MATCHESFASHION.com – one-hour delivery is on the way

MATCHESFASHION.com CEO Ulric Jerome has said the luxury fashion mulitchannel retailer is working towards one-hour delivery and is exploring 360-degree videos as a prelude to a move into virtual reality.

Speaking at the WWD Global Fashion Forum in Beijing Jerome said: "I think in the next 18 months in major cities, one-hour delivery will be the norm. This is what we’re currently working on…and that will be launched soon."

Jerome said he didn't expect the London-based business, which ships 420 brands globally, would be employing drones to achieve its aim any time soon but said they were not necessary to achieve the target of 60-minute delivery.

He also revealed at the forum that the average MATCHESFASHION.com customer spends four times a year and has a lifetime value of £2,000. Its top 10 customers have a retention rate of 90% while the overall average rate is 65%. Mobile sales are moving upwards with 48% of sales now coming from either a smartphone or tablet.

To aid customer engagement MATCHESFASHION.com has already begun using stylised videos but is working towards introducing 360-degree videos that customers can interact with and after that it will move into virtual reality.

"We are working to give the customer the best experience so that they can find the physicality they find in stores, digitally," he said. "We first start with 360 and then go into virtual reality."

MATCHESFASHION.com was founded as a boutique in Wimbledon 28 years ago by Tom and Ruth Chapman who are joint chairs of the business. Its website was launched in 2006 and Jerome was appointed CEO last year having previously been chief operating officer. As well as the website the business has stores in Wimbledon, Richmond, Marylebone and Notting Hill.

It recently moved its London HQ into a new 35,000q ft office space at The Shard.