Fashion forecasting is the prediction of mood, behavior and buying habits of the buyer. It’s not the identifying your customers by age, geography or income. But about looking into how and why they buy, supported their mood, beliefs and for the occasions.
To deal with the ever-changing world, the marketing segmentation and targeting techniques are rapidly evolving. It also involves Traditional static and demographic-based criteria towards dynamic, mood, lifestyle and psychographic influences. What is a psychographic influence? (It is a kind of technique in which marketers target customer/ buyers in different categories (I.e.: lifestyle).
In recent years, fashion has become more under the spotlight than ever before. The catwalk at Fashion Week is now live-streamed.
And consumers can get their hand on the newest trends immediately. Not having to attend for weeks for retailers to ‘catch up
This is called fast fashion and it puts tons of pressure on retailers to deliver, but there are a couple of brands like Zara manage this impressively well.
Forecasting is in almost every area of business today. It is important because forecasting has become the important weapons over time in a retailer’s competitive market.
If talking about fashion forecasting. It’s the analysis of current trends, through relevant products and services.
Fashion forecasting in India
Coming back to ground realities in India, our sensibility of clothing is extremely different and diverse. And India is emerging as a possible marketplace for apparel and fashion.
Though within the recent past a replacement commonality has emerged within the way metros dress-up.
With more and more foreign interest in top end also as mass market segments and a booming domestic business.
What we’d like to seem at may be a forecast direction that’s specific to India. FDCI, NIFT, NID and other related organizations and professionals are working towards it.
Fashion forecast by designers
There are many designers and website that follows fashion forecasting
Such websites are: wgsn fashion, heuritech and fibre2fashion.
Forecasting done through psychological, sociological and commercial point of view.
Color theme forecast guides you to seek out the foremost balanced palette in color planning.
Learn from brand design and planning process with brand analysis and elegance close-ups, you get the access to win in apparel industry.
Forecasting involves the subsequent activities like studying market conditions, noting the life sort of the people, researching sales statistics, evaluating popular designer collections, surveying fashion publications, observing street fashions etc.
Future of fashion forecasting
The role of a forecaster is to analyze the movement of the market, search for patterns in consumer behavior and find the ‘red thread’ that unifies a set of sometimes seemingly disparate ideas which will form the idea of the ‘next big thing’.
So as to pinpoint a trend, a forecaster must gather and absorb the maximum amount information from as many sources as possible and collate it into a coherent, viable story. Taking interest altogether aspects of culture from the creative arts, media and visit underground. Subculture movements and developments in science and technology are vital for any trend spotter.
Combined, statistical marketing research and observation of socio-economic shifts. As these sources also give an insight into what subsequent emerging trend could also be and show the direction and potential reaction of consumer culture.
Accurate analysis of consumer trends is significant in informing brand direction and development, within the creation of relevant products and services and ultimately in ensuring their success.
Most notably related to the style industry, trend forecasting remains a relative newcomer but has fast become during a one amongst one in every of one among the foremost important weapons in a retailer’s competitive armory. During a fast paced and crowded marketplace, identifying ‘what’s hot and what’s not’ is crucial in staying one step before the competition.
Is forecasting is really necessary in fashion industry? What do you think? Tell me in comment section below.