ShoeDazzle Steps Up Fashion E-Commerce Competition, Adds 1M Users In July And Now Has 13M

ShoeDazzzle, the fashion e-commerce outfit that counts reality star/deep thinker Kim Kardashian among its founders, says that it has broken a new barrier: the site picked up 1 million new users in the month of July, bringing the total number of members up to 13 million. ShoeDazzle claims that’s more than double its nearest competitor in the online accessories market, which include Beachmint and JustFab. In comparison, JustFab, which raised a $76 million round in July, told TechCrunch at the time that it was adding 500,000 users every month.

Bill Strauss, the CEO, tells TechCrunch that the growth is a sign that the company’s business model expanding beyond subscriptions and shows is “resonating” with female consumers. The company today also announced that it is achieving a record number of item sales per order — these are up by 17% compared to Q1. However, it is not giving a concrete number either on average sale amounts or how many items are getting sold.

However, the increase in numbers shows the site is picking up some momentum: the 13 million milestone comes four months after the company announced 10 million users amid an effort to widen its catalog beyond shoes and accessories to also offer clothing. ShoeDazzle says that member growth is up by 25% over the last four months.

ShoeDazzle has been gradually expanding what it is offering to its mainly-female users base. Not only is it now offering apparel and other accessories in addition to shoes, but in March it dropped the mandatory subscription model that put users on a once-per-month buying schedule. Now people can visit the site and buy as often (or as little) as they like. That puts it in line with competitors like JustFab, which has also been expanding its own model beyond subscriptions into an a-la-carte offering.

“The growth shows our changes are really resonating with clients,” Strauss told TechCrunch. He says that one main focus of the company in the last month or so has been to “get the message out that we’re not just based on a subscription model.”

Although companies like JustFab are focused on using funding to expand into international markets to further differentiate themselves from competitors like ShoeDazzle, Strauss believes that there is a better opportunity in enhancing out the footprint (pun intended) that his company has already established in the U.S.

“For now we are focusing here,” he says. “we’re Wooking to increase closet spend with clients here rather than going out geographically, we’re focusing on how we serve our clients head to toe — although international is clearly down the road at some point.”

Despite the expansion into new product areas, shoes remain the most popular item on the site — no surprise, given its name. These are charged at $40 per pair, a competitive rate with JustFab.

Since launching in March 2009 — one of the earlier movers in the space — ShoeDazzle has raised some $60 million from the likes of Andreessen Horowitz.