According to Euromonitor International, fashion has become a $1.2 trillion global industry, with more than $250 billion spent annually on fashion-products in the US.
There has been a substantial digitization development in the fashion businesses, which reflects a new form of merchandise promotion and marketing. It further carries different characteristics that partially differ from the traditional offline environment.
Technology impacts on online fashion industry cannot be ignored, as the stats in 2017 have proved that approximately 56% of B2B buyers have made more than half of their business purchases online.
Well, the online fashion market is already casting its spell on its buyers! But today, a new wave of digital disruption is coming from e-commerce players like Asos, Boohoo, Zalando and Amazon, and the fast-fashion behemoths are being uncharacteristically slow to catch up.
ECommerce- A Trump Card for Fashion Industry
Yes, fashion brands have elevated above all the other industries in the world of digital commerce. A significant search engine visibility via mobile first strategy and improved customer experiences, have driven fashion brands in the top-most rankings.
Google has cleared from its recent stats that major online shopping (approximately 65%) starts on a smart gadget or phone. We all use our mobile gadgets/devices to shop in the weekdays or even on lazy weekends!
It thus, reflects the increased amount of interest among the customers in fashion commerce, especially mobile fashion commerce.
With the increase in number of eCommerce users, online shopping trend has also been increasing in the recent years. 1 out of 3 people uses multiple channels while shopping and the merchants earn a substantial profit in online retail on mobile devices.
The online fashion industry is a massive network of fashion; be it apparels, accessories, and everything ranging from the most local brand to the most expensive one.
Assimilating fashion industry with current advanced technologies, such as mobile internet, virtual and augmented reality, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence, have boomed the internet shopping for customers. Such techniques have innovated and geared up in the current fashion trend to familiarize the entire customer crowd with technology and fashion.
Technology and online shopping is a huge platform for the customers to shop from anywhere and at anytime. Is this creating opportunities for the small or medium-sized businesses too?? Here’s the answer!
Opportunities for SMEs
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) whether in retail or wholesale are the principal sources of innovation and prime contributors to the economies of the regions they belong.
With a majority of online apparel buyers preferring mobile devices over anything, eCommerce has brought a shopping revolution all over the globe. Fashion industry provides a significant opportunity to the SMEs as it involves youngsters, women, rural workers- to become global players in fashion commerce.
Moreover, there is a significant increase in the number of start-ups and small online firms that are successfully uplifted by eCommerce platforms like Magento. A developing asset to eCommerce industry – Krish Technolabs is a Magento enterprise solution partner empowering brands and merchants with innovative fashion commerce solutions to stand out from the crowd.
A growing number of small niche fashion labels are mainly concerned about in-depth story-telling, transparency, personalization, smart digital experiences and sustainable aspects of their supply chain and thus, play a vital role to fashion commerce consumers and millennials.
Let’s get spiced up with the latest trends and important developments that companies need to take into consideration to ensure their online and in-store sales growth.
Inevitable Fashion Commerce Trends:
1. Transforming Retail Shops Online
Brick and Mortar experiences or converting retail shops into online stores are the most crucial experiences, where the merchants need to master events, showrooming, Web-rooming, in-store experiences, and product demos.
Pure Play merchants would earn significant profits with such a transformation as the customers will continue to shop offline as well as online. The current fashion retailers follow a robust digital essence along with the in-store format and features.
2. Vitalizing Automation and Machine Learning
Another eCommerce trend that continues to grow with the advancement of the online fashion industry is the implementation of AI and working through machine learning. It is entirely related to automation and reduced manual efforts.
AI is also influencing brands like Tommy Hilfiger which announced its recent partnership with IBM and the Fashion Institute of Technology. The project uses AI tools by IBM to decode the real-time trends followed in the fashion industry, customers’ lookout on Hilfiger products, runway images, resurfacing themes, and silhouettes.
3. Shipping and Delivery Logistics Cannot Promise A One-Hour Delivery! Can they?
The shipping and delivery features have been improving since the advent of online shopping. If you observe the peculiarities of eCommerce platforms, the most genuine would be the time of shipping and delivery logistics.
Customers have started to expect same-day delivery, and fashion retailers are seeking to dominate the competition by synchronizing speed and convenience in a shorter duration. Who knows in the near future, you might get your ordered item in just a blink.
4. Closer Picture of Fashion with Augmented Reality
Gap (Retail Clothing Giant) has recently launched an AR feature that allows customers to ‘try on’ different apparel with the help of 3D avatars on their phones. However, Kendra Gratteri, chief customer officer at Avametric, states the feature is the tip of the iceberg. She seeks to enable a scanner in the future so that the device would be able to detect the measurements of the customers providing them with a perfect shopping experience.
