Growth Of Fashion Industry In USA

 

Growth Of Fashion Industry In USA

 

Technology has changed virtually every industry today, including fashion industry. This sector is among the fastest growing sectors of the economy in USA. It is the barometer of what issues the world is facing at the moment and we all listen to it because it affects all of us. Even though the industry is booming, there are still a lot of issues to be addressed.

Many fashion retailers have gone bankrupt recently. For the most part, they are the result of economic issues. People don’t want to buy as many products as they were before the big recession (see the chart below). People don’t want to buy as many clothes as they did before the new fashion industry emerged. An example of the economic issue is the collapse of department stores. Most retail stores suddenly had a poor financial record, which is an economic issue as well. Some stores closed for their employees (among the top 1% or some potential employees), which is an economic problem. Then there was the exploding e-commerce business. Many fashion retailers also use e-commerce as one of their revenue sources. This means that people still want to buy from the retail stores and take it home as a packaging. Without the store being there, the revenue will go down. The people shop online to make it easier to shop.

The more advanced technology is, the more people use the internet to buy different stuff. “People expect their clothes to be tailor-made” (see the chart below). The more people can get a jacket that is custom-made, which is for all their short suits, the more people will buy it. It will mean that revenue will increase. This is also a strong positive effect for the industry. In many malls, advertisements on flyers are printed. Everyone can see this ad, therefore, their eyes are on it (all the money they saved on clothes will be put back into the company). This will help the industry with the economic issues it has. The more people buy from the mall, the more revenue will increase. With the extra revenue, there will be more and more clothes, which means that people will still need those high end dresses. This will also improve the e-commerce business as the company will be making more money and this is an improvement for the consumer.

There are many other factors that need to be addressed. Overconsumption is still a problem for fashion industry. People buy clothes that become too small, and some clothes are not cut in a reasonable way. As much as fashion industry is seen as a hip and cool industry, many people still choose jeans over pants. This is because jeans, unlike pants, are cheaper. In many cases, jeans are preferred because they have a lower waist, which means they will last a while, and a pair of jeans can save you money, which is a good thing. However, there is a negative effect that will arise. People will wear their jeans forever and be uncomfortably tight. The pressure to buy will rise. People will be unhappy. There will be too much emphasis put on products such as jeans and, therefore, people will be even more anxious to buy. People will also spend money on becoming above average, but they don’t buy the clothes to be comfortable in.

There are a few more “cultural” issues to be addressed. In the 1960s, “hungry children” were an important problem for the fashion industry. It is well known that children wanted to show their wealth by buying expensive clothes (see the chart below). There were many situations where children were miserable because they had to take care of their families. They could not afford to buy clothes, so they became poor.

There is also a cultural issue regarding children from low income families. This situation occurs when parents cannot afford the high quality of clothes or shoes a child can afford. Low income children need to purchase affordable clothes. Since it is difficult for low income families to afford expensive clothes, they pick cheap clothes and/or teach children to be cost-conscious (see the chart below). This does not only impact the purchasing of high quality clothes, but low income families that cannot afford expensive clothes. The company has to improve the quality of clothes, provide incentives, hire teachers, and improve education in the economy to decrease the chances of low income people buying fashionable clothes.

And there is a social and ethical issue, which is that beauty is a different way for everyone. There are some people who will never change their makeup. People who don’t like to do different kinds of makeup are seen as lazy and lack social capability. In my opinion, I think the beauty industry needs to be focused on how people dress to not alienate their customers. In this regard, fashion industry has a lot of room to improve. The more people are satisfied, the more revenue the company will make, which is a boost for the fashion industry.