The impact of e-commerce — on the apparel industry
E-commerce and online Shopping: The rise of the digital society has led to a major shift in consumer behavior toward online shopping.
The impact of technological development and COVID-19 — — — — on the apparel industry
The typical social media user now spends about 15 percent of their waking hours on online web apps .It is hard to imagine that 15% of our lives are spent on the virtual but ubiquitous web, so it is conceivable that e-commerce has great potential for development.
The development of network technology has promoted the process of e-commerce, and people are more and more inclined to choose this kind of time-saving shopping method. COVID-19 has certainly accelerated this process.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on both the digital society and the apparel industry. Shopping patterns have fundamentally changed since the outbreak: a 2021 report confirmed that 43% of consumers who had never bought clothing online began doing so during the pandemic.
Here are some of the main ways the epidemic is impacting these areas:
1. Accelerating digital transformation: The pandemic has accelerated the ongoing digital transformation in various industries, including apparel.
2. As physical stores face closures or restrictions, retailers are forced to prioritize and invest in digital channels to reach customers.
3. E-commerce boom: Online shopping surged during the pandemic as lock-downs and social distancing measures were put in place. As consumers shift to online shopping channels, demand for e-commerce platforms, including the apparel industry, is also increasing.
E-commerce has many unique advantages over offline retail stores.
- Use the platform and big data to analyze customer preferences and push products to target customers more accurately to increase sales.
2 .Selling clothes online means you don’t need to actually open a store, pay no rent, pay no water and electricity bills, or even employ fewer people but serve more customers，and also available 24 hours a day。
More than 60 percent of the younger generation hates the crowds and long lines in physical stores.Online shopping, on the other hand, does not need to wait, is independent and convenient.
Social media and Fashion influences : Social media platforms, such as Instagram, Twitter and Ticktock , have become influences in shaping fashion trends.
Instagram is by far the most popular network for fashion inspiration: 52% of Gen Z and Millennial respondents said they use Instagram to browse fashion.About 50% of young people have shopped through social media.（This creates a perfect chain where we see the item on social media, are inspired to buy it, and finally make the purchase on social media.
Social media is also becoming an extremely powerful marketing tool, especially in the fashion industry. On social media, not only can brands reach out to consumers, but consumers can also reach out to brands. The Gucci Model Challenge launched by Ticktock in 2020 is a very successful example. With 134.5 K entries under the hashtag #GucciModelChallenge, it attracted a large number of young participants who distilled Gucci fashion into a simple formula, with a few key pieces looking like an official model. Gucci forwarded them, enhanced its visibility, and let more people understand its brand characteristics in depth, it has to be said that it is a low-cost and high-yield advertising.
Many people believe that the rise of e-commerce will lead to the decline of the real economy, and it seems to be true. Rising rents and fewer and fewer foot traffic in physical stores, more and more managers choose to close physical stores.Brick-and-mortar stores have been hit even harder due to the impact of COVID-19. In 2021, 30% of fashion retailers plan to close stores.
But the physical store is not going to die.The halo effect of physical stores: a clothing store can increase online sales around the store by 11.6%. And apparel brands that are expanding their store count are growing online sales more than twice as fast (12%) as brands that are reducing their store count (5.5%).
Of all the categories of goods sold through e-commerce, clothes and shoes have the highest return rate. In Finland, 23% of clothes and 12% of shoes are returned. In the UK, 27 per cent of clothing and 15 per cent of shoes are returned. Inappropriate sizes and material issues are probably the biggest reasons, which may be why people are still enthusiastic about physical stores. Data shows that 65% of Americans prefer to shop in physical stores to view and touch products before purchasing.
Virtual fitting room
Eyemagnet, a multimedia communications company, has developed a virtual fitting room for the Hallensteins menswear chain.Fashion retailer Top shop has installed Kinect-powered virtual fitting rooms in its Moscow store.Nike is using groundbreaking AR technology, called “Nike Fit”, designed to allow customers to accurately determine their shoe size.In June 2020, Gucci partnered with Snap chat to launch a filter that allows users to test how the brand’s shoes look on their feet.
Although AI technology is constantly developing, virtual locker room technology seems to have a long way to go, and AI technology is also worth worrying about whether it infringes on personal privacy.
Many companies have realized that the physical economy and the digital economy do not have to be a trade-off, but can promote each other if done properly, and have made positive attempts, such as digital physical stores: leading the new retail reality.
Amazon’s introduction of scanning QR codes to access inventory information, Nike links to physical stores and online stores are good ideas. The conflict between physical stores and e-commerce is objective, because the total number of customers will not fluctuate much, but the combination will bring win-win results.
The rise of digitization and e-commerce is both an opportunity and a challenge for the garment industry. If they make appropriate adjustments to the current situation, they can seize opportunities; On the contrary, it is easy to suffer heavy losses under the tide of The Times.
