If thoughtfully executed, staying on top of trends can simplify your forecasting and assortment planning, increase revenue, and delight your customers. To start, decide what you want to know and what data you’ll need to answer your questions. Important trends for your business could include broad, general trends, as well as specific trends that might only impact a single item or collection. When you know what information you’re looking for, it’s easier to organize searches and analyses to reach your goals.
Understanding cultural trends
Whether you’re looking at a larger trend in society – such as demographic changes – or a fashion trend such as in-season colors, you can gather examples from online and offline sources to put your theories to the test. Perhaps they might be ideas based on something you’ve seen on social media, something you’re hearing about from your customers, or what you’re reading in industry publications.
Cultural trends: Summerween and GLP-1 drugs
The Summerween trend is one example of a broader trend impacting retailers in 2024. Across a range of categories from home goods to candy, this summer’s shoppers are snapping up Halloween products earlier than the traditional Halloween shopping season. Bath and Body Works, Amazon and other retailers are finding success selling scary merchandise and costumes — with some stores reporting sales up to 10 times higher than 2023 over the same period. As USA Today reports, early Halloween decorating might be a new year-over-year trend, pushing the holiday’s shopping season forward on a regular basis.
An entirely different trend – the growing popularity of GLP-1 weight loss medications – is already impacting what shoppers buy and the clothing sizes they need. Reportedly, some cosmetics and beauty products brands are seeing increased sales from shoppers who are feeling more confident after weight loss. Fashion retailers are starting to see more demand for smaller sizes, and they’re planning their size curves accordingly.
What’s the next Summerween? What other lifestyle trends might be ready to impact retail?
Using data to find new opportunities
There are many ways and places to find out what’s new and what’s next, including viral social media content, influencer posts, internet search traffic, and traditional resources such as news media, industry publications, and online magazines. You can also source direct, original feedback and insights from customer focus groups, conversations with your most devoted shoppers and VIPs, and conversations with your valued wholesale partners who could have fresh insights and perspectives on what’s trending and what could be trending next.
Quantitative data (such as how many people searched for a particular blouse last month) pairs well with qualitative data (the colors and styles your focus group raved about). When you find questions you want to answer with data, you can choose the right platform, source, and data types to solve the puzzle.
What’s more, the types of data you need may vary depending on your vertical and your product categories. For example, fashion brands might benefit from studying Instagram and TikTok, while home goods brands might also include Pinterest in their search for insights. Sometimes competitor data are valuable too. For instance, you can compare competitor site traffic spikes with their highest-engagement posts on social media to find out what’s appealing to their customers.
Trend-driven buys call for savvy inventory management — find out how other retailers are banishing overstock with teamwork and tech.
