Fashion brands' own online stores grow by offering what rivals can't

From AI recommendations to fragrance trials and styling classes, brand-owned platforms compete on experience

Differentiation battle intensifies as stores evolve beyond products into brand destinations

LF Mall's style partner service [Provided by LF]

Fashion companies are doubling down on "experience" content to grow their brand-owned online stores, drawing customers with curated brand selections, AI-powered personalized recommendations, and exclusive offerings such as fragrance trial programs and styling classes.

The strategy is showing results. According to mobile analytics firm Mobile Index, SSF Shop's cumulative monthly active users from June through August reached about 2.67 million, up 10.6 percent from the same period last year. Kolon Mall posted about 1.18 million MAUs over the same stretch, a 20.4 percent increase, while Shinsegae V and TheHandsome.com rose 3.3 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

New app installs are also climbing. From June through August, Kolon Mall recorded 104,610 new installs, up 26.2 percent year on year, while LF Mall logged 95,602, a 29.7 percent gain. Shinsegae V saw 64,044 new installs, up 52.6 percent, and TheHandsome.com added 25,711, up 16.0 percent.

Industry analysts attribute the improving user metrics to differentiated customer experiences — services unavailable on mainstream fashion platforms that are pulling shoppers toward brand-owned channels.

SSF Shop holds its 11th anniversary promotion '11TH PARTY' [Provided by Samsung C&T]

Samsung C&T's fashion division is expanding SSF Shop, its online shopping platform, in both scale and quality through curated brand selection. As of this month, the platform has about 8 million registered members, up 15 percent from the same month last year. Cumulative sales through August rose 10 percent year on year, and the average transaction value climbed 13 percent. Beyond its own labels, SSF Shop handpicks external brands — including Pottery, Hunter, Trimming Bird, Casamia and Onyx Books — chosen for their distinct identity and quality.

The platform is also deepening AI-driven personalization. It has expanded AI recommendation zones beyond individual product pages to the store's main page, event pages and order-confirmation screens, surfacing tailored product and styling suggestions at every stage of the shopping journey.

LF Mall, operated by LF, is similarly leaning on AI. After launching an LF Mall app within ChatGPT in May, the platform added a natural-language shopping feature in September through Kakao Tools, KakaoTalk's AI agent service. Shoppers can describe a desired style or occasion in plain language, and the system synthesizes weather data, real-time trending searches and recent browsing history to generate recommendations. In the first month after launch, the feature generated about 10,000 conversations, with roughly 75 percent of users in their 40s and 50s.

LF Mall is also tightening the link between content and purchases. Its "My Fashion Club" feature lets customers post outfit reviews and styling content and tag products directly. Last year, transactions driven through the feature jumped 131 percent from the prior year, while customer-created content and view counts rose 133 percent and 140 percent, respectively. For some products, sales surged more than tenfold after content went live.

Shinsegae V operates a dedicated fragrance boutique. [Provided by Shinsegae International]

Shinsegae International's Shinsegae V differentiates through a dedicated fragrance boutique launched in May. Built around niche and luxury perfume brands, the section offers side-by-side comparisons by brand, scent family and bottle size, along with gift-occasion recommendation guides. It pairs product and brand editorial content with a home fragrance trial service — customers pay only shipping to receive perfume samples and test them at home.

Since the boutique opened, Shinsegae V's beauty category sales have risen more than 30 percent year on year. The home trial service sold out its initial stock within 10 days, and 64 percent of participants were first-time buyers on the platform. In the second half of the year, the company plans to introduce a perfume engraving service and expand its curation content and fragrance trial programs.

TheHandsome.com, the online store of Handsome — a fashion specialist under Hyundai Department Store Group — is investing in experiential content. The platform offers premium services that are difficult to book offline, including popular one-day classes and studio photo shoots. Recent additions include a styling class with well-known hair and makeup salon Frans and a running class with YouTuber Maranik TV. Classes typically sell out within two weeks of going on sale, four to six weeks before the event.

Eland World is broadening its consumer touchpoints by operating brand-specific stores alongside its main Eland Mall. Spao Mall is the flagship example. In May, Spao relaunched its official website, Spao.com, with AI-based personalization that refines product recommendations using behavioral data — page views, product views, cart additions, wish-list saves and purchases. Average monthly active users on Spao.com from June through September rose 15 percent compared with the same period last year.

"Brand-owned stores are evolving beyond simple sales channels into spaces where customers can directly experience the brand," an industry official said. "Companies will continue to roll out differentiated services and content exclusive to their own platforms, expanding the points of contact with customers."

A one-on-one styling class in session [Provided by Handsome]

siuu@heraldcorp.com