Virtually joining us was Jamie Seiden from Nordstrom, who talked to us about digital merchandising and her journey through the company. We learned about her prior experience as a buyer, internships, and finally how she applied to over 50 jobs when graduating college to land at Nordstrom. She joined us on the first day of a new position that she just transferred to. It’s a testament to Nordstrom as they continue to work remotely and prioritize the health and safety of their workers!
Hearing what Jamie had to say about working with the Nordstrom website, categorizing site items, and the merchandising work, in general, was really great because as a design major, I often only think about designing the garments. I know that it’s so important to know the broader picture of what goes on so that the team can work together to create the best experience for the customer! So when the opportunity for questions arrived, I knew I had to ask, “What’s the most important thing that the design team needs to be aware of that causes the most hiccups for the merchandising team?” Jamie immediately had an answer: copy details. According to Jamie, making sure to explain the garment, how to wear it, what it’s made of, its key selling points is essential for a design team. Otherwise, let’s say you give it to the photographer and they put it on wrong and the photo gets put online. The merchandising team would have to pull the listing and reshoot it (which costs time and money) before putting it back up. So copy details, copy details, copy details!
Overall it was interesting to see how passionate Jamie was about the company and how most people in Nordstrom stay for a very long time. Because it is a big corporation, I would never have thought that that was the case! I personally have never seen myself working for a corporate job but after listening to her talk I have to admit, I am seriously looking into it…