Everyone in fashion knows a trend can be a passing fad, or a growing phenomenon. Here are 4 retail trends that our MAGIC Seminar Series experts predict are here to stay.
1. See Now Buy Now
Also known as: Designers selling their collections right after they premiere on the runway.
Example: Tommy Hilfiger
With the instant gratification of social media, and the instant shopping in e-commerce, consumers no longer want to wait months for a collection to come out when they’ve already seen it. And designers like Tommy Hilfiger are taking note. Hilfiger made history when he made his September 2016 collaboration with Gigi Hadid available to shop instantly online, calling his See Now Buy Now campaign #TommyNow.
2. Clicks to Bricks
Also known as: Online retailers opening brick and mortar stores.
Example: Warby Parker
If you think online is the only way business is being done, you may be on the wrong track. Many popular online companies are now looking to increase sales offline. With a 34% average return of product in online stores, inventory control is a costly problem for even the best online retailers. (1)
That’s why e-commerce businesses like Warby Parker, and even Amazon are opening physical stores.
Plus, brick and mortar stores are a great advertisement. As California Fashion Association President, Ilse Metchek says, “The physical store will still be the most powerful and effective media available.”
3. Specialty Retailing
Also known as: Stores covering a single category or a niche market.
Ex: Lululemon
With industry giants like Macy’s closing around 15% of stores, and Sears and Kmart planning to close up to 150 locations many experts believe the department store will never be the industry giants they once were. (2)
This makes room for the specialty retailer who is able to cater to a niche market and more easily offer the entertaining in-store experience that today’s consumers are looking for. Lululemon offers events like free yoga classes, and is making a splash with it’s new Lululemon concept store, catering to the NYC athleisure shopper with exclusive, limited run styles.
4. Off-Price
Also known as: Discount retail stores.
Example: Nordstrom Rack.
Thanks to the rise of fast fashion, many consumer’s today don’t want to pay full price for a trend that they may not wear more than once, let alone forever. That’s why department stores are investing in their off-price counterparts. Nordstrom’s sales for its namesake store sank 2.9% in the fourth quarter of 2016. Luckily Nordstrom had already increased its investment in Nordstrom Rack, launching an e-commerce site and mobile app in 2014. Nordstrom Rack helped make up the difference with a 10.7% increase in revenue and 4.9% increase in comparable sales. (3)
Sources:
1. California Fashion Association: Calfashion.org
2. Starmicronics: http://www.starmicronics.com/blog/the-rise-of-experiential-discount-and-specialty-retail/
3. Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2017/02/23/nordstrom-has-a-tough-quarter-but-nordstrom-rack-soars/?utm_term=.3c28f6f1f199
Additional information in this article was obtained at the MAGIC Seminar Series.
