NIFT on-demand fashion marketplace app launches in London

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 24, 2023

A high-end on-demand fashion app, providing “90-minute real-time tracked delivery across London”, officially launched on Friday after a soft-launch period.

The official debut sees it coming with a brand new user interface, over 20 new boutiques and shopfronts and an array of new products and brands. 

Called NIFT (Need It For Tonight), and said to be the first on-demand fashion marketplace app in the UK capital, it was founded by Simone and Roxanne Oloma.

The offer includes both mid-price and luxury brands, such as Ganni, Farm Rio, Rixo, Skims, Gucci, Jacquemus, Jimmy Choo, Miu Miu, Prada and more.

The founders said they’d received positive feedback from both retailers and customers in its test period and are “committed to enhancing their app and improving the user experience. To achieve this goal, they reached out to current customers, engaging with the local London community, and convening mini focus groups”. 

It’s interesting that the redesign isn’t just about delivering the labels people know, but helping users discover new indie boutiques they’ve not been aware of before.

They added: “Recognising a specific challenge, where users often missed out on discovering their new favourite brands, being tucked away in independent boutiques due to not knowing the boutique [and] therefore not clicking to shop there, NIFT was inspired to introduce a new interface. [It] features a complete rebrand, with the flexibility to shop by all products, all brands or all stores within the customer’s radius. This strategic shift not only aligns with [the] vision of promoting local shopping but also ensures that boutiques receive the heightened exposure they deserve and customers are able to find the items they love quicker.”

The company also sounded out customers about their preferred brands, which “played a pivotal role in shaping their expanded assortment”.  So 20+ new shopfronts and boutiques are available to shop from across London as of Friday’s official launch, “with many more to follow”. 

Customers can place their order by choosing from brands, items and multi-brand boutiques. The proprietary NIFT software plug-in then “allows real time access to the store’s stock, and on receipt of the order the retailer can accept via the NIFT shop admin app”. 

The order is picked up by a rider and delivered to the customer, taking “under 90 minutes from placement to receipt”.

That might seem like the ultimate in encouraging over-consumption but the company said “NIFT was created with consciousness in mind” as it “works with conscious, contemporary and luxury brands directly as well as independent boutiques. By supporting local stores, NIFT contributes to the growth of their communities but also reduces the carbon footprint associated with transporting goods over long distances”. 

Transportation is also “made possible through cargo, push bikes and electric vehicles” where possible and NIFT is also a partner of Ecologi, “planting a tree for every order received”.