The 5 trends Net-a-Porter will focus on for spring 2019

It will take more than spring florals to excite consumers next
season— spring 2019 will see a complex array of trends needed to
keep shoppers engaged. Net-a-Porter has revealed the top five trends
it is following, from influencer marketing tactics to strategically
selected brands, to reach its shoppers in a compelling way.

Seasonality

See-now-buy-now has evolved into buy-now-wear now. According to
Net-a-Porter, shoppers do not shop ahead of season and want to wear
new purchases immediately. The retailer’s “What’s New” emails lead to
16 percent more revenue than a dedicated email. Shoppers want to buy
what they can wear now.

“We are constantly challenging our designers to think about when
product is going to deliver on our site as opposed to the traditional
calendar,” said global buying director Elizabeth von der Goltz.

New designers

Along with immediacy, today’s shoppers value innovation. “Our
customers have an insatiable appetite for newness and emerging
talent,” said von der Goltz. “They are really open to newness and
brave in trying new things, so it’s important that we keep on feeding
that hunger.”

Net-a-Porter’s trend report encourages retailers to look for new
and emerging designers and brands to freshen shoppers’ interests and
introduce something they haven’t yet seen.

Capsules

Today’s consumer loves capsules. “If we take the current season,
traditionally, for party dressing, you’re either shopping the tail end
of fall winter or the beginnings of resort. So, we were finding that
there was a huge gap in product deliveries,” von der Gotz said.

She explained that shoppers respond well to specific capsules that
meet a specific clothing need. This can also fill a void in
deliveries.

The it-item

Net-a-Porter is looking for next season’s “it” accessory items–
the piece that goes viral from cult followings and Instagram trends.
Like the bag from Cult Gaia that consumers went crazy for last spring,
the retailer expects to find items that will perform similarly this
year.

“We aren’t strangers to the word ‘it’ when talking to accessories,
and as a business we really believe in trusting in our instincts and
backing with conviction what we think is going to be the next big
thing,” von der Gotz said.

Influencers

The digital retailer is investing in influencer relationships for
next spring with its influencer network, Netset. It uses over 140
influencers across 20 countries to bring engage consumer interest and
share a variety of personal styles and advice.

“Influencers partner with us in a very organic way, and this is
what our customer reacts to so positively to,” said von der Gotz.