Acceleration.
It’s a term I’ve heard retailers use many times throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, rivalling ‘pivot’ and ‘unprecedented’ as the new buzzword of choice.
Don’t worry, we’re not about to delve into the mechanics of automotive vehicles. Instead, we’re going to explore how pre-existing fashion trends have gathered pace as result of the outbreak.
Let’s start with something obvious: eCommerce.
According to Deloitte Access Economics, the growth of eCommerce during lockdown amplified as consumers embraced home delivery and social distancing.
Research by Deloitte, produced in partnership with Australia Post, found that non-store revenue from additional online activity increased between $105,000 and $708,000 for the average small business alone.
This transition is projected to continue, with home delivery expected to remain 25% higher than pre-COVID levels.
In essence: eCommerce growth has not changed, merely accelerated.
The same could be said for emerging trends within the events sector, with Afterpay Australian Fashion Week and Melbourne Fashion Festival unveiling their 2021 programs this week.
Both schedules confirmed a clear, and rapidly changing, business proposition. Put simply, traditional collection shows are over.
Pre-COVID live streams already enabled viewers to consume fashion runways remotely; while ‘see now, buy now’ runways gave shoppers immediate access to ranges, long before conventional retail drops.
Well, the pandemic is driving demand for these multi-channel executions, splintering events from just live shows to interactive and often evergreen content.
Australian Fashion Week, traditionally a showcase for industry buyers, will this year accelerate its integration of consumer components via a new partnership with Afterpay.
Designers such as Bassike, KITX and Manning Cartell are giving consumers access to shop the runway immediately using Afterpay, a full season ahead of catwalk ranges traditionally landing in stores.
This comes after Fashion Week organiser IMG successfully piloted the platform at New York Fashion Week, bringing the same opportunities to the Australian fashion industry.
For consumer event Melbourne Fashion Festival, new extensions are also hitting turbo mode in 2021.
The hero group designer runways will be supplemented with a digital extension, screened as free ticketed events that are viewable anywhere in the world.
Each ticket includes a digital giftbag with a collection of redeemable gifts for ticketed guests.
This year will also see the launch of a digital Shop The Runway magazine, edited by former InStyle editor Emily Taylor. Allowing ticketholders to shop the runway, it extends similar pre-existing services into a curated and content driven experience.
What all these extensions mean for brands and retailers is clear: a single launch event can be amalgamated, accelerated and amplified across increasingly varied touchpoints.
Let's see what you've got in your bag of tricks this year.
Assia Benmedjdoub is the publisher of Ragtrader.