Listen Up
Facebook and Twitter don’t have the power to move mountains (not yet anyway), but one thing is certain: Retailers are not only listening to the conversations going on out there about their brands, but, increasingly and when it makes brand-sense, acting on them. At least the smart ones are.
Consider Topshop. The global fashion retailer came under fire for using ultra-thin mannequins in its stores. It all started when a Topshop shopper in Hull, England, horrified by a mannequin that she described as “frankly ridiculously shaped,” took a photo of the display and posted it on Topshop’s Facebook page.
The shopper, a 23-year-old woman, accompanied the photo with a strongly worded message. She called out Topshop for using super-skinny mannequins, and asked the retailer to take responsibility for the “impression you have on women and young girls,” and to help them “feel good about themselves rather than impose these ridiculous standards.”
“Young women aspire to the somewhat cult image your store offers,” the young woman wrote. “Yet not one mannequin in your store showed anything bigger than a size 6. ... I’m old enough and wise enough to know I will never be this size, but ... I’m fairly certain if any of us were to witness this in our teenage years, it would have left us wondering if that was what was expected of our bodies.”
The shopper’s posting struck a chord and quickly went viral. Newspapers picked it up. Anorexia charities in the United Kingdom complained. Hundreds of people replied directly on Topshop’s Facebook page. Topshop took notice — also quickly.
The retailer posted a public response claiming the model was based on a standard U.K. size 10, but the form had been stylized for added impact in store. The company went on to say, “We have taken yours and other customers’ opinions and feedback on board, and going forward we are not placing any further orders on this style of mannequin.”
Next consider Target Corp. In August, the retailer announced plans to start removing gender-based labeling in several departments — toys, kids’ bedding and entertainment — around the store. It is also getting rid of the pink, blue, yellow and green backdrops on the back of the walls of the toy area to eliminate references or suggestions based on gender.
The move came after a young mother tweeted a photo in June of gender-based signage at a Target store in Ohio. The tweet, which called out “building sets” and “girls building sets” went viral and spurred a social media uproar. And while Target’s announcement of the gender-free signage made no reference to the tweet, it seems pretty clear the retailer was paying attention — and that the external buzz sparked, or least added extra fire to, an internal conversation.
“We know that shopping preferences and needs change and, as guests have pointed out, in some departments like Toys, Home or Entertainment, suggesting products by gender is unnecessary. We heard you, and we agree,” Target stated.
Not everyone thinks doing away with gender stereotypes is a good idea. (Just for the record, Walmart and Toys “R” Us both classify toys by category, not gender.) But that’s for a different column. My point here is the growing power of shoppers and how can social media can be an agent of change.
Just ask Target and Topshop.
Marianne Wilson
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