The fashion industry has been completely transformed by the emergence of mobile telephony and electronics. Luxury brands such as Chanel and Dior have been known for their reluctance to move online, but the rise of mobile devices and e-commerce has been particularly influential in the fashion industry. Despite this, some fashion brands are slow to keep up and could benefit from faster progress in the mobile phone sector. The first three industrial revolutions were designed to solve the problem of inefficiency in the production system.
To understand how 4IR technologies can be applied to a fashion company's performance, it is essential to research how fashion start-ups identify and take advantage of opportunities to innovate in business models that address the main objectives. If hyper-personalization becomes a norm in the fashion industry, traditional marketing and branding approaches developed with the assumption of mass consumption will be limited in their effectiveness. To gain a better understanding of the role of 4IR technologies in the global fashion industry, this study examines what, why and how these technologies are being used to address the industry's main challenges from a macroeconomic perspective. This can be seen, for example, in the rise of the shoptique trend, where small fashion brands can compete effectively through e-commerce.
Of the three main objectives addressed in this study, hyper-personalization is likely to be the most influential, as it will bring about fundamental changes in marketing and branding. However, there is limited research into what, why and how 4IR technologies are being applied in the fashion industry. Since technological development is intended to solve industry challenges and meet human needs (Schwab, 201), it is important to first identify unique challenges in the fashion industry and then analyze how technologies are being used to address them. The current literature on the intersection between innovation in business models and entrepreneurship in the fashion industry is limited to answering what innovations are present in emerging brand business models. In the fashion industry, an average error rate of 40-100% in production forecasts leads to an average stockout rate of 10-40%, compared to 1-2% for functional products (Fisher, 199).
Both retailers and brands have experimented with technologies to improve shopping experiences both online and in stores. While some companies have developed their own capabilities, many retail companies' virtual reality and AR initiatives are supported by third-party startups that specialize in fashion retail. In conclusion, e-commerce has had a remarkable impact on the fashion industry in South Carolina. The rise of mobile devices and e-commerce has enabled small fashion brands to compete effectively through shoptiques. Hyper-personalization is likely to be one of the most influential objectives for businesses, as it will bring about fundamental changes in marketing and branding.
However, there is still a need for more research into what, why and how 4IR technologies are being applied in the fashion industry. As technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, it is essential for businesses to stay ahead of trends by leveraging new technologies that can help them remain competitive.
