The UK Fashion Market: Present The Drapers 2012 Retail Forecast

Sarah Curran, founder of etailer My-Wardrobe and Meg Lustman, managing director of womenswear chain Warehouse both state how consumers will become cautious in their purchasing habits therefore retailers must provide the right product. This is proven to be true, as consumers are looking to buy essential products that are long lasting with quality being the key incentive to purchase. Furthermore, they stated that providing exceptional customer service and enticing the customer with extra services and excitement is a must for 2012. This has been demonstrated with John Lewis sitting amongst the most admired retailers of 2012 according to ‘The Drapers Market Report 2012’ for their exceptional customer service and how they embrace the multichannel attitude by targeting the right consumer, providing them with the right product online and in store. Fiona Lambert, brand director at supermarket brand George at Asda who stated ‘customers will buy investment pieces’, made a further opinion on product quality. Mark Bage, co-owner of York premium indie Sarah Coggles stated ‘the move from disposable fashion to investment statement pieces by customers will continue to change the high street.’ This was proven to be true as J Brand leather leggings priced at £875 sold out in 48 hours. We are still in a recession, however consumers are looking to purchase on trend, quality products. Many agree that being a multi channel retailer is key, providing multi-platforms for consumers to purchase products with. In ‘The Drapers Market Report 2012’, a survey was carried out to justify this, as a result 100% say that the key use of social media is driving brand awareness and 33.9% of multiple retailers have an app. If consumers do not want to wait and queue for an item, they expect the retailer to provide multichannels of