For the last decade, the fashion industry has evolved significantly, and the online market alone is projected to reach over $1 billion value by 2030. And for e-commerce by 2022, it will constitute 36 percent of all fashion sales. With the release of new devices every day, that has opened many doors for customer engagement. As technology touches on various fields in the enhancement of a speedy way of doing things and efficiency, fashion has greatly benefited through the new tech revolution affecting everyone globally via personalization. Fashion enthusiasts can today capture brands such as Fendi new releases using multiple devices at the comfort of your home.
The more Artificial Intelligence (AI) translates to more success of fashion retailers and easily helps to reach out to their consumers. Many changes have been experienced in the fashion world through the increase of a better tech approach daily. Let’s see how technology is helping to transform the fashion industry.
Technology is Automating the Fashion Industry
From reputable fashion brands to startups are taking advantage of the technology to understand their customers than ever before better. The more sophisticated things get, AI will redefine brands’ approach to development and product design, focusing on how to predict what customers would like to see next.
Instant Gratification
After the Second World War, the fashion industry has been categorized into seasons spring, winter, autumn and summer lines debut on runways. The four seasons are broken in this style to allow brands to take time to gauge their consumers and retail interest. When fashion brands are at the introduction stage, and new releases are put on shelves, brands can assess the demand to manufacture the right amount of apparel for the season.
Major brands are now capitalizing on the speedy process of fast fashion by making sure the clothes reach shelves immediately after the runway. Now many brands are thriving on agility and speed. Through technology, the brands are able to come up with a new design or trend and deploy their hyper-rapid design and supply chain systems for quicker market release of the new product.
The quick manufacturing process allows fast fashion brands to beat traditional labels when it comes to marketing. The speedy process has prevented counterfeit garments and accessories appearing on shelves after runways before the originals are released. The near real-time ability to push trending fashion on shelves early allows the fashion brands to consider coming up with a better approach on how to cater to the preference of smaller, additional targeted segments of consumers.
Sustainability
As the brands get more involved in the concept of fast fashion, they are shying away from the negatives fast fashion brings on board. Now consumers are slowly taking the clock back for slow fashion ideas, which pays attention to sustainable materials, transparent process, manufacturing and ethical labour. According to a research carried by Lyst search engine in 2018, there was an increase of 47 percent of consumers leaning more on products that have ethical and style qualifications. The sustainability concern is prominent among the young generations. The millennials who are about 83 percent in the US are looking for brands that consider environmental factors according to the Conference Board Global Consumer Confidence Survey.
The study also shows that 75 percent are ready to change their consumption habits for sustainable products that add value. The new startup fashion brands that are aligning themselves in this sense will reap big. Consumers are nowadays focusing on a brand that not only provides them with what they want with speed but also cares about the sustainability of the products. Brands such as Allbirds has taken the challenge positively and is coming up with durable shoes designed from eucalyptus leaves.
Now many brands have embraced the slow fashion movement, and the rise of a fast-fashion model and social media are continuing to play a big role in transforming the fashion industry.
Rapid Iteration and Production
Through the use of technology in the fashion industry, the new startup brands are finding it easy to join the industry as the starting costs have significantly gone down. For instance, Etsy has made it easy for everyone to start their online shop and build a customer base. The costs that used to kill young brands are no longer an issue as the decrease makes it feasible for them to produce small runs of products at a realistic margin.
High-end brands are also evolving how they approach the market to better position themselves and compete with fast-fashion retailers. A great example is the Tommy Hilfiger brand that had to overhaul the entire system and shorten the process from 18 months to 6 months of production. Technology has enhanced this speedy process, and now other brands are joining the likes of Tommy Hilfiger to target their consumers better and sell products fast.
Conclusion
The fashion industry is more advanced and scaling to higher heights due to technology. From manufacturers, designers, stylists, retailers and consumers are connected by technology. Through automation, many roles are going to be replaced as the sophistication process continues to get better each day. The technology effect will keep changing things and systems in the fashion industry, plus how the role of a designer to brand shifts get.