SINNERS & SAYNT: The Lightbulb Has Gone Off
I’m a genius. I know it sounds like I’m tooting my own horn but I can pretty much talk about any subject for a lengthy amount of time without seeming like an idiot. Maybe that just means I’m a good bullshitter, but regardless, I feel like I’m a pretty smart dude.
Of course while most subjects are at my disposal, there is one I “get” more than others. I understand what’s happening in fashion today, but more importantly, what’s happening in online fashion. I’ve decided to share with you a few of my thoughts on what’s going on right now, the momentousness shift and what it will mean for publishing, indie designers, and the industry as a whole.
I think that if we are all able to innovate, we may all survive. If we don’t, well I guess that’s that.
1. Magazines will slowly, but surely die off. First the smaller ones will fall away, then the bigger ones will begin to get lean, then more and more will jump on the web but lose readers to independent blogs that are already on the scene. Realizing that most blogs make money from their content and editorials, magazines will begin to enforce their copyright and thousands of fashion blogs will be forced to pull down images from their sites. The result will be a great blog die-off. Rather than removing hundreds of pages of content part-time bloggers will call it quits, seeing little interest in keeping up the struggle against content bloated magazines. Additionally, the publishing houses will find new ways to steal back their readers (Think Facebook Applications and Widgets).
Magazines with proper online direction will fair best. Editors like Anna Wintour, Carine Roitfeld, and others will be replaced by bloggers or web savvy editors who are capable of talking to consumers online. Ad sales will incorporate a higher expected ROI, since affiliate marketing will become a more familiar term for the new online advertiser. Affiliate programs will dominate, with blogs and the sites of Vogue and Elle, becoming nothing more than over hyped online catalogues.
Also, the network will become the new Publishing House. CondeNast is great and all, but they’ve got nothing on Glam.com when it comes to reach on the web. This will be an important factor for advertisers in the next coming years.
2. Fewer shoppers will head to department stores as trust increases in online buying and free shipping and return policies attract new customers. The magazines and bloggers will need to jump on this fact and certain blogs will be as powerful, or sell as much inventory as department stores (case in point, PurseBlog.com). This will lead to a broader spectrum of interest for brands looking to sell online, incorporating programs that talk directly to top selling bloggers. These bloggers will be influencers of markets and the smartest ones will begin developing their own affliate programs to make it easier for brands to sell on their sites.
3. The online store will become an antiquated device for selling product on the web. Fewer people will build them opting to shop through widgets and directly through their facebook profile. Suggestion shopping will leap to new bounds as visual tracking software advances. Now every page you visit on the web will offer suggested purchases, making it easier for you to purchase items while you read the latest news and stories. One-click shopping across hundreds of sites will replace the way we purchase our goods, with a full list of our purchases being provided to us monthly. l Companies that embrace these new technologies will be the first to advance and will gain respectable marketshare quickly.
4. More purchases will be made through mobile devices meaning that retailers will need to address this. Instant purchase sites will pop up on your cell phone and with a text the item will be purchased and delivered to your home. While this doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense (who shops while on their phone) stores like Saks and Macy’s will introduce the technology to ensure that you make purchases through their store. If you ever can’t find an item in store, a simple text will ensure you purchase it through Saks.com, making the store money. Of course, Saks and others will have to address larger issues within their corporate structure before this becomes a reality.
5. The indie designer will remain small unless they address budding technology. Building a community around your brand should be the main focus. Fostering a direct relationship with your customers will be the most importantt thing a young designer can do, creating a collective of supporters and using them to further your message. Brands that don’t have a proper Social Media Directive will fail. As more and more boutiques close down, weighed down by lost customers on the web, there will be fewer spots for young designers to flourish. The way you sold in the past will not be the way you sell in the future. Designers who understand this will be the ones to succeed.
6. Fashion Indie will become the ultimate source for original fashion editorials, shopping, and the best from the fashion web. Just wait for it, it’s coming. And when it happens don’t be all surprised. Accept it as the natural progression for this crazy little fashion world. Doubt it and you don’t really get it.
If you want more info on what’s happening next in fashion, be sure to hit up Sayntly.com. That’s our services company, our bread and butter, our little engine that will.
