How Online Trends Affect The Fashion Industry

Online Trends of the Fashion Industry

If you work with fashion and apparel, you understand that the world of your industry has been slowly transforming because of newfound trends of online shopping. If we rewind the clock to fifteen years ago, the majority of people still found their clothing through stores and advertisements (mostly in television and print). Although there were plenty of online ads, they weren’t as significant and certainly didn’t lead to the same enthusiasm that today’s internet users have. The fact of the matter is that more and more people have begun to actually buy their clothing online. So, what does this mean for the Fashion Industry? Well, it means that, in order to compete, you have to be willing to increase your online presence. Without that kind of visibility, you will be left in the dust by your competitors.

What Has Changed?

There are plenty of changes to the landscape of fashion, but which stand prominently? For one, male fashion has finally made a significant appearance in the industry. Female fashion had entirely taken over advertising, in shops, websites, sales, etc. In recent years, there has been a creeping shift towards male-targeted fashion: Men are starting to take more interest in the clothing that they purchase. This can be attributed to the dialogue and visibility that social media has presented. Men are now seeing all of the possibilities of their wardrobe on a daily basis, and are obviously intrigued. With the market for men on the rise, it would be wise to take notice and increase your advertising to a male audience.

In the past ten years, we’ve seen a massive shift in online communication. By large, people have become fascinated by visual elements more-so than text. This means that more and more demographics (such as men) are becoming involved with the fashion industry and creating new markets to tap. Right now, about 96% of United States fashion brands already have an Instagram account, and rightfully so. Now that people are able to see a constant flow of product and modeling of said product, they are more likely to purchase, especially online. This means that any sort of visual search engine, like that of Pinterest or Google Images, is going to become a beacon of success for business in the fashion universe.

How Can You Keep Up?

The fact of the matter is that the fashion industry is now focusing on successful online advertising. This means that you’re going to want your site to be absolutely up to date and user-friendly. It also means that you should consider any trends in site layout, such as the possibility of an instant messaging platform. Customers that can engage their products and talk to a real life representative at the push of a button are more likely to stick to certain businesses, if only for convenience.

It’s important to think about any sort of tech advancement that can make your business more user-friendly than the competition. This also includes the possibility of mobile use. People use their phones just as much as any laptop, and they want to be able to get the same experience that they would on a computer. This can lead to people making clothing purchases on their daily commute, or in a waiting room; they can purchase your product virtually anywhere, and that’s something that you and your customers will want.

Another important element to your success will be your visibility. When people go to search for a product, they’re presented with two types of results: organic and paid. Paid results are actually less effective, even if they are presented before the organic search results. That makes sense; a customer doesn’t want to feel like a business had to pay to be at the top of the rankings. That same customer, however, will typically feel comfortable going for the coveted top ten organic search results, and that is where you want to gain your visibility.

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the practice of creating extra content using key phrases that will boost your ranking in organic search result. If you want to survive in the ever-changing climate of your industry, you should invest in SEO. This isn’t to say that PPC or pay-per-click advertising isn’t useful, as it can give you a quick boost when you need one, but SEO creates results that will last whereas PPC creates results that will disappear the moment payment ceases.

How 1Digital Agency Can Help

With these constantly changing trends, it can be a hassle to keep up with your competition. Here at 1Digital, we have the expertise that you need in order to build a high functioning and high-quality site that will excite potential customers. We also have the ability to run an aggressive SEO campaign that will vastly improve your organic search result rankings. Our writers are well-versed in a wide variety of industries, so when you come to us, the content that we produce for you is only of the highest standards. Give us a call today, and let’s see what we can do to improve your business.