The coronavirus pandemic is the biggest change most of us will have experienced in the lifetime and lead to the evolution of numerous consumer attitude. As lockdown and social distancing continue, staying home is transforming people’s psychology towards fashion, be it the consumer or the fashion creator they are utilizing this time to think about new projects to cope with the future. The virus is a major sign of a planet to the fashion brands to end fast fashion. This is the time to start envisioning different products and experiences.
Future Consumer
Life has once again been reduced to the essentials. We are in a stage of rejection unless fashion does fulfil functionality and necessity. Design should now be change in the way that what you offer remains modern. Shifting to Recycling and upcycling to wearing second hand in everyday life can save the Earth from a lot of dumps. I would say passing down outgrowing garments to younger children, swapping, swishing and sharing by giving them a new life is the most convenient way to extend the life of your clothes. It is one key to contribute towards sustainable fashion.
Understanding Future Consumer like the way people expect, feel and behave, will encourage us to tackle the changes ahead. We need to look at the modern consumer, and it’s more important than ever to understand what this consumer will want to buy in the short, mid and long-term. According to Andrea Bell, WGSN Insight (May 2020) Industries are having to adapt to a new reality that demands flexibility, resilience and above all creativity. Trends that predicted for the next decade have accelerated to become part of our lives in a matter of weeks. The good news is that times of great crisis lead to tremendous innovation and the designers, creators, strategists, marketers, buyers in fashion industry will rise to this challenge like never.
The one thing our current situation can direct us is that the future will come more rapidly than we think. The fashion world will be moving from showrooms to digitally produced campaigns, and a digital shift will prevent buyers from traveling and reduce waste. Holidaying will be local once the lockdown is over, and the consumer will look to natural and biodegradable products. Luxury goods are likely to be the last to really get back into the flow of things. Consumers will start appreciating the craftsman’s work and try and buy more of handloom and handcrafted designs, which are more classical and not fast fashion.
Market opportunity
The long-term economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic is unknown, but the global short-term unemployment rates are daunting. Many people are relying on localized social commerce to supplement income and this shopping behavior will remain strong for the foreseeable future. Identify social commerce platforms for partnerships and Start small by deploying a limited product test, and track what’s gaining in terms of sales and discovery before major investment. 1.Livestream Shopping
Coronavirus is normalizing livestream sales for many countries. According to WGSN livestreaming will continue to remain dominant shopping option. It allows them to interact and shop virtually anywhere. Retailers investing in branded live stream shopping events to maximize sales will obtain excellent opportunity. Like how Nike In January 2019, released a limited-edition shoe via livestream on the gaming platform Twitch was able drove high rates of engagement and conversions, and the product soon sold out.
2. AR/VR shopping
According to a 2018 Gartner survey, 100 million consumers will shop AR/VR by 2020, and this will continue to grow as a conversational commerce channel. Gartner expects that the implementation of 5G and AR/VR in stores will transform not only customer engagement but also the entire product management cycle of brands and will enhance store traffic issues. Retailers should make the experience sharable as feedback will help to understand the products when purchasing. Around the world, fashion weeks are canceled, postponed, or going virtual. Tokyo, Shanghai, and Moscow have already explored alternatives with virtual format live-streaming shows. Abandoning the traditional fashion calendar, The British label Burberry announced the spring/summer 2021 show on 17th September digitally for those unable to travel and visit.
3. Sustainable Hub
India being one of the most significant producers and exporter of cotton in the world, making of cotton fabric products will mark a key step in globalizing it. India possesses extensive capability to build sourcing system using indigenous facility rather sourcing raw materials from other country. This is the time consumers around the world hunting for anything sustainable. And our country is blessed with plenty of natural resources. India can be a “Sustainable Hub, “ It can’t happen overnight, but this is something which we absolutely need looking forward in long-term fashion market.
Ways to Engage
• Talk to a cohort that expects certain things, create products and services that meet their lifestyles, focus on hyper-local delivery. Time speed remain the key, Delivery services must shorten time especially in congested urban areas and technology will help overcome this.
- Reduce operating cost and inventory, renegotiating payment terms to manage daily overflowing to have immediate cash. Present state applies the survival of the fittest that ability to make best out of it in the fast-changing market.
• Peer-to-peer social commerce will continue rising and focused on supporting community members by opting to purchase directly from friends will regenerate local economy.
• Exchanging Leftover materials at the end of each season all at a lower price point than the main range. - Bringing garments to new life out of Factories archived deadstock. Rescuing fabrics instead of making them redundant provides opportunity to contribute to the welfare of recycling. Old garments can be restyling and sold in Instagram, online website, etc.
• New essentials: Masks has become a part of our mainstream clothing since the World Health Organization is urging the people. The fashion world can take it as an opportunity to maintain the business.
• Since many people working from home lounge wear and easy wear will continue moving forward. Manufacturers, buyers and suppliers can gather such market. Collaborating one another to produce numerous features and put together to gathers customers with modern attitudes.
The Current Challenges
• Traditional and institutional brands and retailers will continue losing market share to local retailers and local store. And is likely creating recessions throughout the remainder of the year and possibly trickling into 2021.
• Consumer Sentiment: Immense Fear and anxiety of environmental and financial uncertainty due to widespread unemployment urged consumers feel uneasy about the future.
• Brands that were struggling might disappear, especially independent and young designers. And Big brands might want to get back to business but it’s a question of how long this goes on for.
- This pandemic has transformed the world and taught to live on only essentials. But When we are back on track, human will forget the new realities and will go back to old normal life.
- With the economy at an all-time low and layoffs becoming more common than ever, consumers are thinking twice before making any purchase. Consumers are looking at value and best prices.
- Fashion brands have experienced immediate shocks to their supply chains and sales, luxury goods conglomerates stocks are down, and retailers struggle to retain workers on a payroll. Bain & Company report shows that luxury market is likely to lose between $65 to $75 billion in sales this year.
Every company is bearing losses in this unprecedented global shut down and also need to take care of the mental, physical and financial well-being of the people involved in the process of designs-garment. We react differently in times of crisis, depending on our environment, in terms of fashion, and there will be a slowdown. I believe it’s a good time to re-evaluate the actual needs and saying goodbye to fast fashion buying scam. We can focus more on local and sustainable product in the near future in response to ongoing global issues. Simplicity in design, investment in technology, Creativity and collaboration are key in this situation, and we hope this isn’t just a short-term crisis trend. While we continue living virtually, everyone among your connections can keep exchanging a concrete deep idea, thoughts and innovation to be more productive. However, this is a worldwide crisis. The solution must be collective. We cannot be lonesome; we can only overcome things together.
References:
https://m.wgsn.com/iA1B0HWDLWm00Y01miU3Z06
https://yourstory.com/2020/06/consumer-shopping-experience-shift-online-post-covid-19
https://yourstory.com/2020/06/consumer-shopping-experience-shift-online-post-covid-19
https://elle.in/article/fashion-industry-post-coronavirus/
https://www.iknockfashion.com/will-covid-19-draw-attention-to-sustainable-fashion/
https://yourstory.com/2020/06/consumer-shopping-experience-shift-online-post-covid-19
