The shopping experience is evolving with shoppers’ pressing needs in mind — and there are big changes that have already had an impact on you that you may not even realize have happened.
Consumers are making more on-the-go purchases using their smartphones. New shopping centers are looking less like traditional malls and more like mixed-use spaces resembling a walkable town square. And one trend that you have likely played a role in and benefited from without even realizing it is known as “fast fashion.”
Fast fashion — which brings designs from runway to the store more quickly and more often — is a growing trend amongst retailers, and it’s happening because of you, say experts.
“The customer is the center and the meaning of the life of the business,” says Victor Ejarque, former Buying Director for Stradivarius, who drove the global expansion of the brand and was instrumental in increasing its revenue by seven times. “We owe it to the customer and have the obligation to satisfy her product needs as rapidly as possible.’’
Because of this trend, consumers now are accustomed to being able to access the latest trends they’ve seen splashed in the pages of high-end magazines at affordable prices. This rapid turnover of inventory is something relatively new — and a benefit that fashion-forward shoppers of previous generations did not enjoy. As a result, it’s become something of a consumers’ market.
“Shoppers will naturally pick the store with the best product at the right time in the right place and at a competitive price,” says Ejarque, who advises stores and their vendors to become more flexible and able to react to the changing demands of the market.
With 25 years in the business under his belt, Ejarque, says that this shift to the retail business model over the past few years has happened rapidly as a result of consumers and that brands looking to remain relevant will need to transform the way they do business.
-StatePoint
