A new report was recently published by Infiniti Research on the top challenges currently facing the fashion retail industry. In it, they reveal 3 underlying issues, all essentially stemming from the broader trend of consumer demands becoming ever more specific as the market fills with more options. Infiniti lists, growing consumerism, a demand for a unique experience and inventory management as the biggest hurdles currently facing the apparel retail space. This will unlikely come as a surprise to many businesses that have been trying to keep up with evolving industry standards and a growing consumer demand for customized products and personalized shopping experiences.
Up until now, solutions have often been pieced together, with one technology rarely offering a comprehensive fix that addresses all three issues. vPersonalize, on the other hand, offers a fully integrated solution. Given its leading position in the custom, on-demand manufacturing space, the most nature of the software is to quickly and efficiently develop, design and produce superior products while offering the customer a personalized shopping experience, without the need for inventory on the manufacturer’s end. Here, we’ll explore what Infinity has uncovered to be the biggest hurdles and how vPersonalize offers industry-specific solutions to each of these common problems:
Problem 1 – Growing consumerism: “Consumers demand variety and originality; for example, consumers frequently demand apparels they see on media that is worn by their favorite celebrity. So it is difficult for brand owners to offer new collections in a short period, which leads to complications in the supply chain, product development, planning, production, and fulfillment.”
Solution – On-Demand, Custom Apparel & Accelerated Product Development: With vPersonalize, brands can publish new designs in a matter of hours and release new products in a matter of days, slashing product development times without sacrificing quality. In return, customers are given the ability to quickly customize the “perfect” design on photorealistic 3D models, seeing their design with 100% visual accuracy, as it will lay on the body in their size. This combination of quick customization and product development ensures customer satisfaction with fast releases on trending products and designs personalized to each customers’ specifications.
Problem 2 – Demand for a unique experience: “Players in the fashion retail industry are finding it difficult to create a unique experience for their customers and gain customers’ attention. Brands often obtain superior brand loyalty because they can drive engagement and create positive customer engagement.”
Solution – In-store Design Kiosks, Fan Pages & Personalizable Products: vPersonalize gives brands the ability drive customer engagement with a fully personalized shopping experience. Design Kiosks featured at brick and mortar locations allow customers to customize, modify and place orders from physical sample products they see in the store. Fan and team pages give consumers the ability to shop from a completely customized storefront, including banners and products, creating an upsell opportunity where consumers can see their custom design on a variety of virtual products.
Problem 3 – Inventory management: “Based on seasons, brands in the fashion industry usually roll-out their new collection. Some brands generally roll out new designs for few seasons in a year, which results in longer time-to-market. In this fast-moving world, the consumer preferences in the space of few months would have changed a lot.
Solution – On-Demand Manufacturing: Carry unlimited styles and sizes without physical inventory. With vPersonalize, you can quickly expand your product line, release new trending designs, add new sizes and geographies – all without the overhead. On-demand production automation allows for items to not be produced until actually ordered, saving resources, materials and costs used during a production cycle. Once an item is ordered, auto-graded production-ready patterns are automatically produced, helping take the product to production line in a matter of hours. This pre-manufacturing automation, combined with vPersonalize’s optimized design-to-production workflow, successfully targets the top challenges faced by the fashion retailers and brands.
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