Mediaworks white paper: Online retailing key to fashion industry’s success

It has been reported earlier this week that visitor traffic to UK retail stores last month was down nearly 12% year-on-year and down close to 29% in the first week of the month.

According to Ipsos Retail Performance, despite Easter falling in March, footfall failed to pick up over the public holiday and that it was the 11th consecutive month that year-on-year store footfall has declined across the UK.

Photo © Lucia Carpio.

As often the case, the weather had been blamed as the culprit as much part of the nation experienced an unseasonal cold snap with a lot of snow.  But consumers did not need to stop shopping, especially for non-food items, even if they are stranded at home.

According to a recent study by Mediaworks, online retailing has been driving the fashion industry’s success.  Both luxury brands and high street retailers are turning to the online sphere to strengthen their brand.

Estimating that the global worth of fashion is £2.24 trillion, Mediaworks revealed that in 2017, the UK’s online fashion spend jumped to a huge £16.2 billion, while predicting it will increase by a further 79% by 2022.

Through the Fast-paced Fashion: The Digital Forecast 2018 white paper, Mediaworks examine the six key trends expected to impact the industry in 2018 and providing actionable insights for retailers.

First and foremost is Mobile First, as it is imperative for fashion retailers to fully explore and utilise their relationship with customers through their mobile phones.

Another key trend is Journey personalisation, which is essential in focusing on delivering an in-store experience online, as Mediaworks predict that by 2020, customer experience will become the main reason a customer will choose a brand over another, overtaking both cost and product.

Another trend is Voice search, as more voice searches are being carried out than ever before, and retailers need to cater to more conversational search behaviours, and the need to review existing content’s style, format and flow.   MediaWorks also urge retailers to consider implementing visual search, something retailers like John Lewis and Boohoo.com are already experimenting with.

Other trends include Customer Profiling, transitioning from segment-based to signal-based data to gain greater visibility while mindful of data protection and attribution is important for marketing success.

For more information about each of the above, visit digital marketing agency Mediaworks’ website to download the white paper.