Impact of Covid-19 on Clothing and Textile industry

As the global pandemic evolves, our daily lives are being impacted in one way or another. It is now that the structure of the working cycle has been changed. Considering this scenario adapting Omni channels becomes vital for the apparel & textile business for the new normal, where customers will want to have a safer shopping in-stores & online. Going digital is the need of the hour.

Covid-19 impact on Textile Market

         There is drastic downfall in the textile business as there is a standstill in the supply chain due to this lockdown all over the world. Like many other sectors, the textile industry is also facing daunting challenges which never have been seen before, most of the textile industry has been closed for months now.

Impact of COVID-19 Scenario has also been drastic on European and the US Apparel Market – estimates that the combined apparel consumption of the EU and the US might fall to about 40-45% of the market value. There will be a tough time for clothing and textile exporters as about 60% of the country’s apparel exports are destined for European and the US markets.

Stores closed due to Covid-19

Around 50% of sales have fallen apart in the garment manufacturing industry and most of the clothing and textile industry units are at standstill because of which there is no supply in the market, leading to drastic losses not only monetary but also the damaged in the apparels which may or may not get exported further. 

A standstill exists in the industry’s entire supply chain, starting from farm to the factory to the end chain of the retailers. Due to the worldwide lockdown various transport facilities including trains and flights are suspended which is expected to hurt domestic operations in India. The pandemic is primarily expected to adversely impact exports and impact on the domestic markets with both exports as well as domestic sales falling.

The pandemic has affected the majority of India’s export market (the US and EU together constitute for approximately, 60% of the total apparel exports from India in value terms), causing order cancellations/deferral of order leading to inventory build-up and expectation of slower realization of export receivables leading to higher working capital requirements.

The industrialists will have to find a smarter way to sustain in the market with rising complications in textile manufacturing and distribution.

Digitizing the business

          There have been various fashion revolutions in the clothing and textile industry which have shown a positive impact on the growth of the clothing and textile industry for a few decades/years. 

 Considering this pandemic outcome taking the textile business model one step further will boost the business itself. There will be a rise in rapid productivity. Taking business one step further means adapting the innovative technologies which are necessary for the business in this era.

The fourth revolution in the industry is the key to sustainability and success, keeping the prime features of Industry 4.0 i.e, digitization, automation, optimization & customization, human-machine interference will give an added advantage to the early adopters. 

Textronics delivering a safer shopping environment

Textronics offers the advance software tools for the apparel and textile industry helping the industrialists adapt then new & safer shopping environment.

  • TryON – Virtual dressing room, is an ultimate game-changer for all the brands promoting a safer in-store experience. Shoppers can swipe and screen all the designs in the store with a safe distance of 6ft’s. Just swipes and the user can have a virtual trial of the garment there itself without physically trying the garment on. It not only keeps the in-store experience intact but helps the retailer manage its merchandise digitally.
Virtual trial room
TryON – Virtual Dressing Room
  • Tailor-i – Online tailor store, is an interactive e-com tailor store for all your bespoke clothing needs. It helps you select Cuffs, Collars, Plackets, Lapels, Fits, etc. giving you an instant 3D visualization your made-to-measure outfit from the comfort of your home.
    Live Demo
Virtual tailor shop
Tailor-i : Online Tailor Store
  • Q3D gives you an instant 3D visualization of the fabrics in the final garments forms just by scanning the QR Code. It manages all fabric options at one go & engages the user to try the endless options and attracts and retains the audience.

Retail Technology for the Near Future

Future of Retail Industry
Future of Retail Industry

Converting the toughest job into an easy one is not a big deal nowadays. “All thanks to technology!” We have accomplished many of them.
But in the technology savvy world we have considerably seen trends rising and biting the dust in no time.
So here are some tech trends which are believed to be the future of Retail Industry. Stay Tuned!

Product Delivery:

Deliveries at your door step makes shopping so comforting for all of us. We no more have to rush from store to store to shop for clothes, groceries, accessories, home decors, etc.

Newest trends in Delivery Services:

  • Drones:
  • Amazon Drone Delivery
    Amazon Drone Delivery

    What would it look like if your ordered package flies to you? The wait is almost over!
    Amazon is about to launch drones that would deliver packages to its customers.
    Once the idea is approved safe by the Federal Aviation Administration, you could see amazon drones delivering packages to your door-step within 30mins.

  • Google self-driving cars

  • While Google’s driverless cars aren’t ready yet but are making progress every day. Self-driving cars navigate based on sensors that can feel as far as 2 football fields away in every direction.

