The Future Of Fashion In 2023

It’s no secret that the fashion industry has been experiencing difficulties since fast, inexpensive apparel began to dominate. It’s becoming riskier to play the game of eCommerce with enterprises constantly striving to offer the best deals and quicker delivery times to win over customers. With the cost of living crisis and the rise and fall of Covid, fashion retailers have had to adapt to keep up with the latest fashion trends.

Considering the highly competitive fashion industry in 2023, here’s your chance to step up your eCommerce store game!

Local Businesses 

Since the era of covid has come and gone, people have started to understand the importance of supporting local communities and businesses. In a Deloitte Digital survey, 57% of consumers estimated they would spend more on local goods after the lockdown was removed than they did before. As a result, consumers have become more comfortable with the concept of supporting local businesses as it is important to contribute to local communities.

Second-Hand Shopping

As a marketing tactic, several companies sell used goods. When used properly, retailers may anticipate a higher return on investment and increased consumer satisfaction.

For instance, Patagonia, which specialises in selling outdoor gear and apparel, uses this tactic by allowing customers to sell their previously owned and used Patagonia items.

Used clothing enables companies like these to reduce consumption and elevate their brand’s overall sustainability positioning.

This is something that merchants could include in their business plan to help them stay sustainable. Offering your customers discounts and promotions in exchange for recycling their old clothes is one strategy that could be implemented.

With the rise of fast fashion over the past few years and the poor impact it has had on the environment, merchants need to promote alternative ways for fashion and sustainability. ModCloth is a great example of a merchant that provides vintage clothing that consumers can consider buying from.

Anh from Modcloth shares her opinion on what the future of fashion means to her and ModCloth.

“The future of fashion means rejuvenating the old and turning it into something aesthetic and new. Not only is ModCloth vintage inspired and available in a wide range of sizes from XS to 4X, but we also opened up ModCloset as a resale and vintage market for upcycling and promoting sustainable fashion.”

AR Within Ecommerce

Being able to try on clothing and assess how it looks before you buy it is one of the major advantages of shopping in person over online for fashion. Given this context, it should come as no surprise that eCommerce brands are beginning to explore using AR to find a solution to this problem. Imagine being able to test on clothes in a virtual closet or getting style recommendations for any forthcoming occasion based on your body type and style preferences. With products like Amazon’s The Echo Look and even the introduction to retail in the metaverse, we’re not too far from AI becoming the new norm.

We’ll start to see more fashion brands experimenting with this kind of technology, and if you want to stay ahead of the curve, it’s something you too should look to invest in. Brands such as Adidas and Nike are already putting their stamp in the metaverse as they have virtual merchandising shops already live.

Retail Returns

Retail returns are a major factor to retailers as they contribute to the consumer experience journey. Many retailers have been incorporating sustainable ways of returning items such as using recyclable packaging, reducing travel emissions for delivery and using sustainable materials for items. 

We conducted some research and discovered that there had been a 32% increase in brands offering free returns since the peak of COVID. This is a large percentage considering the relatively short time frame for this change to occur. The reason for this is unclear, particularly as it’s industry-specific. We carried out extensive research and even managed to return over 100 parcels, just to gain information that we could analyse. Take a look at what we discovered here. 

Sustainability

Fashion is becoming increasingly concerned about sustainability, as equity and carbon footprint are both contributing factors to global warming.

Many merchants have started to prioritise the sustainability of their products and packaging due to the rise of online sales since covid. We have done some research on this topic by analysing over 100 merchants from different industries to see how they are incorporating sustainability into their eCommerce stores. Take a look at our conscious commerce whitepapers (parts 1 and 2).

Even our clients got involved and allowed us to understand how they are incorporating sustainability into their business plans. Discover what ASC Direct, a packaging company, had to say about sustainability.

“For us to make real change and offset the damage being done, it is the responsibility of businesses to communicate their sustainability efforts and promote environmentally friendly practices. As a business, we ensure all our customers know our cardboard boxes are 100% recyclable from the moment they land on our homepage. We also joined the One Tree Planted initiative to reassure our customers that when they purchase our boxes they’re also giving back to the environment.”

Carbon footprint is becoming an increasingly important factor in customers’ purchase decisions. Thus, adopting change can increase consumer loyalty and attract more customers.

Fast Fashion

According to sources from waterisaright the fashion industry’s greenhouse gas emissions will surge more than 50 % by 2030. This highlights the negative effects of fast fashion on the environment since fast fashion is not the best solution when it comes to long-term sustainability. Check out our whitepaper to learn more about eCommerce sustainable solutions, we analysed 100 merchants to see if they incorporated conscious commerce.

Accountability

The incorporation of sustainability can change the outlook of what fashion means for the future. But are we ready to make that change? It would make a significant impact on the environment, your business and customer experience in a positive way, so merchants should consider integrating it into plans if they have not already done so. Sustainable merchants like Ethnic Clothing and ModCloth can provide insight into some of the contributing factors that will certainly rise in retail and fashion in the future, as consumers value these factors more than a quick fast fashion purchase.

Conclusion

It’s safe to say that the future of fashion is looking bright, and with new and sustainable features that are being incorporated into the world of fashion, consumers are intrigued to see what is next! Merchants need to embed any new fashion trends into their eCommerce store to attract more consumers and gain further ROI.

If you’re a fashion brand looking to make some updates to your website or digital marketing strategy this year, then be sure to get in touch with our team here.