Top 10 Fashion eCommerce Trends You Should Keep An Eye On
Updated on November 3, 2022 in Ecommerce by Alifiya Mustafa
Fashion eCommerce has grown remarkably and it’s all about how the industry is evolving with powerful fashion eCommerce trends.
Five major things have given this substantial growth to the fashion eCommerce industry and have shaped the fashion eCommerce trends:
- The impact of Covid-19
- Easy access to the internet and smartphones
- Evolution of the tech and internet-savvy generation
- Growth in the disposable income of the middle-class worldwide
- Expansion of global fashion markets
If we look at the total calculated data from last year including the sales of apparel, footwear, and accessories, it hit $180.5 billion in the US alone.
According to the fashion eCommerce statistics, the industry is growing at a massive rate of 14.2% every year and is estimated to reach $672.71 billion in 2023.
Thus, the demand and growth of fashion eCommerce have given birth to many fashion eCommerce trends that are shaping our ideas and ways of how we see, adapt, and use fashion in our day-to-day life. These trends in the fashion industry are…
Top 10 Fashion eCommerce Trends
1. Personalization and hyper-customization
It was alright till fashion eCommerce platforms gave us multiple choices in patterns, style, and colors for apparel, footwear, and accessories. But now, the time has changed.
The fashion eCommerce trends are not just limited to giving choices anymore. It has successfully grown into an industry where it can listen and offer whatever customization customers are looking for.
Many brands are allowing their customers to design t-shirts, watches, bags, and more so that they can get the product of their dreams.
Nike’s recent NikeiD campaign is one of the best examples of this. The brand invited its shoppers on Instagram to design, customize, and create their versions of Nike gear and make a purchase.
Such personalizations have become one of the most successful fashion eCommerce trends which I believe are going to last forever.
2. Fashion into the Metaverse
Metaverse is gaining popularity day by day and it topped the news and became the talk of the town when Facebook entered the Metaverse in 2021.
Metaverse is a virtually designed world where people can meet, interact, and experience real-life-like experiences virtually. Though, not fully developed currently, Metaverse has a huge potential of creating and running a virtual fashion eCommerce industry.
Speaking of Metaverse, NFTs has become a very essential element of fashion eCommerce trends that can be used in and out of Metaverse and customers are ready to own that “asset”.
In the real world, the fitness wear company Under Armour reproduced the shoes the basketball player Steph Curry wore when he broke the NBA record. The owner of this NFT can virtually wear these shoes in 3 multiverses called The Sandbox, Gala Games, and Decentraland.
The well-known brand Forever21 has also put its foot into these fashion eCommerce trends by partnering with Roblox and creating a virtual Forever21 store in the Metaverse and claiming to run as their own.
The customers can explore and purchase the items from the virtual store for their Avatars.
3. Sustainable fashion
Another emerging fashion eCommerce trend is to go green. The brands are pushed and encouraged by the consumers to develop sustainable fashion that is harmless to the environment.
Apparel, accessories, and footwear made with organic cotton, bamboo, and jute are in trend. Brands are trying more and more to come up with styles made with sustainable items.
Brands like Everlane are even using plastic elements like buttons that are made with recycled plastic waste.
Sustainable fashion is not just good for the environment but it also saves you from many skin issues like irritation, itching, and acne that can be caused by the continuous wearing of synthetic or inorganic materials. Hence, leveraging this fashion eCommerce trend is for the greater good.
Statista’s research shows that 42% of the customers purchase sustainable products worldwide. And, more than 52% of the customers are more likely to buy from a brand that is organic and sustainable.
Such fashion eCommerce trends could be just as threatening to brands as they are impactful to the world. Most brands and online stores not practicing sustainability are suffering from losses. Also, it has become very challenging for the brands who are actively trying to be sustainable with their fashion.
4. Social media shopping
Getting influenced by social media ads and making a purchase is one thing, and buying through social media channels is another.
Customers are demanding to purchase without having to leave the social media app they are using. This has given birth to Instagram Shop and Facebook Shop.
The brands can now set up their shop within the app and customers can explore, buy, and pay for the product within the app itself. These fashion eCommerce trends have contributed to offering an excellent omnichannel and seamless experience to the customers.
The study shows that around 36% of US consumers are already making purchases within social media apps.
5. AR, VR, and voice commerce
As per Statista, the Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality industries are expected to rise to $269.9 billion in the upcoming 2 years.
The Virtual Reality experience in fashion eCommerce trend so far involves wearing a headset and exploring the 3D world created within. You can look at the outfits, compare the size, and make a decision.
