Solutions to Consumer Changes

Business of Fashion describes the following shifts in consumer behavior in its report, “The State of Fashion, 2020”: 1. Next Gen Social As traditional engagement models struggle on established social media platforms, fashion players will need to rethink their strategy and find ways to maximize their return on marketing spend. Attention-grabbing content will be key, deployed on the right platform for each market, using persuasive calls-to-action and, wherever possible, a seamless link to checkout. 2. Inclusive Culture Consumers and employees are putting increasing pressure on fashion companies to become proactive advocates of diversity and inclusion. More companies will elevate diversity and inclusion as a higher priority, embed it across the organisation and hire dedicated leadership roles, but companies’ initiatives will also come under increasing scrutiny in terms of sincerity and results. 3. Materials Revolution Fashion brands are exploring alternatives to today’s standard materials, with key players focused on more sustainable substitutes that include recently rediscovered and re-engineered old favourites as well as high-tech materials that deliver on aesthetics and function. We expect R&D to increasingly focus on materials science for new fibres, textiles, finishes and other material innovations to be used at scale. 4. Sustainability First The global fashion industry is extremely energy-consuming, polluting and wasteful. Despite some modest progress, fashion hasn’t yet taken its environmental responsibilities seriously enough. Next year, fashion players need to swap platitudes and promotional noise for meaningful action and regulatory compliance while facing up to consumer demand for transformational change. —from bof.com, 2020 Nordstrom Local, Nike, and The North Face noticed these consumer behavior shifts and developed successful businesses to meet developing consumer needs. Please find an example of a fashion or lifestyle business that provides a smart solution to one of these consumer shifts. Write 150 to 200 words answering the following questions: What is the business model of the example that you found? How does this business respond to the shift in consumer behavior? Do you think this business will succeed in the long term? Give reasons for your answer.