33 Fashion Tech Quotes for 2016

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In late 2015 Decoded Fashion, global fashion events leader, held its New York Summit, and hosted hundreds of professionals in fashion and technology to learn from game changers at big brands and startups.

Over two days of panels and workshops, experts in retail, content, social, mobile, and data shared their experiments, successes, and failures covering areas like editorial-driven commerce, personalization and customization, and online data analytics.

Rebecca Minkoff, one of the first major U.S. retailers to experiment with in-store technology, showed how smart mirrors have helped her brand boost sales by learning customer likes and dislikes. Startups like Mona HQ introduced the future of personal shopping through artificial intelligence.

We’ve distilled the conversation to about 30 key takeaways as shared via #DFNYC, the event hashtag.

Key insights:

ON CUSTOMER/BRAND EXPERIENCE

The customer is in more control of the buying process than ever before. At the same time, retailers have a greater opportunity than ever before to learn each customer’s likes and dislikes to encourage sales, loyalty and returns. What do retailers have to consider to be successful?Personalize and customize.

More from the experts here and under personalization and customization:

Customers love the variety of products online retailers offer, but sifting through all the options is time-consuming and not easy Click To Tweet

Ephemeral commerce — not fast fashion, but a changing product assortment to keep drawing customers to store - @jskyfernandes Click To Tweet

From Instagram click to shop to same day delivery via website: powerful customer experience comes from integrated tech - @mbwoosley Click To Tweet

The biggest problem we have is not what to buy but what to wear - @uriminkoff Click To Tweet

Great brand experiences come from compelling content + seamlessly integrated tech. Click To Tweet

Always put the brand first and focus on revenue second - Grant Barth of @LEVIS Click To Tweet

For the millennial customer, retail needs to be experiential - @aubriepagano Click To Tweet

ON PERSONALIZATION AND CUSTOMIZATION

Customization is one of the strongest growth areas for @LEVIS - Grant Barth of @LEVIS Click To Tweet

Customization, personalization, and millennial consumers” @ctaylorgreene on what’s next after #omnichannel for next big tech. Click To Tweet“For customization you must get the mix right between quality, convenience and tech experience.” -@aubriepagano of @bowanddrape

For customization you must get the mix right between quality, convenience, and tech experience.” -@aubriepagano of @bowanddrape Click To Tweet

Personalization isn’t how you’re going to win. It’s how you’re going to keep up - @alantisch Click To Tweet

Personalization is a current missed opportunity in fashion tech says Brian Phillips of Black Flame

ON MOBILE

Mobile is no longer about being on the go. Mobile means customers are everywhere all the time whether in-store on their phone or buying from their phone on the couch. Experts pointed to mobile as the future of fashion, and called out specific companies for doing a good job.

More from the experts:

Mobile is bigger than commerce - it’s a device that bridges the multi-channel journey @nitin_mangtani @neilcarty Click To Tweet

Mobile for @harveynichols is about convenience - another loyalty card in their wallets is not something they want - @neilcarty Click To Tweet

Key to mobile success @racheltipograph you have 3 days to prove yourself to users after they have downloaded an app Click To Tweet

90% of downloaded apps are deleted the same day. Consumers need to see benefits right away Click To Tweet

Brands that are doing it right in mobile include @dominos @nike @snapchat @warbyparker @google @refinery29 @buzzfeed @instagram Click To Tweet

ON PLATFORMS

Technology is reinventing the store and reimagining the customer experience. Rather than build more, experts encourage retailers to focus on enhancing their existing platforms and to shift their mindsets to customer behaviour.

More from the experts:

Distributed commerce doesn’t mean you have to build out platforms. Make it easy to shop on existing platforms - @alantisch Click To Tweet

Hector Muelas of DKNY: we need to move from platform obsessed to behaviour obsessed because platforms will change Click To Tweet

The new creative platform is in the product itself - Tim Rodgers, Rehab Studio Click To Tweet

ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/INTERNET OF THINGS

Big retailers and startups are experimenting with technology to enhance the shopping experience whether in-store or at home. Under Armour will introduce virtual reality in its stores to offer customers a chance to shoot hoops with professional basketball players, while startups like SoftSpot have created seamless clothing sensors to measure body temperature. What’s the point? They’re using emerging technology to appeal to shoppers’ individual likes and needs to keep them engaged and coming back.

More from the experts:

We take the store shopping assistant to the mobile phone through AI - @OrkunAtik from @mona_HQ Click To Tweet

@alantisch reminds us not to be creepy with our recommendation engines. Let it feel like discovery Click To Tweet

Future of retail will be products with brains (IoT) interacting with consumer devices according to @globetrottersid Click To Tweet

ON DATA ANALYTICS

Retailers can track as much data on customers as possible, but if it’s not used to its full potential it loses its meaning. Case in point: use in-store data on customer purchases and change room abandonment to continue enhancing the experience online.

More from the experts:

Smart brands think with both sides of the brain. Taste-making is meaningless without the data to prove trends have value Click To Tweet

Apply online data analytics models to the physical space - @Jskyfernandes Click To Tweet

When @combatantgent shears sheep for suits + plant cotton for shirts, they’re leveraging cloud-based analytics in real time Click To Tweet

ON CONTENT

Blogging and articles are no longer just about entertaining readers, rather content is a way to drive sales by educating customers. Barneys New York has a dedicated editorial section while online beauty brand Glossier started as a dedicated website via Intothegloss.com.

More from the experts:

Create an experiential content hub where digital content goes out and cycles back to drive traffic in store and on site - @uriminkoff Click To Tweet

Content is king but engagement is queen and she wears the pants - @hsmittman Click To Tweet

I wouldn’t underestimate the power of integrating content with commerce -@ctaylorgreene of @leperHippeau Click To Tweet

ON BUSINESS BUILDING

Startup founders took the stage for one-on-one conversations with journalists who wanted the juicy bits on their business success — what were their challenges? How did they scale their sales approach?

More from the founders of eco-label Reformation and Luxury Consignment Site The RealReal:

Agility, pricing, and eco-consciousness are key to @reformationx success model according to founder @yaya_aflalo Click To Tweet

It’s like building an airplane as it’s flying through the air - @Yael Aflalo on running @reformationx Click To Tweet

Julie Wainwright on creating a winning selling proposition: add inside sales teams, personal sales tracking dashboards and authenticators. Click To Tweet

For more insights from Decoded Fashion New York Summit download this report from Stylus or visit Decodedfashion.com.

Mad Street Den is a computer vision-based artificial intelligence startup envisioned by a neuroscientist-turned-neuromorphic engineer and a designer who came together to bring AI from the science labs of the world, into everyday life. Vue.ai is a retail AI platform powered by Mad Street Den.

What makes you excited about fashion and technology in 2016? Share your ideas in the comments below.

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