COVID-19 has influenced every industry, and the fashion industry is no exception.
With lockdowns in place, stores and factories are shutting down all over the world. Italy, the fashion hub to more than 40% of the world’s luxury goods, has been hit the hardest.
Moreover, with the salary cuts and increasing unemployment, who knows what this sector’s future will be like?
But it’s not all dark and gloomy in the pandemic. You need to use this opportunity to upgrade your brand and adapt to a new normal Styleon.
Today’s technology is setting tomorrow’s trends
It’s time to incorporate the latest technological trends and align your current marketing campaigns to adapt to pandemic conditions. More importantly, you need to focus on the bigger picture and prepare for a world that will emerge post-COVID-19.
Let’s take a closer look at marketing trends that will dominate the fashion industry in the coming days.
1. Greater reliance on ecommerce
The pandemic accelerated the shift towards ecommerce by five years, quotes IBM.
The US Department of Commerce states that consumers spent almost $212 billion on ecommerce just between April and June 2020. That’s nearly a 32% increase between Q1 and Q3 of this year. But more specifically, online purchases for clothes has gone up by 76.7%, with online revenue up by 22.2%, reports Logical Media Group Google Advertising MCC.
Post-COVID-19 consumers may still be reluctant to go to physical stores. That means brands will need to strengthen their online presence, improve communication channels, offer better ecommerce services, and everything under the sky to keep customers happy.
Sephora, a renowned fashion brand, has taken all this in stride. Knowing that customers crave one-on-one attention and in-the-moment shopping experiences, it has offered consumers an AR-backed app that embraces COVID restrictions while amping up consumer shopping experiences. Now consumers can try products without worrying about social distancing and sanitization.
2. Launch the seasonless fashion
The rise in online clothes purchases is a good sign for business owners. But brands need to be aware of consumer sentiment. People are more attentive to their expenses because of the uncertainty of how long pandemic conditions will continue.
Fashion brands will need to work on redefining their original line for two crucial reasons. First, they need to cater to consumer preferences. They want products of value to last longer and be available at lower prices.
Moreover, 43% of the world’s population is currently confined to their homes. The emphasis on work-from-home environments has people interested in buying seasonless clothes, such as a formal white shirt, timeless leather jackets, and oh so comfortable loungewear. Anything that can be worn year-round at home for work or leisure are higher in demand.
Secondly, brands need to focus on products that don’t go out of style or lose value depending upon the time of year. The unanticipated store closures in March left stockpiles of the spring/summer 2020 collection in warehouses and closed stores. Many had to sell them at discounted prices by the fall season, incurring considerable losses.
3. Create versatile content that appeals to a broader audience
Pandemic conditions left people home-based, bored, and frustrated. That meant they were more likely to surf online with their devices. While blogs are still a great way for brands to connect with consumers, you have to remember that many people are anxious or depressed about current affairs. They need entertainment more than information.
According to Global Web Index, over 80% of US and UK consumers agree that they consume more content since the outbreak, TV, and online videos being the primary mediums across all generations and genders. And that includes all platforms, such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc.
Hudabeauty began creating more tutorial videos to its Instagram page. Does your brand have the tools and resources to support video marketing appropriately?
4. Prepare flexible marketing plans
One thing that COVID-19 has taught businesses is the need to devise flexible strategies, from manufacturing to marketing and everything in between. Lockdowns all over the world led to disruptions in the supply chain. It forced fashion industry players to deal with delayed productions and marketing campaigns. Some were left with dwindling supplies, while others struggled to drive enough sales to generate adequate revenue and keep the business afloat.
Business models need to be more resilient in order to be able to withstand the impact of unexpected events. Backup alternative marketing plans can help brands effectively adapt and respond to market trends and consumer demand changes. Incorporating the right tools and strategies today is vital for the viability of your brand.
Take, for example, how Nike altered its marketing campaigns during the pandemic. While outlets were closing around the world, they did not advertise any of its latest products. Instead, the focus was on encouraging people to stay home and to stay healthy. For Nike, the result was substantial growth in online sales, according to Andy Campion, Nike’s chief financial officer.
5. Emphasize on social media marketing
Since the start of the pandemic, #coronavirus has reached 13 million posts. Social media remains to be a powerful way to influence, interact, and communicate with people. It should still be an essential aspect of your digital marketing campaign, mainly because there has been 61% more engagement on social media platforms since the start of the pandemic. It will continue to dominate in the post-covid-19 marketing world.
For one thing, social media is helping fashion brands communicate effectively with a broad target audience, maintain contact with existing customers, form better relationships, offer useful content, and much more.
But more importantly, with the right SMM analytics tools, fashion brands can gather relevant data and in-depth insights about consumer preferences, online habits, search history, etc. This helps them adapt and accommodate their marketing strategies to align with customer needs. Additionally, it can help brands create content according to consumers prefer, provide updates, upload tutorials, or post alerts about promotional discounts.
So yeah, social media marketing will continue to facilitate marketing and communication channels for fashion brands, even in post-COVID-19 times.
It’s a wrap
2020 will be remembered for years to come. The uncertainty of the economic condition fueled by the fear of a novel virus has made pandemonium break lose. It’s sent even the best of brands on a roller coaster ride they will never forget.
The pandemic continues to shape the nature of doing business. But for the fashion world, it’s opening up a whole new way of marketing and building strong relationships with customers.
With the viability of a brand driving brands to embrace the latest trends, you shouldn’t be the last one to adapt.
Take inspiration from fashion trends. They constantly evolve and change over time. In order to remain in the limelight, you, too, must do the same.
Ready to incorporate the latest marketing trends into your campaigns?