Have you ever thought about how the entire fashion retail industry came to be?
From being limited to local stores in the olden times to the multibillion-dollar enterprise the fashion industry has become, the history of fashion retail is rich.
Fashion, by its very nature, is always changing. So is the fashion retail industry.
Let’s dig deeper into how this gargantuan industry came to be and where it’s headed.
The History and Evolution of Retail in Fashion
People have been sharing, trading, and selling food and clothing for almost as long as they have existed.
To fully understand the history of retail, we must go back to when woolly mammoths roamed the Earth.
This was when cows and sheep were traded in commerce, as early as 9000 BC. The earliest proper currency dates back to 3000 BC in Mesopotamia.
That gives us an idea of how old retail history is, almost as old as man himself.
When it comes to retail in the fashion sector, the first proper retail outlets take up the mantle a little later down the road.
By 800 BC, people in ancient Greece had constructed markets with merchants selling resources such as food, silverware, and clothing in the city center’s agora.
What’s fascinating about retail in fashion is that until the 1850s, clothes used to be stitched entirely by hand. Clothes were sold unstitched or partly made and had to be sewn to make a dress. Later on, the trend of selling ready-made garments started.
1. Local Retailers and Shops
Initially, the fashion industry was limited to local retailing. At this point, ready-made clothes became more and more common.
Even if the retailers were very successful, they would rarely branch out from the locality. This was back when travel and import were not as convenient as they later became.
2. Departments and Companies
As the twentieth century progressed, the pioneering spirit of people grew. The fashion retail sector changed considerably in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
The mass manufacture of ready-made clothing began. Fashion trends and ads increased because of newspaper and television coverage.
Department stores such as Lord & Taylor (1826), Macy’s (1858), and Bloomingdales (1861) began to appear in locations such as New York City and Chicago. Fashion retail grew just as retail in other businesses grew.
These departments and companies became fixtures of culture, influencing:
● What people bought,
● What luxuries they felt they needed.
● The fashion trends the people followed.
These stores leveraged marketing to grow their business. The businesses did more than just sell merchandise.
They also offered demos, talks, and entertainment events to newly affluent consumers seeking the best way to spend their money.
This strategy of engaging people and giving them reasons to do business with you is a strategy that is still in use today.
3. International Brands and Retailers
The twentieth century saw the boom of the fashion retail sector, with more and more enterprises changing the industry.
Companies like Nike, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton became multimillion-dollar companies.
There was a time before the internet when people watched television.
Companies like Nike leveraged television marketing to build their brand.
These companies collaborated with athletes and celebrities to reach a wider audience. With more eyes on the product, the fashion retail industry kept expanding.
This was only the beginning. The internet ushered in a new age of e-commerce, propelling the fashion retail business to new heights.
4. The Age of E-commerce and Online Fashion Retail
The advent of widespread internet shopping is one of the most significant flashpoints in retail history. The internet altered the way people shop. Amazon began as a modest internet bookseller in 1995.
Now it has become a giant in the retail industry, amounting a net income of nearly 2.9 billion U.S. dollars in the third quarter of 2022.
People have clearly gotten on the e-commerce bandwagon during the last three decades.
There are several reasons for this.
E-commerce enhances the buying experience by allowing customers to research, read reviews, compare prices, and make purchases at any time of day or night.
The rise of e-commerce mirrored the rise of the internet.
As more people gained access to the internet realm, their interest in purchasing there grew.
Some consumers were initially hesitant to provide personal and financial information online, but the advent of the SSL security protocol in the 1990s helped alleviate such concerns.
5. Social Media and Online Retail
Social networking platforms are now also used for fashion retail.
Facebook, the most popular social networking site of all time, has over 60 million active business pages. Businesses may use Twitter to communicate directly with customers, while Instagram allows them to present their items in real lifestyle settings.
As a form of early advertising, Facebook introduced sponsored stories in 2011. Marketers may use the massive quantity of data that users supply Facebook to target extremely particular customers.
Today, companies may sell their items straight through Facebook and Instagram.
Instagram and Pinterest are wonderful venues that fashion retailers use to develop their stores these days.
