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Online
shopping, digital kiosks, fashion trends on Instagram, customized products, the
fashion industry has it all, thanks to tech. Over the past couple of years
technology has grown rapidly and is ever evolving. It has managed to integrate
itself into all industries and has been successful in transforming them. With
respect to the fashion industry where technology initially was just a part of
manufacturing, it is now becoming a part of the customer experience.
The
gradual integration of technology into the fashion industry can be dated back
to industrialization and it has been uphill since. The coming of the Internet
and subsequently Instagram and other sites gives consumers immediate insight
into the fashion industry and the lives of celebrities. That is where fast
fashion comes in; consumers want to be on point and current with their fashion
choices. The development of machines makes the production quick and new trends
can be on the floor sooner than ever. It is beneficial for retail and the
customers love getting their hands on the merchandise quickly but on the
downside it is responsible for creating landfill. Recently, more and more
designers have been looking towards sustainability and are using tech to create
sustainable fashion.
According
to a January 19, 2018 article by BoF author Kati Chitrakorn, “2017 was the worst year
on record for brick-and-mortar retail. By December, more than 6,985 stores
closed across the US, according to retail think-tank Fung Global Retail &
Technology. That’s up more than 200 percent from a year ago, according to the
firm’s findings. It also beats the previous all-time high of 6,163 store
closings that took place during the 2008 financial crisis, according to
estimates by Credit Suisse.” This is clearly due to the fact the stores cannot
meet the fast growing customer needs and expectations. The growing technology
opens the consumers to a wide range of choices and they make informed
decisions, thus the old business models cannot stay. Companies can harness the
technology like many have in order to keep their businesses going. Technology
can provide insights and forecasts that can be used to fulfil the customers’
demands. One such example is that of Rebecca Minkoff. Since the opening of her
flagship store, the ‘Connected Store’ in New York City, which has a smart
fitting room, there has been a substantial increase in sales and the customers
experience has been enhanced. According
to a September 23, 2015 article by Hilary Milnes in the Digiday, Rebecca
Minkoff has made triple the amount of clothing sales than planned.
Another
aspect of the tech-fashion amalgamation is e-commerce. In today’s busy world,
with a smartphone in every hand, the shift from brick and mortar to online
shopping has become inevitable as it is convenient and saves time. But still
people are skeptical about the fit, colour, etcetera. In order to enhance
customer experience and rectify this problem, start-ups are developing new
tech. One such tech company is Passen which works with 3D body scans. They have
developed a device that is successful in 3D body scanning and extracting exact
body measurements under five minutes, that is then available to the customer
online at all times and assists with shopping online. It is a step towards more
accurate and easier online shopping but some people who love the experience of
going into a physical store and swear by shopping in store will always continue
to do so and that is what keeps the brick and mortar stores going. Even though
e-commerce has grown over the years it is still a fraction of the brick and
mortar stores’ business.
If
you have ever shopped for makeup online you will definitely relate to the
struggle of finding the right shade, the perfect match. Lakshmy Subramoniam
(George Brown alumni) understood this problem and set out with her friend and
business partner Rachel Baker and set out to find a solution to it. In a recent
interview with Lakshmy she said that, “It took years of hard work and research
to come up with Tejo, and here we are today with an online makeup matchmaker
that caters to today’s need. It helps you find your perfect makeup match online
with just a selfie! Can you imagine that?” With the help of skin colour
detection technology and data- collection they have managed to make online
shopping for makeup a breeze. Sephora has similar a similar skin colour
detection device but they haven’t integrated it with online tech, their
associates have to operate it and one has to go in store. Tejo has gone a step
further and cut down the process for the consumer.
Technology
is ever evolving and so is fashion. Where technology makes our everyday lives
easier the fashion industry provides us with one of the necessities of life. Along
with that fashion is also about self-expression and brings out one’s personality.
The permutation and combinations that arise from the fashion-tech amalgamation can
be amazing and intriguing. In today’s world where there is something new
happening everyday there will always be more to say about this topic. But in
conclusion I would like to say that technology is a great servant, but can be a
bad master and we as human beings should always be mindful and use technology
to optimize our potential and work towards a sustainable world.
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