Innovation in fashion retail is mostly centered around two concepts, enhancing customer experience, and making processes more efficient. As technology keeps advancing at an exponential rate, and becomes less costly to implement in day-to-day activities, we are looking at an uncharted area that opens the floor for creativity in how to use this technology in a unique way that will engage the consumer.
The line is becoming more and more blurred between the digital and the real world, so we are looking at brands creating digital clothing for avatars, and clothing not available in real life; live commerce (a new version of TV buy-now channels), underlining that offering quality content matters; self-service, yesterday we talked about a very specific example with Zara and their new pick up service for online buyers on our Instagram that renders talking to the staff obsolete! The use of biometrics (a great example is the beauty industry with services that allow you to see what a color would look like on your skin before buying) and Augmented Reality (AR) (an example worth noting are furniture stores that allow you to see how furniture would look in your house before purchase!) to personalize the shopping experience; and finally same-day deliveries.
That is not to say that analogic experiences and values do not matter. We are looking at online-only stores creating physical spaces, whether through pop-ups or actual flagships; brands creating communities and giving visibility to artists, either through actual displays in their stores or in their online channels; and finally the move to more ethical and eco-friendly practices!
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References:
Baron, Katie. “Retail Futures: 9 Trends, Strategies And Innovation Opportunities To Set 2020 Alight.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 6 Jan. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/katiebaron/2020/01/06/retail-futures-9-trends-strategies–innovation-opportunities-to-set-2020-alight/#7cf302b12844.
Johnson, Tara. “15 Innovative Retail Trends to Watch in 2020.” Tinuiti, 3 Mar.