The traditional way of doing business is gradually declining as brands are experimenting with the new techniques to make themselves relevant in the apparel market. And the recent trend that has attracted many fashion companies is re-selling on their digital platform.
Likewise, custom tailoring software enables brands to let their customers design their clothes at affordable prices using digital technology. With technology spreading its wings across the fashion domain, it is interesting to see what new brands have to offer.
Tailoring Software Enabling Brands to Promote Second-hand Market
The recent events have shown to the fashion industry that a little negligence towards nature, technology, and people can bring them down. Therefore, they must always be ready to face challenges. Of late, consumers have shifted their priorities and stared focusing on new brands that offer novel experiences, unique shopping options, and the latest designs. A recent study by Bazaarvoice, the Behaviour that Sticks report, explores global shopping habits and trends likely to continue post-lockdown. As per the research, globally, 39 percent of consumers purchased from new brands during the lockdown, and 88 percent of consumers plan to stick with the new brands they have tried during the lockdown.
With such drastic changes influencing the fashion market, the high-end apparel brands must seek solutions that help leverage the current motion and also offer something new to customers that they can experiment with. H&M-owned brand Cos is launching its own resale business, a move that will allow customers to buy and sell used Cos clothing. The digital platform, called Re-sell, is being positioned partly as a circular and renewable solution. But pegging resale as sustainable is not a simple claim to make. The motive behind starting this alternative is to make people aware of and embrace wearing used clothes. And to everyone’s surprise, the movement is gaining massive traction from buyers.
Let us look at the factor as to why the reselling business is becoming a hit in the apparel industry:
- Acts as a Catalyst to Reduce Environmental Impact
Various brands like ThredUp, The RealReal, and Poshmark have all launched resale platforms making the shopping for second-hand clothes easier and also acts as a viable option to curb fashion’s harmful impact on the environment. Launching its resale platform helps brands equate to the brand’s endorsement of the resale concept, which companies may be slow to embrace for fear of undercutting sales of new products. This the masterstroke for brands makes them stand out from the crowd. Additionally, customers can also view this as an investment opportunity as a new garment from these brands can also be sold later through the same platform.
The digital tailoring software works on a similar notion and allows brands to allow their buyers to virtually try on the various apparel they wish to buy, and make small changes in it. Through its digital preview, customers would how the final product looks like and then process for final payment.
👇What do you love most about thrifting? 📖 Story time below! 👇 pic.twitter.com/5G9CReSBWY
— thredUP (@thredUP) September 3, 2020
- A Unique Way to Promote Brand
The business argument for resale is apparent in customer interest, which has ballooned without brand promotion. Brands have a golden opportunity to explore selling numerous vintage products that buyers would be interested in buying even at a premium price. Besides, items from even a few years ago for not much less than their current products go. It might be a significant undertaking in terms of messaging and logistics, but it could be more than worthwhile if it means investing less in sourcing and manufacturing new products.
But all this is only possible if the clothes manufactured are durable and timeless. For brands to attain this target, they need to think differently even before a garment is produced. Using sustainable fabric is the best way to face this crisis and adopt customization solutions that can help brands only design what has been ordered.
Did you know that our aim is to only use cotton from sustainable sources by 2020? Embrace the future with these T-shirts from our Conscious Collection — made from 100% organic cotton. #HMIndia pic.twitter.com/PY13n4dXZL
— H&M India (@hmindia) June 14, 2018
Designing for longevity could have an added benefit. If brands produce more classic garments and aren’t rushing to meet the tight deadlines inherent to seasonal releases, they can give suppliers more time to fill orders. That could remove one of the critical causes of recent labor violations and poor working conditions.
The Final Verdict-
The bottom line of the blog is that offering re-sell is a good step for apparel brands. It helps them abandon traditional templates of producing ever-increasing volumes of clothing and reduce its environmental impact. But if brands want to achieve more, the online custom tailoring by iDesigniBuy should be their go-to fashion tech tool, as it provides the innovative solutions that expand their efforts throughout to have a more meaningful impact.
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