Zara Trend Forecasting & Digital Marketing

MACRO TREND African safari...

According to Statista there were 16.65 million tourists in Southern African in 2019, increasing by 210,000 from the previous year. With the rise of Instagram and travel bloggers, the Gen-z population are now dreaming of traveling around the world. Solo travel has also become a popular choice among many, especially those wanting to experience the African culture. Popular destinations include Botswana and Zambia, both located in Southern African. Although we can see other peoples travel adventures on Instagram and Youtube, we are also looking to experience it ourselves.

This macro trend is starting to filter into the fashion industry and we are seeing hints of African safari’s through the shapes, colours and fabrics of our clothing. We have recently been obsessed with animal prints which have also inspired the trend. However, it’s now much more about the experience meaning we are seeing more utility style clothing incorporated into the looks to give a real safari traveller vibe.

MICRO TREND Safari traveller...

S/S’ 20: The current Safari trend consists of simple pieces, usually of a khaki or beige colour, with large pockets and a chunky belt. The pieces worn are usually shorts, trousers, jumpsuits and jackets and are made from linen or a cotton blend. As animal print is still a big fashion trend the safari traveller trend will also incorporate animal print within it. Whether that be simply pairing it with animal printed items or by adding animal printed belts, pockets or collars to the safari style clothing.

ABOUT THE BRAND...

Zara is most well-known for its lowpriced dupes of popular designer and high-end pieces, giving them a high-end, chic vibe. Their main target market is women aged 25-40 years old, making up 60% of their overall demographic. However, they also cater for men, of a similar age (25%) and children aged 0-14 (15%).

The company is owned by Inditex and operates in 96 countries worldwide. Inditex state; “Over the years, Zara has remained faithful to its core values, expressed simply in the same four key words that define all our stores: beauty, clarity, functionality and sustainability.”

ZARA S/S’19 CAMPAIGN

Customer profile...

Age: 25-40 years old.

Occupation:

Office worker, stylist, business women.

blogger,

Style: Sophisticated and chic.

Also shops at: H&M, French Connection, Office, Warehouse, Mango.

Title: Married with children.

Income: Mid-range disposable income.

Interests: Fashion, reading magazines, Instagram, cooking.

OLIVIA SANG EDITORIALS

Why is the brand suitable...

With its high-end looking affordable pieces, Zara is the perfect brand for the new ‘Safari Traveller’ trend. Its structured shapes, use of textures and prints gives them the go ahead for the trend. Zara is all about giving its customers what they want and bringing in new trends before their competitors.

They aren’t afraid to make a statement and push boundaries when it comes to their products. The new micro trend will fit in well with the Zara demographic as the trend is sophisticated while bringing an exciting elements with print and texture.

A/W’19 SAFARI PIECES

HOMEPAGE A simple headshot has been used on the homepage banner to capture the collection.

Zara is all about the clean simple shots to attract the attention of the customer and encourage them to buy the pieces.

A simple header and sub-header have been used to summarise the collection and create a vision and mood around the trend. A ‘shop now’ link has also been added to make it easier for the customer to click through to the pieces.

INSTAGRAM These two images will be posted to the Zara Instagram feed between 8pm and 9pm (on different days) as this is when the main demographic is most active on the app, encouraging maximum engagement on the posts. It is also when customers have the most time to sit down and browse the website; meaning they are more likely to purchase the items being shown.

The captions have been left simple to fit with the Zara house style and the main Zara hashtags have been added, along with one relating to the new collection.

The captions are being used to create an image and mood behind the collection; encouraging customers to buy into it. The posts also have shoppable tags to make it easier for the customers to shop the pieces directly from Instagram.

The left image will be used to show off the accessories in the collection through a simple accessory shot. The right image is the same as the one used on the homepage banner. Using the same image links the Instagram to the website and brings the brand together. As the post will have shoppable links the image will be linked to the website meaning it brings the collection together and makes it simple for the customer to view the collection.

The more they see the image the more they will want to shop the collection.

NEWSLETTER A newsletter will be sent out to email subscribers the week before March payday (ready for the launch at the end of March) to advertise the new collection. This is the perfect time for the collection to launch as it is when people are starting to think about their summer holidays and safari trips so people will be inspired by the clothing at this time. Keeping to Zara’s newsletter style the logo is centre top. A large editorial hero image has then been used to show off the trend. The name of the collection and a sub-header has then been used to introduce the collection. Zara uses minimal words on the newsletters so this newsletter has been designed in the same way. You then scroll down to the ‘Shop Now’ section where there are six items from the website being shown. These will also be linked to the website so the customer can shop the items straight from the newsletter.

The email is then finished with the standard footer at the bottom.

THE EVOLUTION Autumn/winter’20

The Safari Traveller trend will evolve and change for Autumn/Winter’ 20. The utility style will remain the same but we will start to see more textures being brought into the trend. Fur, leather, snakeskin and woollen textures will be seen on all items including accessories. The shapes will also be elongated to cover more of the body. For example, jackets will become midi-lenght, tops will become long-sleeved, shorts will become trousers and playsuits will become jumpsuits. The colour palette will remain the same but darker colours and shades will be brought in to correspond with the season. ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ will also be aired during this season which will further inspired and evolve the trend in the future.