As customers turn ever more to a multi dimensional shopping experience, i.e integrating their online retail purchases with regular bricks and mortar shops, it is evident that retailers are having to invest more and more on emerging trends , their ability to spread at short notice, and how best to transform these trends into profitable sales.
Whilst not always understood, it is generally safe to say that a trend captures a certain "Zeitgeist" within society at any time and the interpretation of that immediate society impacted. So as music , clothing and food trends are influenced by a particular phenomenon so retailers must figure a way to look turn such demand into products people want or PPW's.
In this respect online retailers already have an advantage, as their ability to harness the enormous potential of the web and it's major trends, as well as linking this to their online database of existing customers. For traditional bricks and mortar retailers, for those that haven't already developed an integrated retail experience, it is vital they invest in trender or trend analysts that spot the way society trends are developing and in which countries and regions. Without investing in trend analysts the ability to harness and make good on consumer trends remains a hit and miss affair.
Turning back to the question raised at the beginning of this blog of when is a trend a trend and how do retailers spot the early signs?
The answer isn't clear, but there is some validity in the theory that tastes and trends are influenced heavily by the society we inhabit, the communication channels we watch, the common social networks we frequent and the general growth in peoples ability to travel across the globe. Major social and economic disruptions also influence what we are drawn to and what we associate with in times of change. Understanding these trends is part of the challenges retailers must face if they are to survive in an increasingly competitive retail landscape.
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