Brands going digital-only must go beyond cost-cutting to reinvent how they connect, serve, and stay remembered. UK retailers should see FatFace’s online-only pivot as both a warning and an opportunity, says Matt Hildon, European retail director at Valtech.
FatFace’s decision to close its US stores and go fully online is a strategic gamble. The cost savings might be attractive, especially in a challenging retail environment, but history offers cautionary tales. We’ve seen brands like Topshop and Paperchase attempt to scale back their physical presence without a solid digital strategy, then gradually lose their relevance to consumers.
But whether this move succeeds or stumbles depends on one thing: execution. Going online-only doesn’t just change the channel, it changes how a brand is experienced, remembered and trusted.
Don’t confuse cost-cutting with strategy
Yes, closing stores reduces overheads but that’s just the first step. A purely digital retail model demands deeper investment in marketing, user experience and service than most brands anticipate. If you’re no longer visible on the high street, you need to be at your very best online, and not just with ads. You need relevance, frequency and a digital presence that grabs and maintains people’s attention.
FatFace will need to double down on digital engagement, storytelling and smart tech to stay top of mind. Otherwise, it risks becoming another brand in a scroll of sameness.
Winning online means removing friction and adding feeling
Retailers often fixate on replicating the “theatre” of physical shopping online: friendly assistants, in-store discovery, the look and feel of a flagship store. But that’s not what customers really need from e-commerce. You can’t elevate your online presence by imitating a physical shop that didn’t appeal to customers.
Where online can win is in removing the pain points and providing a consistently better experience:
- Give customers fast, accurate information on stock availability.
- Offer smart product matching and upselling.
- Make the checkout experience straightforward and effortless.
- Provide responsive digital support that feels more helpful than the typical shop floor interaction.
The goal shouldn’t be to copy the shop floor, but to beat it in clarity, speed and usefulness. If digital feels better, faster and more personal, customers won’t miss the physical store, they’ll prefer the experience.
Consistency is what keeps customers coming back
Shoppers expect the same level of care and recognition wherever they interact with your brand. The brands that succeed without physical stores do so by mastering operational excellence. The customer doesn’t care if it’s digital or physical. They care that the item arrives on time, looks as expected and that the process was smooth.
Take MandM as an example. They don’t have physical stores, yet their reputation for reliable, fast service makes them a default choice for many. Prioritising accuracy, delivery speed, and zero-friction returns: that’s where brands can win customer trust.
Customer loyalty is fragile, but consistency helps to strengthen it. If FatFace can translate its brand promise into a digital experience that’s personal, reliable and efficient, it will help to build ‘stickiness’ in a customer’s mind and shopping habits, so customers come back for more time and time again.
Going online-only means reimagining the brand experience
Retailers thinking of following FatFace’s lead shouldn’t see ecommerce as a shortcut to margin recovery but as a full transformation of how their brand is experienced and remembered. Digital isn’t a cheaper channel, it’s a bigger stage. And must do more than convert: it must connect.
With consistency, strong service and a focus on what shoppers actually need, the brand can preserve its community and build a stronger, more sustainable model online. It’ll be worth watching how FatFace makes this next chapter work.
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