The use of technology is seen in every industry and the fashion industry is not to be left out. In fact, the use of technology, in recent years, has been pottering in the fashion industry and has rough significant changes to it as well.
In recent times, there is a notable shift seen in the concept of business. People are moving from the traditional brick and mortar retail sales to eCommerce. In the field of fashion, this trend is seen in full force.
Technology has revolutionized the way the fashion industry operates, as it has in all other business sectors. It is all due to the use of:
- Data analytics
- Virtual technology
- Artificial intelligence and so on.
All these have streamlined the business processes making it more efficient. In light of these new technologies, the industry now needs to adapt to the new scene and embrace the changes in the fashion world.
The two most significant technologies that have made the biggest impact in the fashion industry are:
- IoT or Internet of things: Introduction of this technology has mechanized the fashion world. It allows better interaction through the internet with everyday objects. This change has resulted in influencing buying experience and customer experience because more than 70% of retail decisions are made using this digital capability.
- Artificial intelligence or AI: The fashion industry, just like any other business, is no stranger to big data. Using this to their advantage, the designers are jumping into the bandwagon of digitalization. As social media rules, the web and more and more retailers are interested to buy Instagram views and likes to increase their followers, AI has helped them to mend the trend and make the best use of the social media platforms. The data significantly reduces the gap between what is being produced and sold.
Retailers now use technology to collect, organize, sort, and analyze data to create relevant categories. They use to understand what clients are looking for and deliver them exactly that. AI image recognition makes fashion easier because:
- Users simply take a photo of a look they like
- Open the app to find similar products and
- Shop at any price.
This has created a handheld fashion store that helps the consumers to find shoppable goods and prices to build a better wardrobe ultimately.
Mobile commerce
The modern era is all about connectivity. This has changed the concept of shopping offering easier and more convenient ways through mobile commerce. Most of the people now use smartphones, not only to talk but also to shop online. The digital wallet options have also made payment easier and safer making online shopping more preferable for the millennials than visiting a physical store.
Mobile commerce in the fashion industry works in three specific ways to grab the attention of the users. These are:
- Push notifications: These are text message pop-ups received when you download an app. You can opt to receive these messages or ignore them. These push notifications have a 90% better open rate than emails making it a better and appealing marketing channel for the fashion brands.
- Geo-fencing: The app sends location-specific promos, deals, and invitations knowing where your phone is. This happens to be an outstanding tool for the fashion brands helping them to improve both online and offline shopping experience.
- Personalization: This helps in leveraging on customers and capitalizing on the social web. Fashion brands can now link up with the Facebook account of the customers to show products that their friends have liked the type of products they browse or to offer special discounts.
Therefore, mobile commerce will play a significant role in fashion brands as people will use their mobile devices more and more shopping.
Looking forward
When you take a look at the future of fashion and technology you will not see fashion collections. There will be interesting developments in:
- Designs
- Forms
- Materials and
- New processes.
The analog processes in work will be replaced by digital ad 3-D print processes. The fine needlework that is so valued in the pure analog methods will add value to the products with the use of the latest technologies.
In the recent future, there will be more of:
- Micro-structures
- Molecular technology and
There will be more use of nano-printers to print micro-structures onto materials creating a better product and improving the design process and its phenomena. Therefore, expect to see a more of analog and digital distortion.
Smartphone dependence
No matter what, there seems to be trouble in understanding technology and fashion. The tech-themed dresses are more of a trend now and even Google is now planning to work with more fashion labels.
However, the experts in the fashion industry suggest that fashion brands should be less dependent on smartphones to shop and promote their products. Instead, they should focus on two specific things:
- What is it that the phones do not do?
- What is something completely new that the clothes can do?
Experts also suggest that the future of the fashion industry will be more ‘embedded.’ They mean to say that the clothes will have a better way of sensing every move. However, the problem is that fashion industry simply does not realize it or take out time to understand the movement and bodies that change.
Prepare for tomorrow
The role of technology in the fashion industry is immense and therefore you will need to prepare for the future and look beyond tomorrow. The mechanization of textile manufacturing after the famed Industrial Revolution has resulted in the most significant outcomes.
Now there are:
- Power looms
- Mechanized cotton mill
- Novel material designs and
- Smart materials.
All these have resulted in the improvement of quality, the quantum of production, and reduced the time of production manifold.
Therefore, you will need to know about the clever fabrics and high-end technology such as polymeric nano-fibers and atomic force microscopy. This will ensure better design, choice of fabric, better manufacturing and quality control of fabrics.
In short, technology has resulted in endless and exciting possibilities and trends in the modern fashion industry.