FASHION RETAIL AND DIGITAL

My last blog  saw the basics of the fashion retail industry. I am sure you want to know more of how the retail industry is shaping up. We are in the 21^st century and since the advent of internet, the whole game seems to have  changed. Online , e-commerce, m-commerce has spawned many a players in the market and its sure to go strong. Did you know today the e-commerce market today is poised to grown to US$ 1.2 Trillion by 2021.( https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/next-level-of-consumer-growth-in-india-in-2019-through-e-commerce-deloitte/article26373617.ece)

But let’s not get swayed away by the numbers and let’s see what is happening in the retail stores and on the digital front. How are brands wooing their customers through the Phygital experience.

A brand typically till now was more focused on the silent seller in the store – ‘Visual Merchandising’. This department was/is/ will be responsible to ‘dress up’ the store/windows to attract the customers. But in today’s scenario this has gone beyond. Today retail professionals, aspiring fashion retail management students not only will have to learn these soft skills but also ‘digital skills’ and various tools that will help them get the customers into the store.

THE DIGITAL  EXPERIENCE –

Till a decade back a brand would typically launch its Spring/Summer collection with a bang – be it newspaper ads , larger than life hoardings, in store  catalogues, radio ads, in store visual merchandising windows. But today in the world of digital, e-commerce brands have the option of multiple touch points to connect with their consumers.

SMS( mostly for CRM) , e-mail marketing, driving website traffic, social media all make a great communication channel for the brand to announce new arrivals. Now that you know that the collection is launched and you are ready to walk in to the store. Lo & behold the store is ‘dressed up’ but also new technology is at your service to make the right choice. As you enter the store, beacons send you messages on your smartphone with details of new arrivals, your preferences!

Move ahead and you  are welcomed by the ‘tabs’ with the catalogues fully loaded on them for you to make a more informed choice and the collection range. If that’s not enough many brands today have virtual fashion mirrors for the slightly lazy customers who don’t want to go through the million fitting/changing sessions but surely offers them all the convenience at their fingertips.

TECH INVASION FOR GOOD

Here is something interesting technologies of  how retailing will change by 2020.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRvaWHk3A8k

Catalogue tabs - (www.google.com)

That’s cool, isn’t it? But if you observe closely today, physical retail shops are looking more like websites (with all the tech gadgets in store to navigate to your best choice) and the website today looks more like the physical store ( with all the products right at your fingertips).

Product alerts in store - (www.google.com)

IT'S ALL ON THE GO

Today brands are going further to enhance their customer shopping experience not only by offering them a huge choice and  great ambience but also a very convenient check out facility, be it apparel or groceries.

Go buy !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=336YkwayCD4

So you are thinking how this is done? Big data, customer profiling, artificial intelligence, computer vision, your card details all just to make ‘YOUR’ shopping experience ‘SIMPLE’.

The possibilities here are endless and I will return soon to talk to you more about new initiatives, concepts in retail.

Enjoyed reading? Please like ,share and comment on my blog. Thanks.

Fashion Retail and You!

Fashion has come a long way and today big brands turn around the latest trends into beautiful garments that you would want to buy at any cost at your favorite brand store.Have you ever wondered how these brands work round the clock to get you that favorite piece(eg -Zara, H&M,Primark)?

So friends, colleagues,students, entrepreneurs, digital marketers who are interested in knowing how this happens, let's look at some of the basic models of most of the fashion brands -

1) Research & Design - Fashion designers extensively study and research the global fashion trends, new materials almost a year or more before a particular product goes on the floor. A lot of inspiration comes from the fashion shows, trade shows around the world eg -  New York, Milan Fashion show, The Bread & Butter show, Pitti Uomo shows to name just a few. These trend studies are discussed and then samples are made and refined continuously to suit the markets that the brand is present in. A lot of back and forth happens before a final design is approved.

(Source: www.google.com)

2) Merchandising -  The merchandising department is constantly in touch with the designers to develop a product. They also work closely with the planners, vendors to decide the right quantities, right price,volume for the product.

(Source:www.google.com)

3) Manufacturing - A lot of brands outsource their manufacturing to vendors. There is a huge demand for facilities across Asian countries like  India, Bangladesh, China,Vietnam, Philippines etc, primarily for the labour and cost advantage.But all these facilities have to adhere to strict rules and guidelines as per the brand requirements. Once the orders are fulfilled they are shipped to the Brand's central warehouse ( wherever it maybe) and then to the retail stores across geographies.

(Source:www.google.com)

4) Production Dept (Quality dept)-  The production department along with the merchandisers visit these factories to check on the deliverables and during the process a thorough quality check is done by the quality department. This can help track the progress of the garments and keep a tab on the quality of the garments.

(Source:www.google.com)

5) Supply Chain -  The supply chain department along with the planning department helps distribute the stocks across the retail store network of the brand. Planning and distribution is essential for any brand to keep up with the current trend in the market and that the item is available for the customers at the right time.

(Source:www.google.com)

6) Marketing -  While all the above aspects are in process, the Marketing team works at the back end with the designers,planners, merchandisers and partner agencies to devise the communication for the particular season. The garments shown in the campaign needs to resonate the current trend in the market and ideally should be visible across all mediums i,e - newspapers, hoardings,social media, digital marketing, cinema advertising, emailers, sms, brochures, flyers, all to attract the customers to its stores. CRM also plays a major role in attracting repeat buying.

(Source:www.google.com)

7)Conclusion: So now you know how the fashion industry works,but would you want to know how digital is also shaping up the future of retail fashion? Watch this space for more! Meanwhile do write in your comments below or mail me on sumkul@gmail.com