It’s been about a year now since this global pandemic began. To me, it feels like a lifetime ago and yesterday all at once. Business owners everywhere have felt the effects, with many having to close their doors forever. Manhattan still seems like somewhat of a ghost town, and even where I live, in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, retailers and store owners have boarded up their shops, hanging letters on their doors thanking their local patrons for years of love and loyalty. I have the chills just writing this, and my eyes are welling up with tears. They say when one doors closes, another door opens. As an eternal optimist, I couldn’t agree with that old adage more. At least in all of my experiences — even at moments when I was completely and utterly devastated — a better opportunity was truly right around the corner.
A new chapter has dawned for up-and-coming brands that have had to pivot during this difficult time, as well as direct-to-consumer brands and well-established brands that have been able to expand their offerings quickly and efficiently. For example, those brands that previously offered only women’s apparel or only sold women’s shoes now also sell face masks. At first, I had many reservations about the brands that decided to offer fashion face masks, especially when so little was known about the virus, but at this point, I feel that we will all need to be wearing them for the foreseeable future, so why not make them fashionable — as long as they are following the CDC guidelines and protecting you at the same time?
Some have also expanded to sunglasses, house slippers, headbands, eye masks and more. Diversifying product offerings to expand across an array of price points allows brands to be more inclusive, in turn growing their audiences to those demographics that were previously overlooked or unattainable.
Social media, whether we love it or love to hate it, has taken on many new forms in 2021, all of which can help brands achieve greater audience reach. If the brands know how to optimize all of these different channels — which can be a daunting task for new brands or small business owners trying to navigate Gen Z’s wants and needs — it is a real win. I recommend hiring interns and/or turning to your nieces and nephews who may be more “with it” than you or your team on what’s cool. Through social media blasts on Twitter or Instagram, IGTV live selling, video campaigns on TikTok, WhatsApp selling, Instagram Reels, product drop email campaigns and story countdown clocks, brands in the fashion space have been able to cater to their customers’ needs like never before.
Many, if not all, brands are now recommending “add-ons” or “buy it with” to their existing product pages, which has significantly impacted their bottom line, increasing their return on investment, as well as acquiring new clients who previously couldn’t afford their higher-priced goods. It’s a really great selling tactic that many marketers have used for years called a “marketing sales funnel,” which retailers have grown savvy about. Instead of offering these products post-purchase, trying to increase each sales total, brands are now using custom codes on their websites to tag on products they feel will resonate with or pair well with what their client is thinking of adding to their cart.
If you are able to offer products that are sustainable in some way or responsibly-manufactured, you will gain an even more loyal customer base. It is definitely a fantastic way to not only grow your brand’s audience but also to increase your profits across the board.
Another strategy that many brands have been using that has grown in popularity and is quickly becoming widely acceptable among customers is pre-ordering. In the past, luxury department stores offered pre-orders to test brands’ new products with their loyal customers, only buying limited quantities at first and buying more if there was significant interest. Over the last few years, many fashion houses used the weeks leading up to fashion week to garner the appeal of their latest collections, collecting pre-orders for garments that would walk the runway and soon after arrive at your door. This was also a way to cut costs each season by not over-producing their collections, helping their bottom line along with the environment.
Now more than ever, I’ve been seeing brands using pre-orders for their products. This allows them to collect payment from their clients up front so they can then place orders with their suppliers or factories for said product. With many supply chains having slowed down, having to extend their lead times to reduce the spread of the coronavirus by reducing their workforce, I feel this is an ideal way for brands to test interest in new products that they couldn’t have before. This allows them to purchase additional inventory in proven products that they may not have previously had the funds to invest in, pleasing their clients and aiding the brands growth. I’m eager to continue to see new product offerings that bring some joy and continued hope!
Christina Jean Durante
Femmes Sans Peur
christina@fspatelier.com
