Keeping Up With The New Trend Of Shoe Retail Industry, Volumetal Helps The Sustainable Development Of Offline Retail

For the retail industry, there is only a line between many brands and the "next online red model". Mastering the trends and emerging trends can keep the brand in a leading position. However, due to the importance of trend trends, brands are easily affected by FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) in innovation experiments and investment.

As an excellent shoe retail service provider, Volumetal has been deeply involved in the industry for more than ten years, and Footwear brand The cooperation with retailers has a clear understanding of the main development trends of the footwear industry in the future. At the same time, through big data and artificial intelligence systems, it can help brands keep up with the trend of footwear trends and keep pace.

Shoe retailers and brands Urgent need Concerned three Big trend:

Trend 1: Shoes Secondary sales

Online sales of second-hand goods have been going on for decades, but in recent years, P2P platforms such as StockX (the US second-hand market trading website), Poshmark (the US version of free fish) and The RealReal (the US second-hand luxury trading platform) have made it easier for buyers and sellers to contact and trade with each other. According to the report of GlobalData, the global sales of second-hand goods are expected to double to 77 billion dollars by 2025.

It is always in line with the strategy of maximizing the interests of the brand to attract new customers while keeping existing customers in its ecosystem. Therefore, the new services provided by companies such as Trove to support brands to directly operate second-hand transactions are very noteworthy. This is especially important if sustainability and improving customer retention are part of your strategic roadmap.

Brook Porter, the founding partner of G2 Venture Partners (the investor of Trove), said: "Brands are aware of the same problem: they have seen a large number of their products on P2P websites, but they can't control them." Trove's current customers, such as Patagonia, REI, Lululemon and On Ongo, are expected to account for 10% to 30% of its sales of second-hand goods in the future. Brook Porter said, "This is a huge opportunity."

In short, Trove's technology platform is integrated with the brand's website, and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify, accept, distribute and issue commodity coupons. Sellers can return used items to obtain store vouchers, while buyers can purchase second-hand goods online.

Before such a plan is fully launched, there are many factors related to integration and operation that need to be considered, but the return on investment looks very attractive and should be at the top of any brand's list of items to be investigated.

Trend 2: Shoes design individualization

Personalization has long been one of the "hot" buzzwords impacting the retail industry. Everyone is talking about it, but what is it? In a world where dependence on third-party data is coming to an end, brand owners must provide more attractive services for their customers, so that customers are willing to share their data and continue to buy back.

Nike launched the Nike By You service in 2023, allowing anyone to customize a pair of sneakers that meet their personal preferences. Many other lifestyle brands are also taking advantage of customers' growing demand for customized products, which to some extent reflects people's personality or personal style.

But this trend does not only apply to products themselves. Consumers also showed strong reaction to the sales and marketing personalization in the whole consumption process - from providing customized recommendation e-commerce interface to providing information push for additional sales and after-sales support.

Trend 3: artificial intelligence AI , Augmented Reality AR Virtual reality VR , and the metauniverse

This is related to the above personalization trends. According to the experience of Volumtal, the key to take advantage of this trend is to apply AI, computer vision and even augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and other technologies in retail tools to achieve "large-scale personalization".

This means providing quality service in a zero resistance, efficient and memorable way. And why are people so excited about the concept of the metauniverse, which means an immersive digital environment in which users can work, play and shop.

Although no one is sure what form the metauniverse will eventually take, brand owners/ retailer They have enthusiastically embraced this concept and accepted it as a new channel through which they can contact consumers and generate transactions. Adidas, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Burberry and other global brands have established or planned relevant businesses.

The good news for most consumers is that they can experience relevant services without waiting for the arrival of the "metauniverse". Many technologies behind the metauniverse are currently being used in multiple retail applications, from non-contact checkout, virtual locker rooms, AI driven fit recommendations, and so on. Retailers including Hugo Boss, Wal Mart and Amazon allow customers to use their own digital tools to virtual try on clothes. Earlier, companies such as IKEA and Home Depot used augmented reality technology (AR) to let us see how their furniture products looked in our homes.

