Trends 2021 for online fashion retailer product manager

According to Forrester Analytics global online fashion customers to come to 911 million by 2022, making it the largest category of online shopping. Harsh competition in e-commerce and buyers’ demands and needs are pushing online clothing retailers to change and implement innovations and become more socially responsible.

Using augmented reality and virtual fitting rooms will continue to develop, while subscription, personalisation and influencer marketing will raise. Last year fashion brands used to test new technologies and implement new business models, but in 2021 we will see the scaling of these cases.

Supporting Corporate Social Responsibility

That concept is not new and it has been increasing over the past several years. According to surveys Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) and Environmental Effort strongly influence on sales. 68% of Gen Zers expect companies to contribute to society, and 87% of shoppers would like to buy a product by a socially responsible brand. tentree, online store, is a great example of this kind of company, which plants trees across for every item sold.

CSR is gaining appreciation as a global initiative that aims to contribute to environmental, economic, and human welfare. So we should expect that companies will rapid adoption of CSR programs and increase investment into these technology projects. Especially as online stores have their own environmental concerns. For example, online retailers are trying to reduce returns because they damage the environment and increase congestion and CO2 emissions.

In addition to attracting shoppers, GP Bullhound expects CSR-focused companies are able “to attract significant investment, enabling VCs to add “impact” to their portfolio to stand out against the usual backdrop of capital” and more talent and better employees.

Personalization and AI

We can see the rapid adoption of Artificial Intelligence technologies into customer hyper-personalization, clothing selection, branding, and the B2C sales experience. For example, AI empowers personalized email marketing to be created by A/B testing and distributed broadly. Machine Learning also improves search marketing with analysis of data lakes and related keywords to predict consumer inquiry.

69% of consumers want a personalized experience, and two-thirds are expecting it, but only 40% of brands can offer that. Mae Karwowski, founder Obvious.ly, noticed that ML technology helps to get more proper results such as identifying target audiences more detailed. “It is easy to get five influencers to feel invested in a brand, but much harder to get 5,000 on-board”.

Zalando, fashion e-commerce brand, is using Algorithmic Fashion Companion for becoming more customer-focused and bringing personalization to the new level. This is a digital and scalable outfit recommendation tool for providing customers with unlimited outfit suggestions. The other example of using AI in fashion is a chatbot Enki by ASOS, which recommends items based on imagery and the user’s personal style. Also, Louis Vuitton has a chatbot on Facebook “LV Digital Assistant” for the brand page with more than 23 million followers. It should give a sophisticated and personalised experience for the shoppers.

As a result, consumers feel a connection to brands and can clarify online shopping that leads to creating a more personalized experience online and boosting revenue by as much as 10%. Customers indicated that a highly personalized shopping experience made them 110% more likely to add additional items to their baskets and 40% more likely to spend more than they were planning.

AI also is able to decide the size problem in online stores. The case of Sizolution shows that implementing a system of automatic garment measurements at the online retailer KUPIVIP has increased revenue by 30%. The Sizolution Fit Assistant was installed on the KUPIVIP website. Using it, customers were able to get unique size recommendations and fit predictions for each product.

High tech shopping

When you’re shopping for clothes online, you can’t try on the clothes, feel the fabric or instantly know does something fit or not. The lack of physical connection often can lead to shopper hesitation and lead to fewer sales. But the new technologies like augmented reality, artificial intelligence engine and virtual reality can help to overcome this obstacle.

AR technology helps shoppers make better and more informed product decisions. Gucci added an AR feature to its app to let users ‘try on’ sneakers. Or sometimes brands use augmented reality as marketing. Zara temporarily changed mannequins on AR versions of real fashion models. Customers could see inside and outside the stores AR images of posing and speaking international models via mobile app. Timberland and Macy’s were demonstrating using virtual reality-equipped smart mirrors. At the same time, The North Face and Tommy Hilfiger put VR headsets to show 360-degree outdoor views in the mall to attract more customers.

Voice search makes browsing and purchasing more comfortable for customers and store owners realize more consumers’ interests and buying patterns. Gartner researchers estimate that e-commerce brands with voice and visual search are able to grow income by up to 30%. In 2017 voice commerce apparel sales totalled $0.16 billion in the USA and the UK. OC&C Strategy Consultants predicted this amount can increase by 22.5 times by 2022.

Gen Z

Gen Z members (age 18–24) are already becoming the huge generation of consumers, they account for $29 to $143 billion in direct spending in the USA alone. In its study, Facebook notes this consume group values inclusivity, curiosity, reciprocity and global unity. How we mentioned Social Responsibility of a fashion brand is meaningful. In the US, 61% of Gen Zers surveyed expect brands to contribute to society, in France — 58%, in Germany — 51%.

Gen Z considers its diversity as a benefit, 71% say they would like to see more this in advertising. Facebook provided an example commercial campaign of a youth-focused fashion line “Collusion” by ASOS, where clothes are animal-free and gender-fluid. Collusion made a survey in an Instagram Stories, the brand discovered nearly two-thirds of respondents felt that clothes should not be gendered. 54–58% of Gen Zers surveyed say they would pay more for products that are produced in an ethical and sustainable way.

Gen Zers crave the connections that communities create and they greet brands into their online communities if the brands offer a genuine value exchange. Also, the Crowd DNA survey found 60% of Gen Z would like to communicate with more businesses via messaging.

Progressive web apps

It is a happy medium between a desktop web site and mobile app. Progressive web apps (PWA) have all those functions and the same time much easier to develop and they work offline. In the desktop browser progressive web app remains a regular site, but when a visitor opens it in a mobile browser, PWA becomes a hybrid site and application. Of course, PWA is able to increase revenue, mobile conversion, page-load time, view, etc.

Debenhams, a British omnichannel fashion brand, increased revenue to 40% and mobile conversion to 20% after PWA implement. Also, Lilly Pulitzer, women fashion brand, got 80% increase in mobile traffic, by a third more revenue in the first week and high-quality images open faster. So PWA not only does it benefit users, it can bring more business goals to online store performance. Fashion brands should be become mobile-first to make the shopper journey easier.