Today in Retail Highlights: Fashion Retail in Europe

On this weblog collection, Mintel evaluations the newest retailer advertising and marketing and improvements, together with new retailer openings, on-line developments, new ideas or class launches. For this month’s spotlight, our retail specialists weigh in on three thrilling developments within the European trend retailer market.

The multinational clothes firm Inditex has continued to see rising gross sales and revenue throughout 2023, highlighting its major trend model Zara as one of many profitable retailers of 2023. Zara’s concentrate on improved digital shops with a handy self-checkout, in addition to a cellular app that seamlessly hyperlinks the in-store and on-line, permitting buyers to test for inventory, pre-book a becoming room and click on and gather inside two hours, has been one of many key cornerstones of its success. Mintel’s just lately printed Clothes Retailing – UK – 2023 exhibits that Zara has seen a surge in its buyer base within the final yr, with a giant rise in Millennials and Gen Zs procuring there, with these younger customers exhibiting a desire for hopping between on-line and in-store channels when shopping for trend.

Nevertheless, it’s value noting that Inditex has reported a slowdown in development within the three months to the tip of October 2023, with gross sales solely growing by 6.6%, in contrast with double-digit development throughout the identical interval within the final two years. Whereas the style sector has benefited from customers persevering with to deal with themselves to new outfits for socialising and holidays within the first half of the yr, the unsure financial outlook could also be beginning to dampen spending and result in a diminished urge for food for brand spanking new trend purchases.”

Dimension?, the sports activities and way of life model owned by JD Sports activities, continues the rollout of its new idea shops throughout the UK and Europe, with the newest retailer open in Paris. The brand new retailer is a reopening of Rue Berger in Les Halles, and follows the idea that was unveiled in among the Dimension? shops within the UK firstly of the yr. The brand new design consists of a number of digital installations, together with transactional kiosks permitting clients to buy the in depth Dimension? on-line, in addition to a digital display screen on each flooring.

Spanning over 160 sq m, the shop presents a spread of males’s clothes and sneakers “from among the most coveted manufacturers in streetwear” together with Nike, Salomon, Adidas Originals and The North Face.

Our 2021 report, Footwear Retailing – France discovered that sports activities outlets have been the most well-liked place to purchase footwear in France and our forthcoming report Clothes Retailing – France discovered the channel was the second hottest place to purchase clothes (34% of French customers had shopped for clothes at sports activities retailer within the final 12 months, surpassed solely by the grocery channel at 38%). Decathlon, Go Sport and Intersport are the main retailers on this channel in France, they usually have benefited from the elevated demand for casualwear in the course of the pandemic, and the extra common development over the previous few years in the direction of a extra casualization of society and the office.

Mintel analysis discovered that Gen Z are the almost definitely to buy at a sports activities items retailer (39%) for clothes, highlighting the significance of focusing on this demographic. This Dimension? retailer does this, with quite a lot of digital instruments to reinforce omnichannel procuring, additionally delivering a spread of providers and the all vital “experiences” to tempt buyers into shops. 

Bershka has partnered with AI-powered digital becoming room platform 3DLOOK because it seems to be to scale back return charges and supply a extra “seamless on-line procuring expertise”. The rollout of the digital try-on service is hoped to “eradicate the match and sizing guesswork” and increase ecommerce gross sales.

Accessible on all cellular gadgets and laptops, the service asks clients to take two photographs – entrance and facet views. Powered by synthetic intelligence, a voice assistant guides clients by means of the method, guaranteeing optimum posing for correct outcomes. The 3D mapping know-how of 3DLOOK – YourFit, mixed with its superior dimension suggestion system, delivered fast recommendation on essentially the most appropriate dimension whereas creating a practical and correct digital becoming expertise.

With each sizing and the speed of returns being two main points inside the trend sector, AI instruments reminiscent of this one launched by Bershka ought to show profitable and encourage funding by different retailers in comparable instruments to assist customers when procuring on-line. One of many major obstacles to purchasing trend gadgets on-line is the issue with judging an merchandise’s match, significantly for girls, with greater than 6 out of ten feminine web shoppers citing this as a problem, as outlined in Mintel’s Vogue & Know-how market report. Mintel analysis additionally exhibits that nearly half of web shoppers agree that it could be useful for retailers to make use of dimension suggestions instruments, with the likes of Bershka’s newest digital becoming room catering to that demand. Points with match and sizing lead customers to return their gadgets, so discovering the proper dimension the primary time round can profit each retailers and customers, and scale back prices. The ‘see the way it suits me’ widget also needs to show fashionable with Bershka’s core buyer – Gen Zs are almost definitely to wrestle to visualise whether or not an merchandise will swimsuit them when shopping for on-line.

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