How big data will change the Fashion Industry

Big Data Analytics is all about turning volume and variety of data into meaningful insights. When data is refined and combined, new patterns and ideas emerge, and one can take better decisions using these insights. Big Data is being used across almost all the sectors these days. In the Online Apparel Industry where success of next season's collection hinges on selecting the accurate designs, colors, fabrics, shapes, and sizes, Big Data can be a big game changer. Online apparel industry is mostly influenced by predictions that are based on identifying the most popular/liked parametric values (colors, fabric, style and many more) of the apparels. If you predict it right, it may bring a profitable season for you, else it may lead to heaps of discarded inventories. For many years, analysts and fashion reporters have tried to control these drifts. It is a great advantage to recognize customer preferences that will lead into high prospect ratio.

One of the ways to understand customers’ emotions behind the interactions made on social media sites and other forums is sentiment analysis. Sentiment analysis scans tweets, comments, likes, etc., for evidence of positive, negative, or even indifferent impressions to identify the overall trend of sentiments towards any entity. For example, possible positive expression on a personal level would ideally be like – “I like to wear plain cotton clothes in summers…” to an opinion projected in general - “I am looking for some cool blue apparels for my next vacations as it feels comfortable.”

Similarly, negative expressions may go like – “I am fed up of seeing bright yellow apparels all around in summers.” Or an opinion in negative tone may be like - “People look damn horrible in yellow.” A range of tools and methods are available to help determine customers’ sentiments; one of the ways to track is using the Twitter Sentiment APIs.

Big data is also extremely useful in a marketing capacity, using information like customer demographics and spending habits, in terms of how much they spend, on what and where. In addition to these habits, companies that invest in cloud computing studies can monitor how their existing marketing strategies are working - eye scanning data can be analyzed to see the effectiveness of billboards and other visual advertising. Every aspect of the business will change, from what color will be in next season to how to make clothing that fits different body types and how to optimize supply chains.