In a word, when it comes to the future technology to realize a true omni channel comfortable shopping experience, deeper customer contact and ultimately improve customer conversion and retention, for those who have foresight and courage, "the future is the present". The strategy of "waiting for perfect conditions" will instead be risky.

As a well-known shoe retailer in the industry, Volumetal also uses many of these basic technologies to provide personalized shoe recommendations, including the proprietary computer vision technology carried by the company's 3D foot scan, matching consumer purchase data, and artificial intelligence (AI). Based on the current understanding of the footwear industry, Volmental put forward the following suggestions to help the new development of footwear retail.

Volumental innovate Retail technology makes sales season more sustainable

For most retailers/brands, holidays mean peak sales season. About 19% of the total sales occurred in November and December, but with the increase of sales, returns usually increase. While you try your best to meet the growing customer demand, you may also want to focus on the impact on your enterprise's carbon footprint. Is it possible to meet your sustainable development goals and satisfy your customers during holidays?

Retail industry plays a vital role in the process of transition to a circular economy. The CO2 emissions generated by e-commerce returns are equivalent to the emissions of 3 million vehicles per year, of which footwear products account for a large part.

Conscious retailers/brands are seeking to improve their purchase and return processes through technical methods to reduce the negative impact on carbon emissions. This paper lists three effective ways to reduce the carbon footprint in peak sales season by using technology in shoes sales business.

Mode 1: find “ Comfortable and fit products ”

70% of shoe returns are caused by improper fit. This is not surprising, because customers may deliberately buy more shoes to find the right size and style. Sharon Cullinane, a professor of sustainable logistics at Gothenburg University, said that this "is largely an information problem, and customers must take some risks when shopping online."

At present, the size of shoes cannot be unified and standardized, so the brand must ensure to provide customers with effective methods to determine comfortable matching products suitable for them. Because I don't know which pair is suitable, I only left one pair or even none when ordering 9 pairs of sneakers. This is not a sustainable way of shopping. Volumtal's retail channel foot scan service can help avoid the problem of improper fit of shoes by combining artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D foot scan, thus ending unnecessary orders and returns. No need to buy multiple sizes and styles!

Mode 2: Provide personalized recommendation

By providing personalized shopping suggestions to your customers, you can reduce the return rate by up to 20% and increase sales. When you confirm that the style and size purchased by customers are appropriate, you can increase their confidence and customer value, and reduce unnecessary returns.

Volumtal's retail channel foot scan service provides your customers with comfortable and personalized suggestions in stores and at home in less than 5 seconds. After that, you can continuously recommend comfortable shoes to your customers based on the previous scanning data, and customers don't even have to try them on in the store.

Mode 3: Improve your inventory management with retail technology

In order to achieve your sustainable development goals, you must reconsider your inventory management, and ensure that over time, there will be no inventory backlog and no stock out.

Due to the high return rate, it is almost impossible for shoe brands to accurately understand their current inventory. Because of unnecessary packaging and transportation, this will directly increase your impact on the environment.

Holidays are an important time of the year for shoe retailers/brands - but if your operation is not smooth, the holidays may be confusing. By linking Volumetric technical services to your inventory, you can reduce returns because the software only recommends shoes that are suitable for each customer. Your inventory can also reflect your actual inventory, and your customers will no longer need to place orders in excess. In addition, Volumetal's AI driven Fit Engine ? The impact on the environment can also be greatly reduced by reducing returns, so as to realize the green and sustainable development of the footwear industry.

Under the theme of sustainable development and in the future of continuous development, for the footwear retail industry, it should also continue to optimize the advantages of the supply chain, and at the same time meet the needs of consumers with personalized and diversified services, thus bringing about changes in the supply chain; Integrate the advantages of supply chain, realize the sustainable development of shoe retail, and create a new trend of Shoes In the retail industry, Volumetnal is always with you!