Integrated eCommerce: Game changer
for the fashion and apparel industry

Changes in consumer behavior, digital transformation, and industry-specific struggles have impacted fashion and apparel retail sales. While fashion brands are having a hard time, clothing retailers benefit from rising eCommerce sales. In other words, if you are a fashion and apparel enterprise seeking long-term success, integrating eCommerce channels within the ecosystem has never been more critical. Integrated eCommerce will help you adapt to new cost structures and make every step of the value chain cheaper and faster. It enables brand new logistics and sales-fulfillment options, fosters innovative methods of customer acquisition, and forecasts and manages inventory seamlessly, thereby creating a resilient supply chain.

Insight into the current status of the fashion and apparel eCommerce industry

According to research reports, the global fashion eCommerce industry was anticipated to plunge by 8.6% from $531 billion in 2019 to $485 billion in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the market is set to recover and touch $672 billion by 2023. In the United States alone, the eCommerce fashion industry accounted for  29.5% of fashion retail sales in 2020.

The fashion and apparel industry was the number one eCommerce sector in the world, with a global market value of $759.5 billion in 2021. It is expected to touch the $1 trillion mark in the coming five years!

What is driving the rapid growth of the fashion and apparel industry?

• Global markets are expanding outside the West
• Increasing number of worldwide middle classes having disposable income
• Growing online access and smartphone usage
• Taking advantage of the power of celebrity and influencer culture
• Innovating technologies that create excellent customer experience online

What are the biggest threats to fashion and apparel brands?

• Market fragmentation has harmed brand loyalty extensively
• Fast fashion’s ability to come up with new styles on demand
• The cost of combating digital return rates soaring as much as 50%
• Phenomenal pressure from customers to use environment-friendly manufacturing materials

How is integrated eCommerce a game-changer for the fashion and apparel industry?

• • High-quality data feed

Data feeds are essential when selling apparel on multiple channels. A high-quality data feed can be acquired with integrated eCommerce. An integrated eCommerce solution helps you receive real-time data across various touchpoints.

Benefits of a good quality feed acquired with integrated eCommerce:

• • • All product information is consistent as it has a centralized data source. Thus, the information is up-to-the-minute on every online marketplace.
    • A good data feed improves general visibility over all the channels by leading more visitors into seeing your product.
    • The data collected helps in improving customer retention and conversion rates.
    • When this data is optimized correctly, it can increase your sales. Precise product descriptions with suitable keywords can rank your product higher and increase its frequency in the marketplaces.
  • Personalization

Integrated eCommerce helps you track user behavior efficiently and personalize eCommerce storefronts like never before. In addition, it helps you build a solid targeted, personalized site search that allows you to reach your customer base in a flash and show them exactly what they are searching for. In other words, it empowers you to provide your customers with a homepage-like experience where they can shop comfortably.

The ability to customize with the right integrated eCommerce solution enables you to create a custom checkout experience that your customers can trust to keep their personal and payment information safe. In addition, it makes them feel that you are taking good care of them at an individual level.

Furthermore, personalization can be used to identify serial returners and stop them from taking undue advantage of discounts and offers such as free shipping.

• • Inventory and warehouse management

Keeping close tabs on the inventory is vital for customer satisfaction. However, it is not easy, rather complex, especially if you run both a brick-and-mortar shop and an eCommerce store. The right integrated eCommerce solution helps you keep track of your inventory seamlessly. When you integrate your ERP and eCommerce platform flawlessly, your inventory automatically updates anytime a customer places an order on your web store.

• • Integrating Social Proof APIs

Integrating social proof APIs with your eCommerce platform can boost your company’s credibility and guide customers while buying products. Integrated eCommerce helps you feature social media feeds, product reviews, and more.

You may encourage customers to purchase a particular product by showcasing celebrities, influencers, and other customers enjoying it. When a product appears to be trending, it creates a sense of buying urgency. Furthermore, it helps you increase traffic to your website, enhancing sales.

• • Integrating POS systems

If you own a brick-and-mortar shop along with an apparel eCommerce store, integrating your eCommerce platform with your POS system can be quite beneficial. You can use the sales data to keep your inventory updated by combining the two systems. In addition, you can connect your customer data and draw a better picture of customer choices and preferences, thereby increasing customer retention improving sales, and executing special programs like loyalty programs.

• • Marketing automation APIs

Being an apparel business owner, you can benefit a lot by integrating your eCommerce platform with marketing automation APIs. It helps you automate tasks like recording customer data and segmentation based on purchasing habits, demographics, choices, and preferences. Marketing automation programs help send promotional emails and ads to customers according to the respective groups they belong to. In simpler terms, integrated eCommerce helps you regulate and influence the buying decision of your customers.

Are you looking for the right integrated eCommerce solution for your web store? Contact us !