ShopStyle predicts big shifts in online fashion

The independent shopping website ShopStyle.co.uk, which is home to 2,000 fashion brands and retailers, is predicting six big trends in online shopping this year from mobile devices and applications to start-up stores,

twilight shopping, subscription services and environmental changes.

Top of the list is ‘new devices’: with the new iPad 3 expected to be released in the spring and launches of new android tablets and advanced eReaders like the Kobo Vox and Kindle Fire, 2012 looks set to be the year of mobile shopping. This is expected to spark a myriad of new apps designed to help consumers shop on-the-go, including the development of QR codes.

The increasing use of smart phones and tablets means that consumers are changing when they shop, which ShopStyle is calling ‘twilight shopping’, highlighting the research that shopping between 8pm and 1am has increased. To take advantage of this it is predicting that more retailers will consider timed shopping events aimed at this late night shopping audience.

Another growth area due to people struggling to find the time to shop is clothing and lifestyle subscription services, with brands such as StylistPick, which combine expert advice and a carefully chosen selection, expected to continue to grow in popularity.

An area which could help revitalise the high street is the prediction that a wave of physical pop-up stores promoting new online businesses is expected, aptly named ‘start-up stores’; one has already been opened in New York, which showcases a rotation of online start-ups – with London expected to follow suit.

The last trend prediction is to do with the impact weather conditions have on retailers and the research showing that more people are now shopping based on the weather than on the seasons, which ShopStyle is predicting will eventually mean a change in how retailers stock and sell their clothes, both online and offline. As well as how they use the weather, for instance, MyWardrobe now sends out a weekly forecast newsletter with outfit ideas.

With all the trends mobile retail is expected to see the most growth, which has been supported by recent findings from the Centre for Retail Research, which predicts £4.5 billion is expected to be spent in the UK on shopping via mobile phones this year.