AR or Augmented reality involves using an app that can allow you to use your smartphone and move from place to place while letting the 3D virtual model of the product be seen on the screen as it will look in real life.
The recent collaboration between Ralph Lauren and ZEPETO turned out to be an awesome shopping experience for customers. Users could fully indulge in the virtual world and interact with their Avatars wearing their choice of Ralph Lauren outfits.
Other brands taking the initiative to be a part of the AR world are The Fabricant and DressX.
Another one of the top fashion eCommerce trends is Voice Search, thanks to all the voice assistants like Alexa. More than 30% of US customers are already using Voice Search to make an online purchase.
With these fashion eCommerce trends, users aren’t even using their smartphones to search and buy products. Most customers are simply instructing their voice assistants to open the online fashion store, search the product, and make the purchase – everything hands-free!
6. Inclusivity and diversity
Fashion eCommerce stores have become a medium to showcase inclusivity, diversity, and love for all ethnicities. From breaking the tradition of using the zero-size models and admiring the plus-size curves to introducing genderless fashion, many fashion eCommerce trends have caught up with us.
Fashion has inspired people to love all colors, sizes, genders, and opinions. You can find many brands supporting these “idealistic perceptions” and putting them into their fashion items.
If you’re a fashion eCommerce, I believe that catching up with this beautiful fashion eCommerce trend can genuinely help you attract a lot of loyal customers and build a brand around it.
7. Seasonless fashion
Gucci’s creative director, Alessandro Michele once mentioned that fall, spring, and winter, are all ‘stale and underfed words’. He said that the fashion house will no longer be participating in the traditional calendar of fashion and would instead move to seasonless fashion.
Gucci isn’t the only one taking a step toward seasonless fashion but it’s also Saint Laurent and Vogue opting out of the fashion calendar and taking charge of their fashion schedule.
The reasons to move toward this shift are the impact of Coronavirus that made the fashion ‘slow down’ and also the unpredictability of climate change that affects the sales of the season-based fashion.
Such fashion eCommerce trends have also emphasized Slow Fashion. It’s all about slowing down, producing less, and making the fashion last longer.
Slow Fashion emphasizes producing fashion that can be repurposed and worn in a different season so that the life of an outfit is not just 3 months but the complete 12 months.
The reduction in production has also led to the reduction of carbon waste, textile waste, and water footprints by almost 20-30%.
8. Chatbots for fashion eCommerce
Chatbots for fashion eCommerce help customers to get a better shopping experience. They are wonderful as they are available for help 24/7 and can help the customers to navigate through any challenges they face.
If we look at the report by Juniper Research, around 90% of customer communications will be handled by chatbots alone by the end of this year.
Brands like H&M, Tommy Hilfiger, Sephora, and Burberry are already taking the advantage of this amazing fashion eCommerce trend.
9. Pay later methods
‘Buy now, pay later’ has always attracted the customers. Not so long ago, people were only buying expensive products like cars, phones, or home appliances in installments. But, this model has entered the fashion industry and people are loving it.
Pay later payment methods have become one of the most needed fashion eCommerce trends. By using apps like AfterPay or Klarna, customers can now purchase the item first and pay later.
Apps like Klarna also offer you to pay the whole amount later, pay in installments, or pay after the delivery. Such fashion eCommerce trends have helped the customers feel safe and afford easily.
This is not it. Other payment apps that also offer such services are PayPal, Sezzle, and SplitIt.
10. Rental and reselling
Have items in your wardrobe that you are never going to wear? Or loving an item that you only want to wear once but don’t want to pay for its ‘forever’ price? The best solution is to rent and resell the fashion.
Many fashion eCommerce stores like Poshmark lets you sell the items lying in your closet. This fashion eCommerce trend is great for repurposing the old items and allowing shoppers to buy similar products at a cheaper price.
Rental places like Rent the Runway let customers rent designer fashion straight from the runway. Customers do not need to pay the whole amount for something that they are only going to wear once.
Renting and reselling is another awesome fashion eCommerce trend that is also helping in reducing waste, saving the environment from pollution, and saving a lot of cost and money on producing and buying.
Narts has predicted that the revenue of just the reselling business will reach up to $64 billion by 2028. Thus, harnessing this fashion eCommerce trend is a great way to be a part of ‘sensible fashion’.
Bonus Read
The trends in the fashion industry come and go. And, undoubtedly, the fashion industry is growing rapidly and new trends are emerging every day.
Customers are longing more and more to experience a better way of shopping and interacting with brands. The powerful technologies and ideas are trying to fill the void.
If you a fashion eCommerce business, then try to harness any of these fashion eCommerce trends to attract more customers and increase sales.
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