The 5 trends Net-a-Porter will focus on for spring 2019

It will take more than spring florals to excite consumers next season--- spring 2019 will see a complex array of trends needed to keep shoppers engaged. Net-a-Porter has revealed the top five trends it is following, from influencer marketing tactics to strategically selected brands, to reach its shoppers in a compelling way.

Seasonality

See-now-buy-now has evolved into buy-now-wear now. According to Net-a-Porter, shoppers do not shop ahead of season and want to wear new purchases immediately. The retailer's "What’s New" emails lead to 16 percent more revenue than a dedicated email. Shoppers want to buy what they can wear now.

"We are constantly challenging our designers to think about when product is going to deliver on our site as opposed to the traditional calendar," said global buying director Elizabeth von der Goltz.

New designers

Along with immediacy, today's shoppers value innovation. “Our customers have an insatiable appetite for newness and emerging talent," said von der Goltz. "They are really open to newness and brave in trying new things, so it’s important that we keep on feeding that hunger."

Net-a-Porter's trend report encourages retailers to look for new and emerging designers and brands to freshen shoppers' interests and introduce something they haven't yet seen.

Capsules

Today's consumer loves capsules. “If we take the current season, traditionally, for party dressing, you’re either shopping the tail end of fall winter or the beginnings of resort. So, we were finding that there was a huge gap in product deliveries," von der Gotz said.

She explained that shoppers respond well to specific capsules that meet a specific clothing need. This can also fill a void in deliveries.

The it-item

Net-a-Porter is looking for next season's "it" accessory items-- the piece that goes viral from cult followings and Instagram trends. Like the bag from Cult Gaia that consumers went crazy for last spring, the retailer expects to find items that will perform similarly this year.

“We aren’t strangers to the word ‘it’ when talking to accessories, and as a business we really believe in trusting in our instincts and backing with conviction what we think is going to be the next big thing," von der Gotz said.

Influencers

The digital retailer is investing in influencer relationships for next spring with its influencer network, Netset. It uses over 140 influencers across 20 countries to bring engage consumer interest and share a variety of personal styles and advice.

"Influencers partner with us in a very organic way, and this is what our customer reacts to so positively to,” said von der Gotz.