The study points to how the lifestyle sector, thanks to the drive of digital technology, is one of the most important industries in Italy: over the last year, 54% of e-shoppers acquired products in the fashion segment, surpassing purchases made in electronic consumer goods by three percentage points, with 44% acquiring beauty and cosmetic products, and 16% buying furniture and designer and furnishing objects.

With regards to the fashion industry, the netRetail study illustrates how the first touchpoint used to purchase apparel, footwear and accessories is represented by online reviews (39%), followed by brand websites (29%), in-store walk-ins (22%), retailer apps and online platforms. The finalization of the purchasing process occurs more often than not on marketplaces where over half of all Italians (almost 60%) buy fashion products. What are the factors driving this preference? Besides a stronger presence through digital marketing, is the mix of advantageous prices (indicated by 51% of consumers), the greater number of discounts on offer (43%), and the extensive choice in products (29%).

What services do present-day sophisticated consumers demand of e-tailers? Eco-sustainable deliveries that are personalised and with the possibility of immediately making returns. In particular, the consumer would like to be able to change the date and time of the delivery, receive packages also on Saturday and Sunday, and receive packages that are already ready to be shipped back in case the product does not live up to his/her requirements.

“Today, the competitiveness of businesses working in digital commerce is increasingly future-oriented, making the purchasing experience by consumers more personalised – comments Roberto Liscia, President of Netcomm – Technologies are already redesigning the entire supply chain of the apparel industry: the starting point is predicting demand and artificial intelligence is among the technologies with the strongest impact on the fashion retail industry, thanks to the possibility of designing collections and new products in accordance with trends in the sector. Predictive analyses allow a relationship to be maintained with the customer even after the purchase, proposing an offering that is increasingly personalised, thanks also to chatbots and virtual assistants, capable of constantly improving customer service. Thanks to AI, we believe that also the number of returns made will decrease, with a clearly positive impact in terms of energy savings”.