One of the most popular sellers is Saskia Baumeister, owner of the Dejacque clothing store in Oldenzaal. Since the Corona pandemic, she has been posting videos on Instagram and Facebook displaying the clothes she sells to the public.

“We did buy clothes, but we had to close the doors,” Baumeister tells Editie NL. “That’s why we started looking at how we can continue to sell clothes. That’s how we came up with the idea of ​​making videos.” And successfully, because she currently has 148 thousand followers on Instagram and 286 thousand followers on Facebook. Bouwmeester will open a second store next week.

expansion

In Rhône, South Holland, Angelique van Bij Aan is also reaping the benefits of this trend. She has been posting videos for a year and now has nearly 30k followers on Instagram. This led to a major store expansion: “Since last weekend we have been in a building four times larger,” she says. “It’s really cool. People come from all over the country.”

It’s no surprise that people are willing to come from far and wide, says retail expert Tom Kickert. “We have also seen the same trend in cinemas and the rise of streaming services,” says the expert. “You see, despite streaming services, people want to actually go to the movies.”

The online store won

The success during the Corona period can also be easily explained. “Most good ideas arise in times of chaos and crisis,” explains Kickert. “During the Corona pandemic, there has been a need for physical contact and in these videos you can see how the clothes look and you can easily communicate with the company.”

According to Kickert, it was long mistakenly believed that a web store would outperform a retailer. “But in all these technical developments, we sometimes forget that we are human beings and that these people need experience.”

Influencer

But not everyone who watches videos actually buys something. There is also a group of viewers who use the videos as inspiration. “In the videos, I wear a complete outfit including the bag and accessories. This way I show how it can be styled,” continues Saskia Baumeister of Dejacque.

Retailers who appear on social media also grow to become “influencers” in their hometown and beyond. Bouwmeester is enthusiastic. “This week two boys from the neighborhood came and wanted to take a picture with me because they recognized me.”