One of the biggest impacts of the COVID-19 has been on the shutdown of malls and the deep plunge which the fashion economy has taken.

It isn’t only the significant brands which have fallen into this jargon, but the whole fashion industry which will be facing the consequences in the long run. This is why here we have got some smart tips to help the brands and fashion designers, irrespective of whether they are selling ready to wear clothing or unstitched, sustain themselves during this economic turndown:

1. Take a deep look in the insights and assess where your business currently stands.
2. Invest in marketing, a highly trained workforce and in connecting with your customers and clients.
3. Focus on one core product at a time instead of juggling between new and latest pieces.
4. Connect with clients for the genuine and sole purpose of building a connection and not sales only.
5. Focus on hiring skilful staff which knows and understands the current situation and has the abilities required to help you through.
6. Deduce the meaning of value for your clients; is it quality or quantity, entertainment or information?
7. Change the way you approach a client and sell products. Consider the current situation and be insightful with your marketing strategies. Run sales campaigns on discounted prices – remember, in times like these, people want to save money!
8. Break down the price in smaller digestible chunks for clients to at least consider it once – introducing a post pay option (shop today, pay later) can be a game changer for your business.
9. Move out of your current region and have an international approach because the bigger the approach you have, the better chances of sales are there.
10. Do not let the customers know you are desperate. Keep your guard and shining armour on.
But before you could implement the steps mentioned above, here are the ways to approach it:

• Prior to moving forward with any of the steps to overcome the effects, first think about the information flow and how you will interact with your customers to keep them updated about the upcoming changes and news.
• Live streaming is one of the best ways to stay connected and have proper one to one interactions with your customers.
• Online influencers are a great source of guiding the customers in the right direction and increase the sales without putting much efforts in. Their helping hand will surely be useful.
• It is obvious for people to focus on basic needs and eliminate luxuries from their lives in such a downturn, so brands should also focus on basic and practical elements.
• Consider seeking help from local producers as the market would be down for the latest chain supply and local brands could come as a good collaboration, thereby being beneficial for both.
• Flash sales are the way to go when you need to utilize your unsold merchandise for something highly useful and seeking benefit from it when in the first place, nothing was gained.
• Direct 2 customer approach is something which high end luxury brands can look forward to after forming their sub-brands, considering it is a good approach for sustaining the economic rundown.
• Add the latest technology to your brand for making it more interactive and approachable for customers where they won’t feel distanced during hard times.
• It is very obvious that most of the brands will shift to the virtual platforms for which we would recommend you to start considering the option before things really go down the wrong path for the brand – that is, if your brand still doesn’t have an online presence.
• Second hand luxury is going to be the new future for major brands, because as mentioned earlier, people would be inclined towards basic necessities than aiming for luxury, so second hand luxury or making pre-loved clothing available would be the way to go.

Good luck!