Levi Strauss & Co.’s (LS&Co.) strategy to become a direct-to-consumer first brand is holding strong.
Despite economic uncertainty, a challenging retail environment and the rapid cadence of new trends and consumer demands, the heritage denim brand says its “doubling down on e-commerce and creating seamless digital experiences for our fans around the globe.”
Levi’s has seen 12 consecutive quarters of global double-digit e-commerce growth. Additionally, the company’s e-commerce business double in the last five years, growing from 5 percent of total net revenue in 2019 to 10 percent in 2024.
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LS&Co. highlights these business wins in a new post on Levi’s Unzipped blog.
“Our global e-commerce strategy is working, and day-by-day, we’re turning our strategies into reality,” said Jason Gowans, LS&Co. chief digital and technology officer. “We’re creating a global digital flagship experience that not only is expanding our loyal fan base but also is giving them a reason to return.”
Gowans is spearheading the e-commerce team’s three-pronged strategy: fix the fundamentals, evolve the assortment and elevate the experience. The team focused on creating a seamless online shopping experience, expanding Levi’s product offerings beyond its traditional denim roots to become a broader lifestyle apparel brand and providing consumers a more personalized and rewarding online shopping experience.
“Our exceptional team’s dedication is generating impressive momentum that is steadily improving the overall health of our e-commerce business with global net revenues and EBIT margins improving double-digits on a compound annual growth rate over the last three years,” Gowans added.
Enhancing the speed, navigation and imagery of Levi’s website is part of improving the online customer’s experience. For denim, it is especially important to accurately show fits as they look in real life. Priya Buening, LS&Co. VP of e-commerce in the U.S., said 80 percent of the products on the U.S. site have “new, elevated imagery” and more than 700 product pages include videos showing the product in motion.
Over the last year, Levi’s has made products easier to find through a new search solution, improved product descriptions, increased review coverage and an added “shop the look” feature to present a full denim lifestyle look. Additionally, a new fit quiz tool helps consumers find their best fit.
One way the brand is achieving this is through digital experiences that are tailored, personalized storytelling to local markets. In recent years, Leona De Graft, VP of e-commerce in Europe, said Levi’s has localized its approach by focusing on a market-specific strategy and developing site content and storytelling for individual country needs.
One recent example of this was the “Kings Day Edit” on Levi’s Netherlands site in April. The brand keyed into the tradition of wearing orange on for the national holiday.
The Levi’s App and Red Tab loyalty program, which recently expanded to Poland, Ireland, Denmark and Switzerland and has over 38 members worldwide, play roles in delivering more tailored messaging and products. Levi’s said targeting consumers with messages at the right time and initiatives like marketing deep linking is helping to increase shopping frequency.
“Everything we do starts with our fans in mind and is focused on creating a memorable experience,” said Buening.