In-Store Enhancements

Retailing was always about a healthy relationship between the retailer and the shopper. In this era, to recreate the healthy bond with the help of just a brick and mortar store won’t work, a shopper needs a seamless experience through all channels.

For the Shoppers

  • Store Navigations
  • Aisle 411- Store Navigation Application
    Aisle 411- Store Navigation Application

    Store Navigation Applications like Aisle 411’s enables user to easily trace the item’s (willing to buy) exact location in the sections where they are kept in the store. Ensuring an easy searching benefit.

  • Magic Mirrors
  • Magic Mirrors
    Magic Mirrors- Virtual Dressing Rooms

    Augmented Reality based virtual dressing rooms are lately grabbing a lot of attention and market by focusing on Customer Empowerment.
    There are many companies trying to get into the AR mode with the magic mirror concept, where the user can try-on clothes multiple times. Try out different avatars with this touchscreen magic mirrors.
    Some of the Magic Mirrors in the market are–
    Uniqlo Magic Mirrors, Textronics- TryON, Rebecca Mink Off Magic Mirror, and many more.

  • Smart Assistants
  • Personalizing the user experience many companies are trying to ensure a smooth and easy shopping experience with a cloud-based technology (we also call it artificial intelligence) to idealize the customer’s product choices and guide them accordingly.

  • Custom Apparel Designers
  • Product configrator - Tailor-i
    Custom Apparel Designers for Made2Measure & Bespoke Clothing

    Custom Apparel Designers are the newest trend in fashion leveraging the user the ability to customize the outfits from the scratch.
    Custom Apparel Designers in the market are–
    YrStore; also known as Your Store
    Textronics Tailor-i

Source: https://www.insider-trends.com/top-50-innovations-in-retail/

Cloth Manufacturing: Then and Now

conventional way of manufacturing cloth

From Biofabrication to Tech-infused Wearables, the textile industry is changing at a faster pace. Newer technologies are giving their vital contribution towards the growth of textile.

Let’s take a look at where manufacturing of fabric has pulled over since all these years.

Conventionally, manufacturing fabrics was a long and tiresome process. Low-Skilled workforce, limited education & ever fluctuating payments, the workers worked for long in a very uncertain environment risking their lives.

labor manufacturing fabric
labor manufacturing fabric

Now, technologies & innovations are changing the textile industry for better.Technology contributors are working more on service-oriented designs wherein smart products and smart machines are connected which allows us to monitor the process working closely.

Back in 20th century,1000 new fabric designs were created & produced every season. The further manufacturing process was totally dependent on people’s poll. Tradeshows were arranged for mass publicity of the new collections.

Today, however, the rules have changed a bit. Of course, people’s poll is still important! But what we can do is simply rely on technology and watch the machines achieve the goals by breaking the paradigms. Designing & manufacturing with tech takes less time to produce and often reduces the costs.

Design Archive- Cloud Storage for storing designs.
Design Archive- Cloud Storage for storing designs.

Digitizing the designing manufacturing & marketing process has led to high efficiency & shortened delivery time. The labor now, is not only skilled but a critical thinker (educated & technically skilled to monitor the computer-driven machines and environment), hence these are all well-paid positions in the industry.
Now we can simply design the fabrics, store the whole collection in the cloud with the help of computerized machines, and showcase it to the prospects all across the world.

Artificial Intelligence: From Sci-Fi to Reality

Artificial Intelligence - Iron Man
Artificial Intelligence – Iron Man

Perception the visionaries had back then symbolizes the potential that the human brains possess to expand the ideology to such an extent that inspires us to keep looking forward to breaking the norms, pushing through the limits and engraving a limitless mindset which has resulted in the present we are living in.

And there shouldn’t be any hesitation in predicting what will be presented to us in the future which isn’t too far.
There were people in the history who were visionaries. They perceived a vision about the gadgets of today without having any scientific or technological reference. Still, they ended up with gadgets in 20th century books, movies and cartoon series’ which have become a reality today.

Smartphones that are so much part of our lives today, first caught the imagination with movies like ‘Star Trek. The handset called ‘Tricorder’ in the movie featured numerous buttons with what looked like small display.

Star Trek - Tricorder
Star Trek – Tricorder

Similarly, Smartwatches, which have now been part of our lives since few years now, were a mere idea back in 1962 when it made its appearance in the Jet Sons animated cartoon series. The series was set into the future with flying cars, IoT devices, virtual assistant and more. There are many more of these examples.

