Retailing 2013: Fashion And Tech Trends To Watch

Will Young is a director at Zappos Labs, which is part of Amazon.com‘s Zappos unit.

Will Young
At Zappos Labs we’re always looking ahead to create new experiences to wow our customers. As fashion and tech continue to merge in 2013, we’re excited about a few trends that we think will make life for brands and consumers more fun and interesting.

Clothes online? Why not!
Many technophiles are shocked to hear that only about 13 percent of clothing sales happen online. 2013 may be the year where we finally see buying apparel online become second nature. It’s easier than ever for a small or new brand to sell clothes online using a platform like Shopify or Magento. Existing online retailers are also stepping up their game with better photography, product videos, lookbooks and magazine quality content to help you decide what to wear. Mobile will continue to infiltrate how we shop for clothes as well. This can range from price comparison tools to mobile apps designed to help you shop other people’s closets. This year I won’t be surprised to hear someone say her first online clothing purchase was a second hand item! We also have our fingers crossed that tools to help you figure out your perfect fit online finally break out of the “it’s a cute gimmick” space and really help people find the right size.

Big Data turns out to be a big deal, even in fashion
2012 was a year where everything was about Big Data. We believe we’ll see big strides around actionable big data in 2013 in the fashion world. Many companies already use their vast amounts of data for recommendation systems: e.g. people who bought this, also bought this. However, that is just scratching the surface. There are an incredible number of additional signals available to help match you up with the perfect outfit. What types of dresses are trending on Pinterest? What is the most popular hat in my city? You returned a pair of stone-washed 32×32 514 Levi’s jeans, what does that say about you? Did your friends on Facebook and Twitter recommend a great hiking shoe recently? How did the latest celebrity couple sighting impact the sale of fanny packs? So much data! We’re excited to see what the industry does with it all.

 A future where we make our own clothes?
Paper dolls democratized fashion for children. Will 3D printers do that for adults in 2013? Unfortunately, it’s probably a bit too early to expect that we’ll be printing our own clothes on 3D printers at home this year. Nonetheless, we’re excited and nerding out about the possibilities there. We’re keeping our eyes peeled for what bold designers will embrace this movement and how “makers” will impact the fashion-tech industry. 3D printed bikini anyone?

 Let’s get physical
While we’re focused on e-commerce, there is a lot of innovation happening in brick-and-mortar shopping that will continue to evolve into more immersive experiences. Stores are doing a better job of integrating their online and physical channels. It’s definitely convenient to be able to buy online and return it in the store. But how would you feel being greeted by name walking into a store you have never been in before? What if they also already knew your fashion taste from your online purchase history? And knew from your tweets that you were in town for a wedding and might need something for it? And knew from your earlier foursquare check-in at the Ritz that it’s probably a fancy wedding? Creepy? Or fantastic? And who says a physical store is just for selling things? If Office Depot can open up a retail shop that is also a coworking space, what about a department store opening up space for you to create and customize your own clothing in stores? We think we’ll also see more online-only retailers experiment with more physical spaces such as pop-up shops (or trucks). As online retailers keep trying to get people to buy online, we need to remind ourselves why people love shopping at stores!

And finally: the trend that will reign supreme no matter the fashion tech innovations that emerge in 2013: Increased attention to service. By everyone.

It’s encouraging to see small and big companies continue to innovate in their level of service. We’re already seeing faster deliveries (eBay Now and Amazon same day) and more personal support (i.e. welcome e-mails with the CEO’s personal e-mail address like Chris at Betabrand.com). Do you remember the first time a company provided customer support over Twitter or Facebook and that “wow” feeling you had? We’re looking forward to seeing a few more of those service innovations this year and excited to see who leads the way.