Social media opportunities have provided retail companies with both, a chance to capitalize on and a new obstacle to overcome.
With the global pandemic in 2020, most businesses shifted online, with more than 90% of all fashion retailers being available online and on social media platforms.
The Future of Fashion Retail – Where are we headed?
Thanks to today’s technology, customers expect convenience and speedy delivery – and they want it now.
Customers’ expectations are higher than ever before, whether they are purchasing online or in-store since they desire a seamless shopping experience.
With so much competition, businesses are working harder than ever to meet customer demand.
The fashion retail industry is ever-changing. Here’s what the future of fashion retail looks like.
Online Shopping is Here to Stay
As popular as online shopping is these days, it will only get more popular.
As more people resort to online shopping to meet their hectic schedules, online retailers such as Amazon and ASOS are winning the retail fight.
It’s understandable why so much shopping is online these days: it’s simpler, faster, and more comfortable than going to a physical store.
You can shop from anywhere in the globe with a few simple clicks.
As of 2022, the average daily social media usage of internet users worldwide amounted to 147 minutes per day. With more and more people using the internet every day, there is an incredible potential to make sales online.
Social Shopping is Going to be a Game Changer.
In addition to online shopping on computers, desktops, tablets, and smartphones, a new retail contender is making a considerable impact – social shopping.
Social shopping is a prime illustration of the importance of mobile shopping today, with a large percentage of online orders being inspired by social and search sites like Google, Facebook, and Instagram – a figure that will grow dramatically in the coming years.
Companies know social media has become an essential aspect of our lives and have already started tapping into the market.
Instagram recently added a feature that allows users to buy items directly from the app without having to navigate to the brand’s website.
Meanwhile, Facebook Marketplace has become another convenient option for customers to purchase without leaving the app.
Experiential Retail – Future of Shopper Engagement
In addition to online and social shopping, experiential retail is a significant part of the future of retail business.
There is a definite decrease in in-store shopping with the growth of the internet. This has led to a growing consumer appetite for retail experiences, as they invest in experiences rather than things. Immersive retail experiences, also known as retailtainment, take shopping to new heights, allowing businesses to create more intimate and individualized experiences than ever before.
From Denim Unspun, which allows customers to have a 3D body scan before digitally creating bespoke jeans, resulting in less waste and a lower carbon footprint, to the House of Vans, which houses a cinema, cafe, live music venue, art gallery, skate ramps, skating shoes and casual wears in its 30,000 square foot building, brands are competing to win customers over by providing unforgettable experiences.
Artificial Intelligence in Fashion
Artificial intelligence (AI) and data now allow companies to learn more about their customers than ever.
Using AI will enable retailers to give a more customized experience that appeals to today’s demanding customers.
People are far more inclined to interact with companies that offer a personalized experience. In fact, 62% of consumers expect companies to send them personalized offers based on previous purchases.
Big data and AI enable retailers to construct personalized customer profiles, allowing personnel to understand precisely what each consumer is searching for.
Augmented Reality in Fashion
Augmented reality is another technology retailers are embracing, hoping to improve the shopping experience for their customers.
One-third of buyers now use augmented reality in stores, and analysts believe that the business will be worth hundreds of billions of dollars in the following years.
GAP has employed VR technology to allow customers to “try on” items without having to visit a store. Nike, ASOS, and John Lewis all launched their AR applications in 2019.
In fact, using augmented reality to try on garments virtually will become more common in the next five years. Using augmented reality to try on garments might let customers explore products they might not ordinarily consider.
They feel secure about how an item appears on their body before placing an order.
This technology capitalizes on comfort and convenience, which are objectives for modern retail.
Key Takeaway:
If there’s one thing the history of fashion retail shows us, it’s that it is an industry that will never go obsolete.
From when retail was limited to local markets to the industry giants we have these days, fashion and its retail has come a long way.
Regarding the future of fashion, there’s no doubt that it lies in technology.
While it may take some time for the fashion industry to fully adjust to new developments and trends, one thing is certain:
the next generation of retail is here.
Brands that want to prosper in this fast-changing industry must jump on board or risk falling behind.
Organizations must embrace technology to stay ahead and create a customer experience that appeals to today’s customers.
