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A March 2022 Glossy and Modern Retail survey of 117 brands found that channels like TV, out-of-home marketing and events are all falling out of favor.
On Tuesday, URBN’s Nuuly rental service added a resale service called Nuuly Thrift, making URBN one of the first major fashion companies to house retail, resale and rental businesses under one roof. Unlike other companies that have employed outside platforms to power their resale, Nuuly created the Thrift program in-house. The move is a big bet on the future of circular fashion and alternate consumption models, though it comes with heavy associated costs.
The last year has taken a significant toll on company culture across brands and retailers -- stores were shut down, people lost their jobs and teams were separated from one another. But new research from Glossy and Modern Retail shows that, while worries about mental health still remain, morale across these industries is improving.
The pandemic was tough on physical retail. With month after month of physical stores closed and brands shifting much of their attention to the rapidly growing e-commerce business, it seemed inevitable that brands would pull away from their brick-and-mortar investments. Glossy and Modern Retail research shows that, indeed, many brands dropped out of physical retail during the pandemic. However, brands are already planning to reinvest in physical retail as the market opens back up over the next six months.
Brands and retailers have had to get creative over the last year to survive the harsh reality of the pandemic, like pivoting to e-commerce and direct sales. But one strategy was particularly noteworthy: launching into new categories. According to a survey that Glossy and Modern Retail conducted of 98 brand and retailer employees, 57.3% of respondents said their employer launched new categories over the last year.
Earlier this month, resale platform Rebelstork – which buys back and sells refurbished baby gear – launched in the U.S. The Canadian startup, founded in 2019, is positioning itself as a white-glove and sustainable shopping service for parents. As resale continues to become more popular, more companies like Rebelstork are trying to corner the secondhand market in niche product categories.
Read MoreRecognizing the companies and campaigns modernizing retail in the digital age.
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