If you're running a fashion business in 2024 and starting to stress about consumer spending and what it means for the future of your e-commerce sales, you're stressing about the wrong thing. It's not about 'what's happening out there', it's about 'what's happening in here'.
I'm seeing the same posts that you're seeing on social media. This brand is closing, that brand is closing, this brand is headed to the small business graveyard, that brand is begging for support. Twenty, thirty, forty small fashion businesses have closed in the last few months alone but it's not because customers aren't spending.
If you look at the data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia's clothing, footwear and accessories sector peaked at over $3 billion in February 2024 and that's up 4.2 per cent from January. Spending is increasing, not decreasing.
People are spending more, not less, on fashion. The spending habits are there, and so is the opportunity for you if you're running an ethical, sustainable, circular or slow fashion business.
Here are my top three tips to get a piece of the multi-billion dollar fashion pie and succeed as a slow fashion brand in 2024.
1. Do something good.
You have to be designing something really good if you’re running a fashion business in 2024. 'Mediocre' just doesn't cut it anymore, because it's the mediocre brands that are closing. I'll probably cause a stir with that statement but it's true. If what you're making doesn't serve a purpose, if it's not filling a gap in the market, if you're not doing something different - you won't survive. There's enough of the same-same already out there. You have to think creatively.
2. Do something good in an ethical and sustainable way.
The recipe for success as a slow fashion brand in 2024 isn't just about doing something good - you have to do something good but do it in an ethical and sustainable way. The fast fashion system is broken. It doesn't work. The environment suffers and people suffer - and it's not who we want to be as a society. People innately want to do good, sometimes they just have to be shown how to do it, so if you're making fashion, shoes or accessories, do it in an ethical and sustainable way and use your business as a force for good. Think about circularity, think about up-cycling, think about limiting (or better yet completely avoiding) polyester, and think about auditing your supply chain. Get on top of your ethical and sustainable strategy and you'll stand out because you're doing the right thing.
3. Do something good in an ethical and sustainable way and do it with a good strategy.
This is the third part; you have to do something good that serves a purpose or fulfils a need, you have to do it in an ethical and sustainable way but you also have to do it with a really good strategy. It's not enough to just release a dress any more and think that people will buy it because it's new. What's your strategy? What does your marketing and communications plan look like? How are you tapping into the current trends and industry changes? What's your story? You need to think like a fast fashion brand but act in a slow fashion way, and that's where my strategies come in. You need a plan and you need to take measured and strategic action if you're going to last in the fashion industry.
Don't believe the 'economic downturn' hype. Shoppers are spending more than ever on fashion and the opportunity for slow fashion brands is there. It always has been. It's yours for the taking. Use your fashion business as a force for good and get laser-focused on your selling strategy to increase your sales and increase your impact. If you need help doing that, reach out.
Claire x
