Fashion Online and in Social Media

In the busy day to day life the reality is that street advertisements are ignored by busy commuters engrossed in smart phones, television adverts are fast forwarded or used to put the kettle on or for bathroom breaks. This sort of advertising simply is not as powerful anymore and online advertising is what attracts people in the ‘plugged in’ age. This can be convenient for online stores because one pop –up could attract thousands at a time and immediately direct them to a wider range of products than in an average high street store.

According to the Office of National Statistics Internet Access Quarterly Update 2013 adults aged 16 to 24 years 99% use the internet this is a huge sector of the most active shoppers and should be targeted online. A new route which has massively changed the way shops promote themselves is user-generated content through campaigns such as blog or vlogging competitions or designing competitions with prizes to impel consumers. This creates an improved link between the consumers and shops.

An example of an online giant is asos.com where products are marketed from “over 850 brilliant brands, including the loved-by-fashion-insiders ASOS own label”. This shows that original clothes can still be sold at the same time as attracting consumers who buy these brands. The most successful online shops may also get paid by brands to promote or sell their clothing. Online stores also have a global market and are able to ship products to customers all over the world.

However, because it becomes easier for consumers to compare prices online the competition for the best price is fierce. Another problem is quality guarantee, the consumer must trust the provider and if they do not already have a thriving high street chain this can be hard to achieve but according to a study by the Centre for Retail Research 20% of shops will close by 2018. It is often a daunting thought for brands to enter the social media because it can be hard to translate the feelings and specific style they want to project to connect with the consumers but social networking sites are now being used effectively to observe customer sentiment and provide genuine real-time customer service and interaction.

The connection between consumer and brand is growing ever stronger through the internet: there is currently an app available from Chanel which allows people to view their collections all in one place and runway shows are also streamed and mobile broadcasted to eager trend followers around the globe.