5 Retail Trends to Watch out for

Trends come and go, but some will become a permanent rule of thumb, such as the importance of having a strong social media presence as a fashion brand for success. However, when selling a product, it’s essential to be aware of these trends from the outset. In this blog, we are going to bring you five retail trends you need to watch out for.

1. AI-Generated Model Photography

Don’t think you will never have to hire a model and do a professional photoshoot ever again; the recent controversy involving an AI model in a Vogue issue shows that this is a field to tread lightly and wisely. However, for independent fashion brands, this trend can be beneficial. Especially when it comes to a product that has too many options of colour and fabrics, and even more when it’s a future delivery collection. Usually, the brand can’t create 50 different versions of the same outfit to show all the colours and fabrics it can be produced with. But with this tool, you can shoot only a few versions and then create the rest with AI.

2. Virtual Fitting Rooms and Try‑On Tech

One of the biggest fears people have when shopping for clothes online is buying an item and realising it doesn’t fit properly when it arrives. This trend highlights a type of software solution that can address this problem. Virtual fitting rooms promise to provide a system that helps customers find the right fit and size using tools like body scanning, avatar creation, augmented reality try-on for clothes and others.

According to Snap Research, 80 per cent of customers feel more confident in their purchase after using augmented reality. According to an article by McKinsey & Company on improving return management for apparel companies, 70% of returns are attributed to fitting and style issues. Which means that if you have a tool that truly helps customers find the perfect size for them, this will decrease the number of returns. And retailers are more likely to reorder products that perform well online with fewer returns.

3. Immersive product experiences

One of the main differences between buying online and in a brick-and-mortar store is that in the latter, you can pick up the product with your hands, feel the texture of the fabric, the weight, and the size. It’s all part of the experience, making you feel more confident about what you are buying. But technology is evolving so much that we are now able to simulate this kind of experience online with 3D and AR product experiences. This tool enables your customers to rotate a 3D pair of sneakers, zoom in for detailed views, or use AR to place a luxury bag in their living room, giving them a better sense of its size. With this kind of technology, the only difference now is that you can’t know the smell of the product when you are browsing online, yet.

4. AI‑Powered Trend Forecasting

What if you could accurately predict a trend before it even begins? With AI, this is becoming a reality. We now have companies which specialise in AI software that can do just that. Time in our modern era moves fast; in fashion, it moves even quicker. Everything can change in a minute. If you can keep up and stay ahead of the curve, you have a considerable advantage. Especially since collections are thought out one or two years in advance, by the time you get the products to the market, everything could have changed, which means being able to anticipate what trends will be happening a year from now can help a lot.

5. Retailer Expectations

Retailers want to buy at any time, anywhere, which means they need your brand to be available 24/7 —a feat that’s humanly impossible. This is where a wholesale platform can help you. They allow you to have multiple collections available globally at all times. Retailers also expect communication with the brands to be quick and straightforward, another benefit of using a wholesale platform like BLANC. Retail buyers can very easily give up on doing business with a brand if they see it’s going to be too much trouble, if they don’t have a reliable way of tracking their order, or if the brand doesn’t provide enough digital material.

Keeping up with trends, especially in retail and fashion, isn’t just about looking modern; it’s about staying competitive and relevant.