5. Easy Checkout Through Mobile
The list of anticipated eCommerce trends would be incomplete without almost obligatorily mentioning of the continued rise in the use of mobile devices, especially mobile checkout, payment methods, and internet-connected devices.
Mobile payment is among the most dramatic changes in mobile commerce since online shopping began. Since the year 2015, mobile payment has steadily paced up in the mobile payment market. And, with mobile commerce, the expected revenue growth rate is 300% faster than the existing eCommerce, and more fashion retailers focus on implementing a seamless checkout experience for the users.
6. Customized Shopping with Voice Search
You might have had fun with Google’s voice “How may I help you?” feature. The concept of voice search has been taken from Google and is the easiest way to communicate.
Mobiles were made to have voice communication and there ain’t any surprise that they would play a crucial role in facilitating voice-related activities like shopping. Presently, almost every social media application has the feature of voice search. Thus, it is one of the leading drivers of innovation in the fashion commerce space.
7. Globalizing the Way of Shopping
Fashion commerce has already moved beyond the west making a new global landscape. Overseas customers are raising their demands for fashion-related products and that too at a rapid pace.
But, what if going global is actually getting local? Ironical isn’t it? Do you think it is enough for your fashion commerce to support local currencies, languages, and payment options?
I believe businesses need to tailor the customer experience and shopping expectations – from product mix and site design to enabling regional technologies and suppliers and GO GLOBAL!
8. Personalization- A Customer-Centric Trend
Fashion industries around the world are now aiming at their consumers and prioritizing personalization and digital experience while preparing strategies and making efforts to increase customer loyalty and revenue.
Personalization is a customer-centric trend that follows an eCommerce model, providing more personalized shopping experiences while focusing on the niche market. Fashion buyers seek individualism by identifying themselves with specific brands and products, which implies that the brands, in turn, have to focus on their brand story, strengths and quality of the product they would buy.
Magento for Fashion – Seamless Front-end and Effortless Back-end Experience.
You may consider yourself as a designer of haute couture, but more likely you must be among the group of marketers who are adept in selling fashion-frenetic stuff. Whatever might fuel up your passion for fashion commerce, retaining the customers for your ‘must-have’ statement fashion is the thing that should matter the most.
Being Different from the Rest!
What would set your online fashion store apart?
There lies a faded line of separation between a customer trying to search for your brand name in a search engine and the same customer leaving your site. It depends on you to set up everything in favor of your customers and do not let any of them leave your site empty-handed. So, here comes Magento to resolve all your worries!
Magento Commerce is transforming eCommerce at a global level but is effectively influential in creating accessible shopping experiences for the customers.
Have a look at some of the basic features offered by Magento Commerce for fashion industry:
- Provides the advanced eCommerce strategies to keep your fashion brands growing and a site that would turn heads
- Grants access to new fashion opportunities for the retailers that help them stay ahead of the competition and offer strategic digital experiences that enhance and outshine traditional marketing
- Responsive design that is mobility driven (allows the customers to visit your store from any device and location)
- Provides personalization and segmentation features that would raise sales growth and retain customer value
- Monitors customers’ shopping behavior, demographics, location allowing you to influence the journey of the customers
- Provides targeted buying options: ‘shop the look’ and ‘complete the look’ functionalities to boost the order value and some privileges for the first-time visitors.
Magento, as a platform for your fashion commerce, makes a lasting impression on your customers offering them a unique, consistent shopping experiences. Just remember, the display on your online fashion store has to be eye-catching and a valuable visit for your customers. After all, you cannot sell glamour without being a little glamorous. So this is where Magento would support your fashion pros to stay on their #1 game.
Do you wish to have your online fashion store, but have no idea from where to start? For your convenience, we have recently researched and published an informative white paper that would ideate you towards the latest fashion trends, and best practices for a well-managed and customer-centric fashion store on world’s most popular Magento 2 eCommerce platform.
Download our Fashion Commerce white paper NOW, and serve benefits to yourself!
Still left with queries? Do share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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Shivi Rao is a content marketer with Krish. She has worked in various industries spanning technology, science, rural marketing, startups & unicorns, eCommerce business, and digital marketing, believing that content is the foundation to facilitate the visibility of any organization and ensuring her words do the same. In her free time, you can either find her lifting weights in the gym or feeding the strays.
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