Five Fashion Trends That Brands Can’t Ignore

The last year has been transformational for fashion brands and retailers. From initial inspiration to checkout, the way fashion consumers shop has dramatically changed. As Covid-19 restrictions continue to lift, digital will continue to have a critical part to play. This offers a unique opportunity for fashion brands and retailers to connect and convert consumers at different stages of their buying journey.

There are a number of trends taking front-row of the fashion industry today, shaping the strategies of brands and the shopping habits of consumers:

1) The lines of online and offline continue to blur

Consumers have enjoyed the convenience, variety and detail that comes with online shopping. As restrictions lift and the high streets bustle again, brands could see a different type of consumer. Recent research found that two in five shoppers expect they will shop online more frequently even after lockdown ends. Consumers are likely to continue researching and evaluating options online before shopping in-store, making the entire consumer journey a more fragmented and multichannel experience.

2) Sustainability is becoming increasingly important

Sustainability is becoming an important topic for consumers, and brands are noticing this. Many marketplaces are introducing requirements for brands to follow, such as mandating sustainably sourced materials or banning single use plastic in packaging. Zalando has stated that by 2023, all fashion brands selling through the platform will have to have provided supply chain information in order for their environmental and social impact to be reviewed.

3) Marketplace options are endless

There are hundreds of marketplaces available to international fashion consumers, and brands need to understand which ones suit their needs. Research is required to pinpoint the right channels for your brand. Build a list of the most suitable marketplaces for your company, researching price points, brand positioning against competitors and category-specific options.

4) Pricing and excess stock are complex

Excess stock is one of retail’s biggest challenges - balancing how you manage overstock without diminishing your brand's value is a core concern of brands today. Managing a full-price or off-price strategy and the channels you use to distribute this stock will be critical to your overall success. There are a variety of options like discounting stock, selling to wholesalers or increasingly popular is listing on off-price marketplaces.

5) Social commerce strategies to convert

Facebook and Instagram make it increasingly easy for people to shop right in the moment of discovery. But capturing interesting consumers and keeping them on the path to purchase on these channels can be complex. Using a shoppable media solution to direct consumers to preferred channels can change social browsing to social commerce in one click.

FashionCommerce: Optimise Your Digital Runway

To cover topics like these and more, ChannelAdvisor is hosting FashionCommerce, on 16 June. Bringing together the industry’s most knowledgeable e-commerce experts for an exciting virtual event, FashionCommerce is a morning of insightful content exclusively for EMEA clothing, footwear and accessories brands and retailers.

In this free virtual event, you’ll hear from e-commerce experts at Facebook, Zalando, La Redoute, Secret Sales and Geox.

Learn more and register to attend now .