WINTERVIEW with Raffael Schulz, Bridify

The UK's launch of innovative new wedding App, Bridify is only weeks away and is set to revolutionise how brides find their dream wedding dress. This is a new era for bridal marketing, delivering data and consumer insights like nothing we have ever seen before! We talk to founder, Raffael Schulz to find out why he saw an opening for this exciting new platform and what benefits are available to the UK bridal industry.

Why did you start Bridify and what is it?

Initially, we started Bridify with the intention of building a market research platform to learn about bridal trends, In the process, we found a great way to revolutionise the way brides-to-be find their wedding dresses and to offer bridal brands a modern platform for showcasing their collections.

Bridify is a wedding dress inspiration app that combines a swipe-based interface with the creativity of a digital inspiration board like Pinterest. Brides can easily browse, save, and discover dresses that match their style, while brands get valuable insights into consumer preferences and trends. Our goal is to make the dress-finding process enjoyable and efficient for brides and data-driven and impactful for brands.

How did the app launch go?

The launch of Bridify very much exceeded our expectations. Since going live in January this year, we've achieved significant milestones, including more than 5 million swipes and 400,000 dresses saved to wish-lists. We expected to see a lot of growing pains in the beginning, but instead the positive feedback from both brides and brands has been overwhelming.

Brides appreciate the ease of use and personalised recommendations, while brands value the engagement and insights they receive through the platform. The launch gave us a strong foundation to build upon. Now we can expand to other countries and introduce new features.

What do you have planned for Bridify?

We have several exciting plans for Bridify. In terms of new features, we are enhancing our algorithm to provide even more accurate dress recommendations based on a bride's style and preferences. Brides will be able to share their wish-list with other users, for example with their maid of honour or bridesmaids.

Additionally, we are expanding our market reach, starting with our official launch in the UK this September. We also plan to introduce more detailed analytics and trend data for brands, allowing them to fine-tune their collections and marketing strategies. Our long-term vision includes expanding to other markets such as the entire EU, US, UAE, South Africa, and Australia.

What does this mean for brands, and how can they maximise this data?

For brands, Bridify offers an unprecedented opportunity to connect with a highly engaged audience of brides-to-be. By leveraging the data provided by our platform, brands can gain deep insights into consumer preferences, track emerging trends, and understand which styles resonate most with brides.

This data allows brands to make informed decisions about their collections, marketing strategies, and inventory management. Additionally, the engagement metrics can help brands identify which dresses to promote more aggressively and which may need adjustments.

Can you give us an insight into the current market situation and trends?

As a data company, we want to serve the bridal industry in any way possible. During our discussions with boutiques and brands, we often heard that secondhand wedding dresses and “more affordable” options like Zara, H&M and online retailers are taking a bigger share of the market.

So we decided to get some data on this. Our recent study on bridal fashion trends revealed some surprising insights. Contrary to popular belief, brides are not predominantly shifting towards second-hand dresses or cheaper options. While there is a niche market for these segments, the majority of brides still prefer new and premium dresses for their special day.

Our study shows the importance of looking at real data and not just relying on gut feeling alone. Sometimes our brain tends to overemphasise certain information and if we make business decisions on this unbalanced information, we might make costly mistakes.

The white paper with all the findings will be made available shortly.

Anyone interested can sign up to get our free report as soon as it is released by signing up

How can brands work with Bridify?

Brands can partner with Bridify in several ways. First of all, they can showcase their collections to our very targeted audience of brides-to-be, either in the UK or in the DACH market (Germany, Austria & Switzerland). In the coming year, we will also offer additional advertising opportunities within the app to get even exposure.

Brands can also participate in our market research initiatives to stay ahead of industry trends. We offer monthly insights into the performance of their dresses in order to help them make better decisions.

Listen to Raffael as he tells us more over on the Wedding Industry News Podcast

For our launch in the UK, we are offering all brands a free trial to see the results themselves. The easiest way to get started is to contact Raffael directly or for UK sales enquiries please contact Pippa at pippa@bridifyapp.com

Download the app today on App Store and Google Play

Visit www.bridifyapp.com