Fab claims to be the world’s design store, where they care more, at first, about wow-ing you with whimsical home goods and clothing than with making a profit.
The three-year-old startup is striding into the arena of “emotional commerce,” as founder Jason Goldberg describes on his blog. Goldberg makes the distinction that Fab differs from Amazon or Target, which rely on commodity e-commerce. If you know exactly what you want, you’ll want it for the best price, in the quickest time, you go to Walmart, not some fancy design site.
Goldberg is banking on the next wave in e-commerce, where people spend more time and thought on a purchase, about how it looks, how it connects to you emotionally. Fab isn’t alone; other online-only sites have followed a similar vein. Nasty Gal sells edgier clothes for glam-rock ladies, and Wildfang appeals to the alternative lifestyle of tomboys. These companies are selling to people who want items that are hand-picked, special to them. Not Ikea.
Fab aims to provide a virtual world of discovery for that crowd. The site curates furniture, home accessories, fashion, art and jewelry. Over a third of all their sales are made on mobile devices – which goes to show how often its customers make purchase on the go. A fifth of Fab’s sales come from fashion and fashion accessories.
Fab’s stock includes hipster wares, some beautiful in form. They range from surreal distorted candlesticks to little wooden animals for your home, this mid-century piece, and these leather lights.
Other design discovery e-commerce sites, such as Fancy or Svpply, also curate slightly more trendy fashion collections and quirky home goods. Where do you go to discover and shop for good design and fashion?
Check out Fashion That Knows You Part I here.
