So Net-a-Porter's discount brand, TheOutnet, launched last week and of course I was all over it. My agency has been involved in the launch activity but this e-commerce site is the work of their in-house team.

TheOutnet.com is essentially a designer clearance site that's aiming for those aspirational shoppers who want designer brands but not pay the full price. I think it's an interesting concept and it's definately right for these difficult times, but when all's said and done, how well does the site function?

Overall, I liked it. I thought the functionality is pretty similar to it's big sister site (net-a-porter.com) with strong branding site-wide. I've always thought that the net-a-porter site is amongst the best for fashion eCommerce so I'm glad they've followed on with a similarly well thought out website.

I picked up on 5 things that I really liked about it:

1. The Mini Shopping Basket

When adding products to your basket, the site keeps a visual representation of your items in plain site. Nice feature when buying multiple products.

2. Low Stock Indicators

I've seen these before, but I think they're executed pretty well here. Nice way of closing the deal and encouraging that purchase decision.

3. Big Savings

If a customer is saving BIG on their purchase, then make a big deal about it. TheOutnet.com does just that. I like.

4. Packaging

The beautiful packaging that a lot of the luxury retailers provide with their products is all part of the brand and the service. I know of people who buy from a particular online store over another purely for the packaging. TheOutnet takes advantage of this and although the bag isn't as glamorous as net-a-porter's, it is re-usable and they're displaying it at the point of purchase.

5. Branding

It's everywhere! Some might say that they're over-using the circles, but in my opinion, I'd rather they were over branding than not branding at all. Perhaps over time they'll drop these or at least dilute their usage, but for now i think it makes an impact and certainly stands out from the crowd.

Be great to hear anyone else's thoughts on this. You know what to do..