User:Magmurg/Fast fashion

Marketing
In recent years, fast fashion retailers have taken on a new approach to reach their consumers. Initially, social media's sole purpose was to act as a platform that allowed people to connect with other users around the world. However, people started to realize that there is more to social media than just sharing pictures with your family and friends. Social media has become a way for retailers to promote their products and impact consumer behavior. Now, consumers are able to look at products and businesses on social media before heading to a store or going online to make a purchase. Additionally, consumers can read real customer reviews on different social media accounts in order to get a better idea of the quality of the products as well as how the customer service is. Once people started to pick up on the marketing potential that social media has, fast fashion retailers were quick to jump on the trend. Fast fashion retailers like Boohoo.com realized that social media advertisements could be a great way to reach their target audience, young girls. These users were swarmed with fast fashion advertisements each time they opened up Instagram. Companies like Boohoo hoped that the constant exposure to their products would influence users to not only visit their website, but also to buy clothing from them.

Instead of just posting pre-made ads on their accounts, fast fashion retailers realized that an effective way to advertise their clothing could be to join forces with social media influencers. Social media influencers can be defined as "regular" individuals who have accrued a large number of followers across multiple social media platforms as a result of the content they post. For the most part, social media influencers focus their content on one subject area, like food or fashion. Social media influencers have become their own kind of " internet celebrities" and their followers value and trust their opinions. As a result, when social media influencers post content wearing an outfit from Shein, their followers may feel compelled to purchase clothing from that retailer as well. Studies have shown that there is a correlation between following social media influencers and shopping more frequently. Collaborating with social media influencers has become an affordable and effective way for fast fashion retailers to advertise clothing to their target audience. This method of marketing and advertising is subliminal enough that consumers do not feel like they are constantly being sold something, but rather they are receiving helpful shopping advice from a close friend. By honing in on their area of expertise, social media influencers are able to build credibility, allowing their followers to trust the information they post. Even though some fast fashion retailers still have celebrity ambassadors, many retailers have turned to social media influencers to promote their clothing.

The world saw a surge in these social media marketing practices after the coronavirus pandemic hit. Fast fashion retailer Shein quickly took center stage across numerous social media platforms. Social media users, specifically young women, could not go online without seeing something from this fast fashion website. "Shein hauls" became one of the most popular trends on TikTok, with 4.7 billion #sheinhaul views as of March 2022. Haul videos consist of individuals recording themselves showing items they purchased (typically a large quantity) and posting the video on platforms like YouTube or TikTok. In the midst of a global pandemic, these billions of views allowed Shein to bring in about $10 billion in revenue in 2020. This can largely be attributed to the fact that there was a huge shift to e-commerce after the pandemic kept people from going in stores to purchase clothing. Stuck at home, people opened their laptops or scrolled through their phones to buy new clothing online. Being hit with a pandemic caused people to become more conscious about how they spent their money. As a result, while luxury brands struggled to keep afloat, fast fashion brands like Shein and Boohoo were met with a lot of success. People felt much more compelled to purchase cheap clothing from these sites when they did not know how the pandemic would affect their financial stability. Now, instead of date night outfits, social media influencers were seen posting pictures in comfy sweats and leggings to cater to what their target audience would be shopping for.