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New York Fashion Week: Capitalizing on the Runway

September 10th, 2018 | 3 min. read

New York Fashion Week: Capitalizing on the Runway Blog Feature

Jessica Keefe

Jessica is an integrated marketing leader specializing in strategic B2B and B2C enterprise solutions.

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As New York Fashion Week continues this week, the events and headlines get bigger and bigger. Aside from rappers Cardi B and Nicki Minaj fighting at an NYFW party, there is more to be captured. Specifically, retail ecommerce brands can make use of the trends on and off the streets of New York.   With NYFW evolving to become an inclusive event, the runways are now open for everyone to have the chance to view some of the world’s most respected designers. According to the New York Times, NYFW consists of about 300 shows and presentations as of 2017. Similarly to this inclusive change, consumer behavior is also changing. The people have spoken, and retailers and designers are now responding to how clients prefer buying.  

In 2016, Zmags highlighted the democratization of NYFW…

“Fashion retailers are finding new ways to engage real-time with the customer during and after these events to make them digitally accessible in various ways. Some brands are live streaming their NYFW runway shows, while some are putting edited runway video and digital experiences online within a few hours. Others are inviting the average customer backstage to see the whole process beyond the final runway – more than you could see as an NYFW attendee.”   Now more than ever, the open ideology of NYFW has become a game changer to the fashion industry and how consumer’s purchase products. Some of these changes include shoppable runways, off-runway shows, and pop-up shops that have changed in response to consumer’s demands.  

A Pop of Creativity

With pop-up shops, ecommerce companies can capitalize on this Fashion Week trend. New York City Economic Development Corporation in 2013 reported that each attendee drops around $650 during NYFW, creating $532 million in direct visitor spending. Pop-up shops attract a specific target audience who appreciate the accessibility at a credible industry event. They allow for an increase in brand awareness while providing a testing ground for new ideas in production. Pop-up shops are becoming essential for more and more customers turning to the internet for retail experiences.   Consumers are beginning to make big purchases through off-of-social buying. NYWF lets brands create an immediate purchasing power to prospective clients by embedding links in videos as well as specializing category pages on their websites. During  Fashion Week, creative content and accessible shopping are crucial to delivering the best customer experience while elevating your brand’s awareness.