Smartwatches - 2017
Smartwatches – 2017

The most talked about technology depicted in a movie was every Techie’s dream. The ‘J.A.R.V.I.S’, Just Another Rather Very Intelligent System, from Iron Man, first of the series having released in 2008 had become the most heart-throbbing experience of the technology being showcased as the communication didn’t seem confined between two individuals, rather it was between a human and a virtual system.

JARVIS - Iron Man
J.A.R.V.I.S – Iron Man

The emotional Quotient was something that took more of the attention and was way appreciated. As the sequels kept coming in, the technology became even more interactive where the creator in character could possibly grab, trash, zoom, locate and do everything which is possible on a system which requires no further elaboration.

AI has been a greater impact in the initial stages of the 21st century in the offices. Machine-learning technologies are increasing productivity. From workflow management tools to trend predictions and even the way brands purchase advertising, AI is changing the way we do business.
There’s so much potential in AI development that it is getting harder to imagine a future without it.

We’re still a few years away from having robots at our back, but AI already has a profound impact in more subtle ways. Weather forecasts, email spam filtering, Google’s search predictions, and voice recognition, such Apple’s Siri, an intelligent personal assistant for interactive response between the gadget and it’s user. Cortana is again an example of AI.

These inventions really are uplifting the world of technology and a lot is awaited that could really break the jinx and take us to the next levels of innovations.

SPAR: In-Store Technology Innovation

SPAR India, a multinational retail chain was awarded Images Most Admired Retailer of the Year – In Store Technology Development, IRF 2017.

IRF- Most Admired Retailer of the Year- In Store Technology Development
IRF- Most Admired Retailer of the Year- In Store Technology Development

SPAR has always been passionate about adopting new ideas to engage their consumers. Taking in consideration, the ongoing changes in consumer behavior brought on by technology, SPAR took a step forward and digitized their hypermarket with home furnishing & Store navigation application for enhanced Consumer experience.

The easier the retailer makes it for shoppers to find what they’re looking for, the less likely consumers are to leave a store without making the purchase.
The Home Furnishing application in the buzz is “3D Showroom” – An ideal product visualization tool which helps consumer to decorate their dream house with SPAR products.

The conventional way of shopping for home furnishing products was a game of imagination. How will this look in my room? Will this match my curtains? This solution has given the consumer a break from the guessing work.

Pick a product. Drape it. Check combinations. Buy it. Voila!

SPAR has redefined convenience by letting the consumer make his own choices & seeing it turn into reality, Virtually!

Now that’s interesting!

Enhanced Retail Experiences with Digital Visual Merchandising.

Visual Merchandising has always been about creating a warm & fuzzy feeling for the shopper. Mainly it’s about the look, feel & culture of a brand, where the main purpose is to attract, engage, motivate the customers.

Converting a Passive Looker into Active Buyer!

A well designed and impactful display of product attracts & exposes a customer to a wider range of merchandise.

Rise of Millennials

With the rise of digital natives (millennials) – who understand and have an affinity with technology, they want to be associated with brands that interact with them.

According to a 2015 Global Trends Survey, there are 92 million millennials in the US alone and they’re hitting their spending power now; with spending expected to total 30% of sales in the US by 2020.

Personalised In-Store Experience

Digital signage, when used most effectively, has the ability to create a tailored in-store experience for customers. Because millennials seek out content digitally, information must be shared quickly to the exact place where they’ll be looking; with dynamic digital signage systems updating messaging quickly and targeting it effectively.


Millennials also have huge purchasing influence as they’re socially connected and having larger and more powerful networks than other generations. Using the power of social sharing via your digital signage systems creates an opportunity for your customers to influence their network and promote your brand/products.

“Demand is driving the growth of digital signage on the continent and despite the challenges of e-commerce, brick-and-mortar retail is strong and provides an excellent opportunity for retailers and marketers to engage and build relationships with their consumers. Where better to connect with and influence your customer in the best possible way than directly on the shop floor,” adds Day.

Digital signage has succeeded in retail networks in the following ways:

  • Digital signage’s vibrant and clear display has been proven to drive customers towards stores and influence their decisions to purchase.
  • Digital kiosks provide customers with a convenient self-service approach to store navigation and an effective tool that can hold vital information about the store, products on offer and promotions including a multi-faceted starting block for many future campaigns
  • Social media channels have a very real presence in our lives due to the power and ease in which information can be shared.
  • QR codes, SMS short codes and Smartphone Apps have become a regular feature within advertising strategies. They provide fast effortless access to brands, products and any related information a customer may seek.
  • Referrence article- http://movingtactics.co.za

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