Stuarts London is a menswear retailer. It’s been dressing the cooler chaps of LDN since 1967. The store seems cool AF from first impression, and slings some of my favourite brands, namely Barbour, Carhartt and Redwings.

I’d definitely shop there as a consumer, but how does this online business look with my marketing specs on?

There’s a store just like Stuarts in EVERY town – they better be ready for a hugely competitive online arena!

First Impressions Matter!

What happens when you walk into a store? A physical real life one?

Well, you don’t need it to sell IMMEDIATELY. In fact, you’d be put off if a store assistant came and thrust the latest deals at you.

The home page just needs to set the scene, and this site does it well…

Between the messaging, the slick navigation, the subtle search bar and that nice big add to cart button, you know you’re on an Ecommerce store. Sounds daft, but it’s the first box ticked.

The site is built on Aero, so it’s super fast. And the imagery tells you the type of brands in store almost immediately.

Good start, Stuarts!

You really wanna shop at Stuarts, huh?

I love search marketing. If I had I store I’d want 100 percent of my traffic to come from organic search. Come at me, ad bros.

The first thing I look at is brand. Ie. Who’s looking for you directly?

The brand search “Stuarts London” spits back some Google Shopping ads, and it would probably be worth Stuarts protecting their brand name better. Why let anyone else even get a sniff?

If another store sneaks in here, with an incredible offer, that’s a sale and a customer that you lose. That same customer could’ve been the guy who tells all their friends, and buys from you 3 or 4 times a year!

Look after your brand guys!

Is ‘Sergio Tacchini’ a good keyword?

When you whack this site into SEMRush, one of the more impressive rankings was the position 3 for ‘Sergio Tacchini‘ and with volume of 18,000 – it’s easy to argue that it’s a super valuable keyword!

But is it that good?

Sounds great off the bat, and the category page that’s secured the ranking is excellent. It’s a great sign for Stuart’s and their e-commerce team can get excited about the potential of the site, absolutely.

But my beef is that it’s too broad a keyword.

Someone searching “Sergio Tacchini” isn’t necessarily looking to buy. They might be researching the brand for a homework project, or they might think they’re looking for a Spanish footballer.

Stuart’s would be better off breaking this chunky keyword down and creating more sub categories off the back of it. Think:

• Sergio Tacchini Track Top – 5,400
• Sergio Tacchini Tracksuit – 4,400
• Sergio Tacchini Polo – 1,000
• Sergio Tacchini Jacket – 1,000
• Sergio Tacchini T-Shirt – 880

If Stuart’s have the best collection of Sergio Tacchini Track Top’s available out there, they should double down on that as a collection page as you’re getting in-front of a more qualified buyer.

Insta game is strong

There’s a too cool for school vibe going on with the Instagram.

Personally, it irritates me when you’re making your grid work together. I couldn’t be bothered to manage it.

I suppose it’s working for Stuarts, they’re hardly running insta for the engagements. The comments sections are like a ghost town. It’s just there to announce new collections, and give off a good vibe. Is there more opportunity to sell here? Maybe.

But search is the clear winner here and they’re doing the right thing to concentrate.

Supporting with Paid Social

The Facebook ad library is an incredible tool when you think about it…

Two things jump out at me:

Stuarts Ads are based on their stocked brands, this means they can reach new customers by targeting fans of these brands, leaning in on the already in-built desirability. Smart. But social customers are necessarily shopping with intent like your search customers are. Probably why the Facebook ads aren’t too extensive…

Second, there’s a dynamic ad that’s been running since September. Either the social manager is neglecting the account, or more likely, the ad is working. The long standing ad looks to be a simple retargeting set up, showing people the products they’ve already seen.

Improvements?

There’s a few things I’d look to do if this store was mine:

The main one being that Stuarts needs to go HARD on these category pages. The fact the sites ranking well for Sergio Tacchini is a great sign! Repeat this with more brands and you’re laughing all the way to the bank.

Second, you ever heard “people buy on emotion, and justify with logic“?

Well, there’s no real brand here for Stuarts. I’m not emotionally connected to the store at all. If I can get the same product quicker and cheaper, I would definitely shop elsewhere. There’s nothing to tie me in. Admittedly, retailers have an incredibly tough job here, “Why should I buy from you?” is the hardest question to answer.

My advice? Start telling some stories – Why is the shop so cool? Where is it? Who’s shopped there? A store local to me who do it really well is Common Like Vintage.

Last thing, models. If I was going to buy, I’d like to see Stuarts using local men (who are like me) so I can compare myself to them in the shots. While the product images are great quality, they doesn’t feel all that real and it lacks some personality. Where’s the models?!

Wrapping up

Overall, you have to take your hats off to Stuarts London, they’re going after search and it’s a smart strategy. I can’t see the balance sheet, so if they’re making good money, then fair play to em.

I’d maybe give em an 8 out of 10. Improvements are nit-picking, certainly not catastrophic. If you’re in the menswear game, definitely keep your eye on Stuarts.