8 Tech Trends That Will Shape The Future Of Fashion And Luxury Retail In 2020-21
Unlike many other industries, the fashion industry is very open to change and thrives on constant changes. A significant part of the industry’s identity is its changes, which are yearly or even season-based. However, for 2020-21, something else seems to be driving the change in this industry, more than just fashion itself – technology. This might be arguably the most significant transformation in this industry in recent years.
The advancement of technology in recent years means that it now plays a critical role in many industries, offering solutions. The future of fashion and luxury retail is now set to be moved by these technological advancements, especially in meeting up customers’ demands and expectations.
This article examines how technology influences the fashion and luxury retail industry with eight tech trends in 2020-21.
- Online shopping
Online shopping is now on the rise, more than it was years ago. The internet now seems to be the marketplace for buyers and sellers to meet and complete their transactions. This rapid growth has been coming over the years, but the coronavirus pandemic has now boosted this growth exponentially. It’s safe to say that online shopping has now taken over from traditional physical shopping. It’s now common for people to check the internet, with numerous online platforms, for the clothing and accessories they want to buy and go ahead to order them online once they find them. This isn’t a trend that’s stopping anytime soon.
- AI and virtual assistants
One of the priorities for shoppers when shopping online is to look for retailers with the same values as themselves. One of the fastest-growing trends in the e-commerce industry is the use of artificial intelligence to ensure personalization.
Many online selling platforms have turned to artificial intelligence to become virtual assistants meaning that the importance of the virtual assistant platform is on the rise. To help them with problems relating to marketing strategies, many e-commerce fashion retailers are turning to AI. The most common use of AI in the e-commerce industry is AI bots as the first responder.
- Online payment platforms
The fact that most shopping is online means that the payment has to be done online as well. This is why online payment platforms now play significant roles in the fashion and luxury retail industry. These payment platforms have flexible options which ensure that more transactions can happen over the internet. The rise of digital wallets makes paying for an item online much more effortless.
Almost all online stores have these payment platforms, notably, PayPal; and payment is so simple that it only involves 2 or 3 steps. It’s quicker and easy to transfer funds into a digital wallet and safer than giving out credit card details.
- VR and AR
Virtual and Augmented reality are fast-growing technological innovations. These technologies bring the physical world into online shopping, as is an exciting prospect. A common use of these technologies in this industry is customers’ ability to check out outfits and try them out virtually with a high level of accuracy.
Online stores that use these technologies also have a high likelihood of retaining customers. This is why it is becoming a significant trend.
- Integrated platform services
Every business owner understands the importance of contacts and communication. It’s essential to establish a strong connection with the customers, which will help the brand’s awareness and credibility. Many fashion companies make sure that they have a strong presence on multiple platforms and also integrate their data so that they’re able to serve their customers on different fronts.
For example, CC customers order a fashion product through Twitter, send a complaint through email, make inquiries on Facebook, etc. All of these platforms’ data should be integrated to allow the company to deal with its customers efficiently.
- Targeted marketing
As stated in the assignment help the UK, it is common for fashion companies to target specific audiences during their marketing. Companies now realize that mass production isn’t the way forward and are now creating specific products for specific demography to maximize their profit. The targeted marketing approach allows them to face a particular market and be successful in it, rather than trying to be everywhere.
Thanks to numerous online platforms, businesses can easily find their demographic audience and market to them.
- Tech-savvy additions
The continued rise in technological development means that different products are being produced with more capabilities. In the case of fashion and luxury retails, we have seen examples of glasses and watches that have technological features added to them, which gives them more capabilities beyond their primary use. We now have smartwatches with Bluetooth connectivity that allow users to connect to their mobile devices to shop better.
- Sustainability
Fashion changes in the past have been influenced by the seasons of the year. Designers created different products for the winter and another one for the summer. However, as the reality of climate change dawns on us, this has started to change. Designers are now moving away from seasonal trends and are producing products that are useful across different seasons, and the customers can use them for many years.
The environmental impact of wastage from rapid production has seen fashion companies adopt a slow fashion concept to cut costly manufacturing processes. The brand now settles for a sustainable model of operation, and this sits well with many consumers.
Conclusion
Technology has been very involved in many industries and has been the driving force behind numerous different sectors’ changes. The fashion industry isn’t left out. The development of luxury products is because of the involvement of technology, but now we see technology take up different roles in the industry to drive some of the new trends.
Technological advancement is something that many customers are ready for. So the more brands accept and adopt technology in fashion, the larger their customer base will be.
