3. The marketing Environment 3.1 Political Middle level fashion brands supply products worldwide which requires them to extend the international supply chain and follow political procedures when selling products online (Frue, 2017).
3.2 Economy Despite the lockdown during the pandemic, several brands have restored sales and improved by careful implementation of sustainability and use of technology. Kendra Scott a US jewellery brand transformed the 108 stores into fulfilment centres. Post pandemic, investment in data and analytics is beneficial. Customer insights can help companies redirect investment and strategies into opportunities that will be long lasting. Calculations suggest the industry’s economic profit will decrease by 93 percent in 2020, based on the global fashion market capitalization changes (McKinsey, The State of Fashion, 2021).
3.3 Technology Data suggests that fashion industry has moved forward 5 years of digital adoption in months around the globe, a 20 percent or more annual digital growth is expected in 2021 in comparison 2019 with 30 percent in Europe and the United States (McKinsey, The State of Fashion, 2021). Use of technology incorporated with product advertisement has been introduced across multiple platforms. Amazon developed an algorithm that learns about consumer preferences and fashion style to create similar images from scratch. “Reimagine Retail” a project launched by IBM, Tommy Hilfiger and the Fashion Institute of technology helps retailers equip with skills in AI design. Figure 3
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