Dive Brief:
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H&M launched a Spanish website for U.S. customers, the brand announced this week. Any U.S.-based customer can choose to shop on the English- or Spanish-language site, according to a company release.
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Spanish-language users will have access to "all existing H&M website services," according to the release. "The H&M brand currently operates in 50 online markets, in 20 respective languages, so it was an easy decision to extend our site to our US Spanish speaking community of fashion fans," said Stefan Vos, CFO of H&M North America, in a statement.
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H&M also announced new tech features. "Find in store" and "in-store mode" allow shoppers to locate items at a specific store location while using the app, while "ship to store" allows for local pickup of online orders in select cities. The "notify" feature alerts users when selected items are back in stock, and the "sustainability tool" provides information about manufacturing locations and materials used. The latter allows shoppers to read about specific factories and locations used by the company and get familiar with sourcing methods and traits of various fabrics.
Dive Insight:
H&M has fostered corporate sustainability efforts since 2002 and introduced its first Conscious Collection in 2010, but its programs still may not be obvious to the everyday shopper.
Other chains are trying different tactics to bring sustainability to the forefront. For example, Madewell announced a partnership with online reseller ThredUp to sell secondhand jeans in select stores. Meanwhile, Nordstrom launched an online page to feature products from 90 brands deemed sustainable for a variety of factors. On the same day, it announced it was joining the G7 Fashion Pact, a coalition of 32 global retailers (H&M Group was also among the initial signers).
Beyond its sustainability efforts, H&M seems to be in a good spot, especially while the future of one of its chief competitors, Forever 21, hangs in the balance. In early October, H&M reported boosted third-quarter net sales, with gross profit in the quarter increasing by 13%. It was its first operating profit growth in two years, according to GlobalData research.
H&M's focus on digital has been credited for the boost, which includes its continued rollout of BOPIS. Consumers seem comfortable with the hybrid online-meets-in-store shopping option.
A survey from Doddle found that 68% of U.S. shoppers have made multiple BOPIS purchases, and 85% admitted to making additional purchases once they got to the store. That's not just a novelty for first-timers, either: A 2018 report from OrderDynamics found that "superconsumers" who used BOPIS at least twice in the past year bought more items in the store 51% of the time.