COVID-19 & Fashion Tech: A New Era For Fashion Retail?
“It’s about delivering on the instant gratification that consumers are really seeking.”
- Avery K. Baker, Chief Brand Officer, Tommy Hilfiger
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire world has been turned upside down in terms of the way we run our daily lives. This is undoubtedly the case with the fashion retail industry too. Before the pandemic, going to the mall and trying on ten dresses was the best part of your day, even if you end up not buying any of them. But if you plan on doing something like that today, you might as well start running from the sanitizing lady at the door.
The bottom line is that e-commerce and online shopping have become a key avenue to take for our fashion purchasing needs. We may still occasionally go to the store to feel the fabrics, but will the convenience and efficiency of technology take over the “trying it on” part as well?
If we look at fashion events, like New York Fashion Week, the picture looks quite different to what we’re used to. We went from having live, in-person, annual fashion shows, to watching cinematic and artistic variations of upcoming fashion trends.
Moving beyond the big establishments to physical retailers, fashion companies were basically sweeping half-empty stores even before COVID-19, which should give you an indication of how they’re coping at the moment. According to Coresight Research, the U.S. may see up to 25,000 stores shuttered after just one year of the pandemic.
This begs the question of whether retail stores will be part of the foreseeable future at all. If so, can it ever be the same as before the e-commerce dominance?
With the emergence of e-commerce also came the ability for more custom options as people prefer to have a more personalized, yet virtual, experience. This, however, doesn’t mean the end of physical stores. With the emergence of digitalization, some department stores and malls are simply reinventing the way customers can “touch and feel” or experience their stores. So, it seems as though fashion retail will continue to be more and more contactless and, most importantly, more personalized.
Let’s explore this “smart fashion” concept a bit more…
AR in Fashion Retail via Smart Mirrors
Smart-what now?! Yes augmented reality has made its way into the fashion world. Ever heard of interactive smart mirrors? These allow shoppers to try on any piece of clothing without even coming close to the garment itself. It’s so convenient, customers can choose the exact measurements, colors, and style combinations they want – in real size!
Retailers like H&M have also embraced this change, offering customers the innovation of smart mirrors, combined voice and facial recognition, and voice commands that take selfies and integrate them into their catalogue.
This innovation, however, is about more than an amazing, contactless experience. It will also allow retail stores to reduce their stock by using AR Smart Mirrors in retail shows and gearing more toward custom-fit options.
Econsultancy.com suggests that up to 61% of fashion retailers are planning to reduce their Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), which means less stock and more customization!
Virtual Reality & E-Commerce
As much as the fashion community enjoys the convenience of at-home shopping – especially during COVID-19, people still want personal experiences. With VR and 3D technology, retail stores are happily obliging, giving customers a digitalized “in-store” experience. For example, online shopping poses a lot of risk in terms of buying the wrong size, needing to ship it back, and only wearing the dress you ordered months later. Luckily, the beauty of Virtual Reality is that it allows digital avatars to “fit” into your exact measurements, providing you with a view of how the garment would look based on your exact measurements.
According to vocast.com, Tommy Hilfiger has already embraced the VR trend. As it stands, they’ve almost completely transformed their design process, showcasing up to 60,000 options in full 3D!
AI & Fashion eCommerce Recommendations
As it stands, 44% of fashion retailers who’ve neglected to incorporate AI, are facing bankruptcy. In fact, AI technology is expected to reach $7.3 billion by 2022 – all because of COVID-19 speeding up fashion digitalization.
With this in mind, it’s easy to assume that the significant growth of ecommerce has already driven tons of data into Artificial Intelligent recommendations. With this type of technology, customers will be able to receive personalized recommendations according to their unique style and fashion designers will have better idea of what is trending.
As the modern-day consumer seeks more and more personalization, artificial intelligence empowers retailers to align their products with the expectations of their consumers.
Visual Searches and Fashion Recommendations
With Machine Learning algorithms and Artificial Intelligence, it will soon become the norm to simply take a picture of a garment you like and find something similar online. Imagine never having to search for a stunning outfit again, and simply finding it using a photograph taken with your phone! This is actually an existing practice of Pinterest already, while Google’s Project Muze is using AI to learn more about peoples’ personal style and customize images accordingly.
Imagine seeing a mannequin or someone on the street, snapping a picture, and ordering the garment online or in-store. No touching, no searching!
Artificial Intelligence Equals a Custom Fit Fashion
The pandemic has undoubtedly opened a lot of doors for ecommerce and traditional brick-and-mortar stores. With all of the personalized data collected from custom measurements using 3D and VR technology, or AR using a smart mirror, algorithms can now determine how the different measurements can group into standard sizes. So, instead of a size 6 and 7, you’ll be able to get a size 6.1 or even 6.1 slim.
Couturease, for example, currently allows designers to auto-create custom fit slopers, which could soon auto-fit patterns made from these slopers to those of any size, removing the need to grade a pattern in the future. This will make the entire designing process as custom as can be.
As much as physical retail stores have taken one hell of a hit, they won’t be disappearing completely any time soon. They’ll simply follow a more contactless, interactive, and customizable direction.