The shopping and fashion preferences of customers are quickly changing. This is also making an impact on demographic and psychographic profiles, which is creating a rapid effect on the fashion retail industry.
Just a few years ago, most customers would shy away from the idea of shopping with their credit or debit card on their smartphone. Online shopping was still concerned a foreign concept and social media platforms were only used for connecting.
With major retailers entering the e-commerce industry, concepts have changed. Thanks to artificial intelligence and digital evolution, some changes have already taken place within the fashion retail sector.
Here are some more explicit changes that are set to take place in fashion retail. You'll need to be aware of these trends when and learn more tips in starting your own clothing line.
Personalized Shopping Experiences
Online fashion retailers are dedicating a separate section on their websites and apps for customized products. The reason behind this is because e-commerce merchants have realized the value of letting their customers create their own personal products.
This increases customer engagement and loyalty and helps attract new customers since these products are personalized to their expectations. The only thing personalization was allowed on was on paper, but that has since gravitated to coffee cups, hooded sweatshirts, mobile covers, and t-shirts.
One example of this is experiential retail. It's not about investing millions of dollars on the latest gadgets for your retail store. While it can help elevate the shopping experience, it's about creating a personalized shopping experience.
This is just one way that fashion retailers can overcome the challenge associated with e-commerce.
Normcore Style
Normcore is a fashion concept that's characterized by athletic wear. It's a style of dressing that involves looking deliberately casual, sporty, or unfashionable.
Customers are looking for clothing and accessories that satisfy their needs for comfort rather than style. For example, athleisure wear has increased sales of canvas shoes, hooded sweatshirts, sweatpants, and yoga pants.
Smarter Online Stores
Customers are becoming savvy online shoppers. They're looking for online stores that have a simple design and interface. When they shop online, they don't want to waste their time looking throughout the entire application or website.
This is increasing demand for automatic check-out, content tailored to consumers' tastes and preferences, or product suggestions based on order history.
Digital Product Storytelling
Storytelling is an effective way to connect with your customers. Every brand or product has a unique story to be told that will connect with the right audience.
E-commerce merchants are finding ways to include brand or product storytelling in their marketing campaigns. This shifts the focus on customer involvement by connecting on an emotional level with content marketing and social media strategies.
Social Media Will Become the New Storefront
Social media is changing the way that customers shop from their phones. Online retailers have already been using social media platforms to promote their products.
The fashion industry loves to use social media to connect with their customers while remaining elusive. Due to the growing popularity of bloggers and brand influencers, high-end boutiques and labels will continue to connect with their audience through Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Twitter, and Tumblr.
Influencers have been collaborating with brands to help create buzz about their clothing and accessories and this trend isn't dying anytime soon.
This is a result of online stores creating new retail channels such as omni-channel retail which is mainly focused on Millennials, which are the driving force of fashion retail. Omni-channel retail refers to having both a digital and physical presence.
E-commerce merchants should underestimate the importance of coupons and deals, industry directories, influencer coverage, and product reviews. These are all great tools for attracting Millennials, according to Sewport CEO Boris Hodakel.
Shopping On the Go
E-commerce retailer is focusing on creating mobile responsive websites and applications. Since the attention span of customers is decreasing, they're using their smartphone for online shopping due to its speed and convenience.
Fifty per cent of customers get their shopping done on their smartphones and this will increase as people are finding new ways to stay away from the mall.
Smarter Shoppers
Customers are demanding, better informed, and well connected when it comes to online shopping. This also makes them unpredictable with their shopping habits. They're also becoming more complicated, sophisticated, and technology-challenging for fashion brands who have a hard time preventing customer unloyalty.
Brand culture is adapting to the buying behaviours of customers. One example is the accelerated loyalty journey, which involves increasing customers' loyalty in a shorter amount of time. This also leads to an even shorter buyers' journey.
It's important for e-commerce merchants to push harder for information from customers the moment that their needs are being considered.
