AS the internet marketplace continues to expand, more and more consumers buy fashion items online while retailers use the online community to grow their businesses.

Online sale is a rapidly growing component of most modern businesses. However, few industries utilise e-commerce quite as much as the fashion industry. 

Statistics show that e-commerce is now an essential tool for the fashion industry.

Now that consumer spending is increasing online more than in the physical store, that means retailers must have a presence to stay relevant and a presence to the clients.
Local boutique owner Palesa Lekaoka who has operated a stylish fashion boutique - Tailor Bird - for over 10 years, tells of the immense pressure felt in the business.

The pressure she says is further mounting on local retailers to stay relevant to the market.

Lekaoka imports top brands of shoes and clothing range from elite manufacturers in Europe and Asia.

In her quest to adjust and meet the changing times, she advises other retailers to make use of social media platforms, which places even more responsibility on retailers to remain in their consumers’ eye.
“Before the advent of the internet, retail brick stores were the only way to preview and buy goods, making it harder for consumers to buy what they really wanted and difficult for retailers to offer a wide variety of products. This is now a thing of the past.
“Back then, there was limited space for inventory, fewer stores and higher costs as retailers had to plan around their limited retail space. Once online shopping became mainstream, these shortcomings became a thing of retail past. Now customers and retailers experience the many rewards from offering online outlets as a way to buy and sell consumer products,” Lekaoka says.

She however, shows that there are numerous pros and cons of opening online stores or moving their inventory to online shopping websites like Amazon.
“Instead of only having physical stores to express their brands and showcase their goods, retailers now have a seemingly unlimited opportunity to connect with potential customers. This makes it easier for brands to grow into larger entities and offer more products to customers via online stores.” 
Lekaoka says her physical store located at a new mall in Butha-Buthe, can now be updated regularly, instead of having to hang on to unsold inventory.

This means she can ship unsold goods back to the warehouse for online distribution – freeing precious retail space.

The other thing she likes is that online stores can also offer specific collections and tailor-made garments or products to the customer’s specifications.
“The online stores expose brands to more potential customers because of the wider range of products, a privacy when shopping and more convenient shopping (at the click of a button or even on smart phones).

“Utilising less time when consumers’ schedules are busier than ever allows for more purchases and helps customers re-order bulky goods rather than buy them in the store.

“This convenience also means that retailers have more time to sell their goods. Instead of just being open during business hours and on business days – the online marketplace allows for orders to be placed any time of the day or night. Customers can check on product availability in the store before spending time driving to the location, they can also check on the web for store locations choosing the closest one to make their purchases easier and less time consuming,” she says.
There is also a rise in specialty of online stores and the ease of creating an online store.