ASOS has become one of the leading fashion retailers in the world. Its entirely digital business model is enjoying strong popularity across the globe and seen strong growth not only in its domestic market but across others market as well. The company focuses mainly on the customers in 20-25 age group. There are several factors that have helped the company find solid growth and strong popularity, which include technological innovation, excellent customer focus and a focus on marketing and brand image.

Customer experience has become a leading driver of growth for online businesses and ASOS has maintained strong focus on customer experience which has led to higher customer retention and superior engagement. Apart from that, its approach to marketing is also unconventional compared to most other fashion brands that rely heavily on fashion models and fashion shows. Instead, the company works with its own group of 200 models.