The shoe-store industry is expected to flourish in coming years, but online sales will significantly surpass brick-and-mortar retailers, according to Madeline Hurley, IBISWorld retail industry analyst.
Shoppers are demanding a seamless experience across all brand channels, both on- and offline, but retailers – particularly in apparel - are struggling to move at the speed their consumers want and need.
When you're in a changing room, if you're lucky there's a clerk nearby who'll grab another size for you if an item doesn't fit - while you stand waiting in your underwear, of course.
New York City has just begun its sacred rites of retail. For its fashion week, which started Sept. 7th, tents go up, guests emerge from black cars, models sulk down catwalks and the wealthy and celebrated clap in unison. The point of all this is for designers to declare what will be "in" next spring. But for much of fashion retail, it is increasingly clear that something is out of place.
U.S. retailers gearing up for the holidays could be overlooking a key source of sales: international shoppers. To win in the global e-commerce race, companies can't rely on the same approach they use domestically. Featured products, marketing content, and promotions targeting U.S. consumers may not resonate in all markets. For example, as U.S. retailers promote their discounts on that latest style winter coat, super-fast sled or snow tires, they'll need to remember that it's summer in Australia.
Sustainability is a huge macro trend and it's no surprise that the language and goals of the larger sustainability movement have made their way to apparel. Unfortunately, with it comes the same polarizing ambiguity that has plagued the broader sustainability movement in other industries. Cynics roll their eyes while dismissing sustainability as a latest marketing façade designed to push products on uninformed customers while true believers insist it's a more responsible way forward for apparel manufacturing that is genuinely improving lives and saving the earth.
The latest supply-chain news, analysis, trends and tools for executives in the apparel industry — which consists of companies that manufacture clothing, accessories and footwear. Learn how apparel companies and their suppliers around the world are managing the flow of products across all channels of the enterprise. Experts sound off on forecasting and demand planning, supply-chain visibility, logistics outsourcing, inventory optimization, transportation management, warehouse management, supply-chain security, corporate social responsibility and more.
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