An Outlook of the Indian Fashion Retail Industry in the Post-Covid World

Innovation and growth and have long been the driving force of entrepreneurship, steering the course of the world. This driving force is even more relevant today, as the Indian economy embraces the swift changes brought on by the pandemic. Whilst the Domestic Fashion Retail Industry is fast emerging into a new era, a significant shift has been created in the way business is done in the country. But as India embraces the tides, it is interesting to observe the Post COVID strategy of the Retail and Fashion Industry.

The outlook of the Indian Fashion Retail industry is promising in the post-Covid era, as it has brought about a mammoth of opportunities for new and emerging technologies to bridge the gap between fashion and consumers. Given how social distancing has opened a window to disrupt existing methodologies, it will now be up to brands and leading players in the industry to bring the products as close to the consumer as possible. This strategy will be a strong move away from the previous policy of the consumer coming in to buy the product in-store. This disruption has nevertheless levelled the playing field between big and medium players alike to thrive on the same platform. It has encouraged players to choose the virtual world of retailing to sustain and succeed.

Before the pandemic hit Indian shores, the Indian retail industry was growing to become one of the leaders in embracing technology and changing the country’s image to become the world’s largest global destination for Fashion Retail. The Indian retailing industry has been propelled by the world’s fastest-growing e-commerce market that drove sales alongside robust investments in the sector. An increase in the number of internet users and penetration of deep logistics to achieve ‘same day’ or 2-day delivery caused the imagination of consumers to increase their intake of purchases. The facility to return goods after trying and have immediate fulfilment of packages caused an uptick in sales with fast fashion creating the right amount of growth opportunities across the previously under-penetrated towns and houses.

There has been a continuous investment into the Retail industry that has spiralled up the Fashion Retail industry. Fast fashion has been on the rise ever since and dominating the Indian Subcontinent even when its trends showed a decline in global markets. The Indian Fashion Retail industry experienced many innovative features that aided its upwards trajectory. Pushing the industry towards blistering growth, the market has been enjoying an increase in production capacities, faster and efficient supply chains and sharper transport options to make the latest trends available to the consumers.

Even though the e-commerce sector has spiralled a new wave of innovation that has greatly benefited the segment, the Indian Retail industry was still impacted by the pandemic. Some of the effects of its disruptions were apparent on the demand and sales for apparels. Consecutive shutdowns and restrictions on industrial operations due to lack of sufficient labour workforce, have caused further loss of opportunity to return to pre covid operational numbers. Cost rationalisation has however played a supportive role in helping players to get back in the game and facilitate an improvement for a better outlook of the industry. Frequent lockdowns and movement restrictions in the second wave of the pandemic have resulted in operational disability causing production supply to decline further.

There is however a silver lining on the horizon as markets are gearing up for an evolutionary shift with a new set of rules governing the industry. The past few months have seen recovery trends for cotton woven fabrics used in the manufacture of shirts and trousers shy away from showing a healthy growth trend. Meanwhile, the recovery of cotton knitted fabrics used in the production of products like innerwear, casual wear and activewear was seen to rise many folds in the same period.

This rise in demand was fueled by restrictions leading to a majority of the consumers working from home. This demand for home apparels and casuals have shown that some categories will continue to rise and be in demand for at least the next half of the decade. Professional and casual wear will now undergo a major makeover as more consumers would choose comfortable home clothing as they are within the confines of their homes. Another big fashion accessory and necessity that the industry is going to see dominate the market are reusable hygienic cotton masks that go well with their daily work attire.

One of the few challenges and opportunities that brands and players would need to incorporate is the inclusion of AR technology within the online fashion retail space. This will enable consumers to be certain before they purchase the product with the added assurance that their purchases have not been tried by other consumers. Addressing these safety and hygiene-related concerns will help create the right amount of trust that is crucial for the growth of the fashion retail industry in India. The economic impact is expected to be visible on the behavioural patterns of price-conscious consumers. Fashion retailers will need to accept these challenges and convert obstacles into opportunities. This would need to be accomplished by building trust with the right strategy and a blend of safe and hygienic methods to purchasing fashion apparels.

The Indian Fashion Retail Segment holds more than enough potential to not only bounce back but position itself as a booming business in the post-pandemic world. Whilst the world witnesses a new era for trade, this marks a new leg of growth for the segment, which can facilitate great expansion and modernisation.

The author of the article is Dhaval Ahir, Co-Founder, Veirdo