eCommerce Trends 2024: The Future of Fashion Retail.

2024 looks to be a year rife with uncertainty for eCommerce brands in the Fashion and Accessories category. The industry began to feel the effects of inflation and a weakening global economy in 2023 and this stormy climate looks set to carry on into much of 2024. The fashion eCommerce space can expect to see slower growth due to persistent inflation and weak consumer confidence.

According to McKinsey’s analysis of fashion forecasts, the global industry will post top-line growth of 2 to 4 percent in 2024, with the luxury fashion market expected to generate the biggest share of the profit.

So where are the opportunities for growth for emerging eCommerce fashion brands? We’ve rounded up the top trends to keep ahead of the competition and keep growing!

His, hers & theirs: Genderless fashion is on the rise

Gender-neutral, gender-fluid, unisex- these industry buzzwords have been on the rise and many brands have been including more clothing options that claim to suit all genders. In 2021 AfterPay launched the GenderFree Shop– an online store with an infinite-scroll interface featuring quotes from queer and trans luminaries alongside clothing products from brands like Levi’s and Birkenstock.

Consider introducing a gender neutral line in your store or perhaps switch up your messaging and product photography to use models of all genders and gender-neutral copy. If you’re looking for examples of brands that embrace genderless fashion and execute it well, check out JACQ NY and WILDFANG!

Reuse, Reduce, Re-commerce

Gen Z has made shopping for second-hand clothing aka ‘thrifting’ downright fashionable. The demand for fast fashion is slowing down and with the economy taking a turn we can expect more consumers to looks for more affordable options that still deliver quality. Additionally consumers are increasingly concerned about the damage inflicted by the fashion industry on the environment. The RetailX Global Fashion 2023 report noted that the global fashion industry contributes around 4% of global carbon emissions annually, which amounts to around 1.2bn tonnes of greenhouse gases into the environment in 2022 alone. 

All this to say that eco-conscious consumers are favoring used clothing over new more and more. The global secondhand market is expected to nearly double by 2027, reaching $350 billion. If you are a merchant looking to explore Re-commerce, offer a sell-back program on your store or have a separate affiliate site where you sell or rent out “pre-loved” items. 

The personal touch: personalization at scale

At this point the value of personalization in eCommerce has been discussed ad nauseam. If you are not optimizing your online store with tailored offers and recommendations you are sleeping on unrealised revenue. 

The first step in personalization is to get your cross-sell and upsell strategies in place. Opportunities to present offers, deals, bundles and rewards can be fitted into virtually every step of the purchase journey, from promoting products in cart to optimizing your checkout and thank you pages to encourage repeat purchases. You can also go one step further to personalize your post purchase marketing strategy by leveraging surveys on your checkout page. Post purchase surveys are a great way to find out which product lines and promotions resonate with your customers and let you funnel them into tailored email nurture campaigns. 

Other personalization tactics to consider are personalizing customer loyalty programs or offering ways to personalize subscriptions to fit a customer’s specific needs. Offer options to not only personalize the products included in a subscription but also the timing of deliveries as many customers find that deliveries happen too often, resulting in waste and unwanted expenditure. Highly customized subscription models can increase customer loyalty and bring a steady stream of recurring revenue to your business. 

Sustainable style is in

One of the biggest trends of 2023 was the lean towards ethical and sustainable fashion. Fashion fashion brands are being called out for their negative environmental impact and for proliferating human rights violations. Sustainability is tied to an earlier trend mentioned in this blog- Recommerce- in short- consumers don’t mind paying a bit of a premium for clothing that has a lower carbon footprint, lasts longer and is ethically sourced and produced. Global government bodies are also implementing legislation in support of sustainability with the European Union banning the destruction of unsold textiles and clamping down on greenwashing practices in 2023.

A few ways to actually incorporate sustainability into your brand’s ethos include; 

1. Making your packing environmentally friendly by using biodegradable or recycled packing materials and reducing the amount of packaging used for products. 
2. Reducing delivery emissions but having fulfillment centers near areas where your items are most shipped to, sourcing from local and regional suppliers for international markets and shipping locally where possible. 
3. As mentioned above- give recommerce a spin. Incorporate ways for customers to buy pre-loved items from your store or get discounts for donating back used items to your store. 

Social commerce takes over 

This last trend comes as a surprise to no one. When it comes to selling online, social is taking over in a big way. Social commerce sales are expected to nearly triple by 2025, with more than one-third of Facebook users planning to make a purchase directly through the platform in 2022.

Most eCommerce stores already offer a way to shop directly from their Instagram or Tik Tok profiles and many smaller businesses also leverage live-streaming to promote their products. Brands need to leverage pictures, videos, stories, and hashtags to drive more traffic to both their online store and various marketplaces.

Those are our top 5 hot trends to watch in the Fashion and Accessories space for 2024. By creating personalized customer experiences, focusing on sustainable practices and investing more in social commerce, your fashion brand will be equipped to drive sales throughout the year.