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Due to the decline in sales during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020, fashion companies needed to change fundamentally in order to keep afloat in the declining economy. The way they did this? Online fashion and keeping up and following trends on social media. But with the declining economy people could not afford to spend extra money on sustainable clothes and with fashion styles changing so rapidly people turned to fast fashion to get their clothes.

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With the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, all non-essential businesses had to shut their doors leaving people to rely on online shopping in order to get their clothes. Small hometown shops were not able to keep with the rapid changing environment of the COVID lockdowns and shut down just like many other small businesses had to do during COVID. These small fashion businesses were an integral part of the fashion economy as, “…global fashion sales declined 15 to 30 percent in 2020 compared to 2019. Looking at specific regions, Europe saw a 22 to 35 percent decline in sales during 2020, the US saw a 17 to 32 percent decline, and China saw a 7 to 20 percent decline” (Nikolic). With these small fashion companies in decline, it gave more room for larger fashion companies, who tend to use fast fashion, to grow their online empire and dominate the fashion world during lockdown.

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With smaller fashion companies going under rapidly during COVID, large fashion companies were trying to compete in the realm of online shopping in order to generate profits. They had to turn to online stores in order to get sales from so users wanting to buy more clothing while also using cheaper labor to gain more money from sales, which tended to be fast fashion. People were also looking for cheaper clothes as well during this time as many were laid off or let go from their jobs, so people turned to cheaper online fashion companies like H&M, Zara and Shein instead of more sustainable, but more costly, companies.

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Selling and Reselling: The people’s takeover of online selling

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Selling and Reselling: The people’s takeover of online selling

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Not only fashion companies were selling clothing during the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020, the regular person was too. Apps like Depop and Poshmark rose to fame and became of regular use for people looking to make an extra income selling their clothes to other regular people online.

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https://www.kleiderly.com/our-blog/did-covid-19-change-the-fast-fashion-industry

https://mancunion.com/2021/05/04/the-future-of-fast-fashion-after-the-coronavirus-pandemic/

https://www.economist.com/business/2022/02/19/after-expanding-in-2021-fast-fashion-may-be-squeezed-again?utm_medium=cpc.adword.pd&utm_source=google&ppccampaignID=17210591673&ppcadID=&utm_campaign=a.22brand_pmax&utm_content=conversion.direct-response.anonymous&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAgeeqBhBAEiwAoDDhn-S6VLy6k_Ysr8lclDMoCuDv52ergscBirFH8sMc7Smt8qZy9gq3pRoCPXgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

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With companies shifting to the world of online shopping their marketing strategies needed to change as well to get more sales in the declining economy. They needed to connect with their target audience more and more in order to sell more clothes in the new era of online shopping. The way they did this: social media. As social media, namely platforms like TikTok and Instagram were the outlets for a lot of self-expression and fashion during COVID fashion companies wanted to observe consumer behavior for their target audiences so they could more affectively cater to their consumer’s wants. If they did not already, “Many fashion brands, even fashion luxury brands, have created Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, Instagram pages, and even TikTok accounts in order to adapt to the new climate and create the best connections with their consumers” (Nikolic). They started to look more into social media not only as a way to market but as a way to connect with their consumers.

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With people starting remote work and staying home more, people did not need clothes that are for special occasions or going to the office. They instead opted for casual, “comfy”, clothes to lounge around in as people had limited opportunities to go out. But as the lockdowns continued, people started to venture out with new styles and tried to find their unique style, commonly known on social media as an aesthetic. Companies would study what was popular with their target audience and market clothing that aligned with that style more in order to gain more sales.