A Comprehensive Guide to D2C Marketing Trends for Fashion Brands

With the value of the fashion eCommerce market projected to exceed 1 trillion dollars by 2027, there is no doubt that apparel and accessory brands can thrive in the digital age. Additionally, the direct-to-consumer model allows brands to retain more control, access valuable consumer data, and attain higher profit margins by forgoing the expenses of brick-and-mortar locations.

However, the world is constantly evolving. Fashion eCommerce brands must keep a pulse on trends in the industry and adapt their marketing strategies accordingly to continue to flourish in the online marketplace. 

Marketing Trends Fashion Brands Need To Know 

Trend – Sustainability: Consumers today have an inclination towards eco-friendly fashion that wasn’t as prevalent in previous generations. In fact, 80% of shoppers say they are willing to pay more for sustainably produced goods. 

Maven’s Tip: Highlight your brand’s sustainability initiatives, such as any recycling programs, use of plant-based fibers, or manufacturing practices that are planet-positive. By telling consumers about your brand’s commitment and efforts to minimize your environmental impact, you can resonate with their desire to protect the planet. 

Trend – Personalization: Personalization is a necessity for eCommerce fashion brands. It can enhance the customer experience and drive loyalty by showing consumers that your brand understands their needs and desires. This in turn boosts conversion rates and increases revenue. 

Maven’s Tip: Look for opportunities to tailor your customer journey, messaging, and product recommendations. Email can be a particularly effective marketing tool, offering the ability to personalize campaigns with the recipient's name, populate product feeds based on their browsing or purchase history, send automated emails based on behaviors like browse or cart abandonment, and segment your audience based on interests or demographics. Email enables eCommerce fashion brands to send relevant, targeted content to current and potential customers alike.    

Trend – Incorporating More Technology and AI: The last several years have brought major advancements in technology – particularly when it comes to artificial intelligence. Fashion eCommerce brands can utilize technology and AI to elevate the customer experience and maximize sales.

Maven’s Tip: Examine where you can incorporate new technology and artificial intelligence into your eCommerce business. Virtual try-on technology allows consumers to see how clothing, accessories, or makeup can flatter their appearance, while virtual assistants and chatbots can provide targeted customer service or product recommendations 24/7 to increase customer satisfaction. Brands can also explore visual search technology, AI-powered inventory management and logistics options, and dynamic pricing tools – which analyze manufacturing costs, demand, and competitor pricing data in real time to adjust prices accordingly. 

Trend – Expanding Into The Metaverse: Whether you love it or hate it, the Metaverse isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Brands like Under Armour, Adidas, Nike, and Forever21 are leading the way into the (virtual) unknown by releasing NFTs and creating virtual storefronts within the Metaverse. 

Maven’s Tip: Explore ways that your brand can connect with customers in the virtual world. This can include offering digital versions of real products for players’ avatars to wear, creating digital storefronts for players to run or purchase merchandise from, and collaborating with popular games to create a one-of-a-kind virtual reality experience. 

Trend – Mobile Shopping: Anyone else shudder at the thought of leaving the house without their cell phone? Same here! Your customers are no different, with the average American checking their phone a whopping 144 times per day in 2023. Given that stat, it’s no surprise that almost 80% of fashion eCommerce site traffic comes from consumers on mobile devices. 

Maven’s Tip: Optimizing your website, checkout process, and emails for mobile devices is a need, not a want. By creating a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for shoppers on their cell phones to browse, add to cart, and pay, your brand can majorly profit while providing customers with a convenient and enjoyable shopping experience. 

Trend – Social Media: Over 65% of consumers like to watch videos to learn more about products before they buy. In fact, it’s estimated that the value of social media sales will grow to almost 3 trillion dollars by 2026. 

Maven’s Tip: Two words: shoppable content. Post and live stream on visual-heavy platforms like Instagram to help shoppers see how your clothing and accessories look on real people. You can also partner with influencers in your space who can not only model your products but share them with their online community to drive social media sales and grow your following. Be sure to take advantage of the in-app shopping features offered by each platform to create a seamless journey for your target audience. 

Trend – Buy Now, Pay Later: Patience may be a virtue, but for shoppers, instant gratification is much more appealing. The option to buy now and pay later or in installments allows customers to splurge on purchases they may not be able to afford outright while avoiding the interest costs and credit score impact that often come with use of credit cards.  

Maven’s Tip: With the buy now, pay later market expected to exceed $59 billion by 2030, it’s wise for eCommerce fashion brands to explore programs that offer buy now, pay later services such as Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay. 

Conclusion 

By taking advantage of industry trends, D2C eCommerce fashion brands can boost customer satisfaction – and ultimately sales – to send profits soaring. While keeping a pulse on shifts in fashion eCommerce can be highly rewarding, it requires a large investment in regards to time, and is often most effective when there is someone well-versed in analyzing such trends at the helm. 

Here at Strategy Maven Agency, our expert eCommerce strategists are always on the lookout for new patterns in the industry. They then formulate a winning email and SMS plan that combines today’s trends with tried-and-true tactics to optimize engagement rates and maximize revenue.  

Book a call with us today to learn more about how we can help your D2C fashion brand thrive in the digital era.