How Covid-19 could change fashion and retail, according to experts

In China, for instance, where life is finally returning to normal after it was the first country to go into lockdown, many shoppers still aren’t spending like they did before the crisis and continue to prioritize necessities. Seara explained it’s too early to say for sure whether that will change, but believes that in mature markets such as the US and Europe in particular we could see a shift toward shoppers buying less and potentially spending more per item. In an April 2 note to clients, investment firm Bernstein predicted that, after the crisis, “The Zeitgeist will change, the era of maximalism will draw to a close, as the pendulum will swing again to minimalism.” Natalie Kotlyar, national leader of the retail and consumer products practice at BDO, an accounting and consulting firm, thinks companies and shoppers may adopt it in the short term. At the same time, there are questions about how eager shoppers will be to return to crowded malls and stores once they do reopen unless health officials are able to devise a vaccine for the new coronavirus. The smaller, privately owned companies may simply not have the cash to continue for two months or longer without any revenue while stores are closed to maintain social distancing and shoppers are holding off on all but essential purchases. In past economic crises, they’ve been able to attract shoppers looking for bargains while benefiting from a flood of inventory coming from retailers that aren’t selling. Fashion-resale sites, meanwhile, have been growing steadily in recent years and could see an influx of customers looking for deals online as well as inventory, both from consumers cleaning out their closets and company partners wanting a piece of the resale market. Before the coronavirus, WGSN was already planning to highlight working from home as one of its top trends of the year, owing to improvements in technology, changes in where young people in particular are choosing to live, and other factors. The situation also changes what we consider office dress and what shoppers may or may not need to buy for work, as retail futurist Doug Stephens noted in an interview with WWD (paywall).