This Agency Uses Next-Generation Ecommerce to Bring Brands Into the Digital Age
Fluid blends content, design and shopping
For nearly 20 years, Fluid has specialized in building slick websites and digital experiences for brands like The North Face, Puma and Aqua-Aston Hospitality. Once primarily known for equipping retailers’ websites with ecommerce, the 100-person shop has since evolved into a customer experience agency that works with brands to develop and design web, mobile and social platforms that engage consumers while also driving sales.
“I think in the past, there was kind of a one-size-fits-all mentality to ecommerce and certain established best practices,” said Andrew Sirotnik, co-founder and chief experience officer at Fluid. “Consumers want to interact with brands, products, stories and content around them everywhere—for them, it’s all one seamless digital thing and brands are trying to figure out how they can relevantly engage the consumer and also provide the right commerce experience or funnel to commerce at each point.”
For longtime client The North Face, Fluid built the brand’s first website that sold products directly to consumers instead of, for example, selling through retailers. For Puma, the agency is using artificial intelligence to power product recommendations based on online behavioral data. Puma’s digital properties in Europe were also recently revamped with new mobile features that make it easier to find, personalize and buy shoes and athletic gear.
“More companies are needing to think about how to transact directly with consumers and [stay] at the forefront of [the question] ‘What does ecommerce even really mean?’” explained Vanessa Cartwright, Fluid’s CEO and managing partner. “We’re seeing a continued trend where the lines between the physical and online are blurring, and that’s being enabled by a lot of technology and infrastructure upgrades that are finally happening.”
