All posts by Sayli Achrekar

A Retail Innovation, Augmented Reality, Future Technology, Textile & Fashion Industry, Textile Ecommerce Solutions, Textile Software Services

Impact of Covid-19 on Clothing and Textile industry

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As the global pandemic evolves, our daily lives are being impacted in one way or another. It is now that the structure of the working cycle has been changed. Considering this scenario adapting Omni channels becomes vital for the apparel & textile business for the new normal, where customers will want to have a safer shopping in-stores & online. Going digital is the need of the hour.

Covid-19 impact on Textile Market

         There is drastic downfall in the textile business as there is a standstill in the supply chain due to this lockdown all over the world. Like many other sectors, the textile industry is also facing daunting challenges which never have been seen before, most of the textile industry has been closed for months now.

Impact of COVID-19 Scenario has also been drastic on European and the US Apparel Market – estimates that the combined apparel consumption of the EU and the US might fall to about 40-45% of the market value. There will be a tough time for clothing and textile exporters as about 60% of the country’s apparel exports are destined for European and the US markets.

Stores closed due to Covid-19

Around 50% of sales have fallen apart in the garment manufacturing industry and most of the clothing and textile industry units are at standstill because of which there is no supply in the market, leading to drastic losses not only monetary but also the damaged in the apparels which may or may not get exported further. 

A standstill exists in the industry’s entire supply chain, starting from farm to the factory to the end chain of the retailers. Due to the worldwide lockdown various transport facilities including trains and flights are suspended which is expected to hurt domestic operations in India. The pandemic is primarily expected to adversely impact exports and impact on the domestic markets with both exports as well as domestic sales falling.

The pandemic has affected the majority of India’s export market (the US and EU together constitute for approximately, 60% of the total apparel exports from India in value terms), causing order cancellations/deferral of order leading to inventory build-up and expectation of slower realization of export receivables leading to higher working capital requirements.

The industrialists will have to find a smarter way to sustain in the market with rising complications in textile manufacturing and distribution.

Digitizing the business

          There have been various fashion revolutions in the clothing and textile industry which have shown a positive impact on the growth of the clothing and textile industry for a few decades/years. 

 Considering this pandemic outcome taking the textile business model one step further will boost the business itself. There will be a rise in rapid productivity. Taking business one step further means adapting the innovative technologies which are necessary for the business in this era.

The fourth revolution in the industry is the key to sustainability and success, keeping the prime features of Industry 4.0 i.e, digitization, automation, optimization & customization, human-machine interference will give an added advantage to the early adopters. 

Textronics delivering a safer shopping environment

Textronics offers the advance software tools for the apparel and textile industry helping the industrialists adapt then new & safer shopping environment.

  • TryON – Virtual dressing room, is an ultimate game-changer for all the brands promoting a safer in-store experience. Shoppers can swipe and screen all the designs in the store with a safe distance of 6ft’s. Just swipes and the user can have a virtual trial of the garment there itself without physically trying the garment on. It not only keeps the in-store experience intact but helps the retailer manage its merchandise digitally.
Virtual trial room
TryON – Virtual Dressing Room
  • Tailor-i – Online tailor store, is an interactive e-com tailor store for all your bespoke clothing needs. It helps you select Cuffs, Collars, Plackets, Lapels, Fits, etc. giving you an instant 3D visualization your made-to-measure outfit from the comfort of your home.
    Live Demo
Virtual tailor shop
Tailor-i : Online Tailor Store
  • Q3D gives you an instant 3D visualization of the fabrics in the final garments forms just by scanning the QR Code. It manages all fabric options at one go & engages the user to try the endless options and attracts and retains the audience.
A Retail Innovation, Future Technology

Retail Technology for the Near Future

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Future of Retail Industry
Future of Retail Industry

Converting the toughest job into an easy one is not a big deal nowadays. “All thanks to technology!” We have accomplished many of them.
But in the technology savvy world we have considerably seen trends rising and biting the dust in no time.
So here are some tech trends which are believed to be the future of Retail Industry. Stay Tuned!

Product Delivery:

Deliveries at your door step makes shopping so comforting for all of us. We no more have to rush from store to store to shop for clothes, groceries, accessories, home decors, etc.

Newest trends in Delivery Services:

  • Drones:

    • Amazon Drone Delivery
    Amazon Drone Delivery

    What would it look like if your ordered package flies to you? The wait is almost over!
    Amazon is about to launch drones that would deliver packages to its customers.
    Once the idea is approved safe by the Federal Aviation Administration, you could see amazon drones delivering packages to your door-step within 30mins.

  • Google self-driving cars


    • While Google’s driverless cars aren’t ready yet but are making progress every day. Self-driving cars navigate based on sensors that can feel as far as 2 football fields away in every direction.

In-Store Enhancements

Retailing was always about a healthy relationship between the retailer and the shopper. In this era, to recreate the healthy bond with the help of just a brick and mortar store won’t work, a shopper needs a seamless experience through all channels.

For the Shoppers

  • Store Navigations

    • Aisle 411- Store Navigation Application
    Aisle 411- Store Navigation Application

    Store Navigation Applications like Aisle 411’s enables user to easily trace the item’s (willing to buy) exact location in the sections where they are kept in the store. Ensuring an easy searching benefit.

  • Magic Mirrors

    • Magic Mirrors
    Magic Mirrors- Virtual Dressing Rooms

    Augmented Reality based virtual dressing rooms are lately grabbing a lot of attention and market by focusing on Customer Empowerment.
    There are many companies trying to get into the AR mode with the magic mirror concept, where the user can try-on clothes multiple times. Try out different avatars with this touchscreen magic mirrors.
    Some of the Magic Mirrors in the market are–
    Uniqlo Magic Mirrors, Textronics- TryON, Rebecca Mink Off Magic Mirror, and many more.

  • Smart Assistants

    • Personalizing the user experience many companies are trying to ensure a smooth and easy shopping experience with a cloud-based technology (we also call it artificial intelligence) to idealize the customer’s product choices and guide them accordingly.

  • Custom Apparel Designers

    • Product configrator - Tailor-i
    Custom Apparel Designers for Made2Measure & Bespoke Clothing

    Custom Apparel Designers are the newest trend in fashion leveraging the user the ability to customize the outfits from the scratch.
    Custom Apparel Designers in the market are–
    YrStore; also known as Your Store
    Textronics Tailor-i

Source: https://www.insider-trends.com/top-50-innovations-in-retail/

Textile & Fashion Industry

Cloth Manufacturing: Then and Now

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conventional way of manufacturing cloth

From Biofabrication to Tech-infused Wearables, the textile industry is changing at a faster pace. Newer technologies are giving their vital contribution towards the growth of textile.

Let’s take a look at where manufacturing of fabric has pulled over since all these years.

Conventionally, manufacturing fabrics was a long and tiresome process. Low-Skilled workforce, limited education & ever fluctuating payments, the workers worked for long in a very uncertain environment risking their lives.

labor manufacturing fabric
labor manufacturing fabric

Now, technologies & innovations are changing the textile industry for better.Technology contributors are working more on service-oriented designs wherein smart products and smart machines are connected which allows us to monitor the process working closely.

Back in 20th century,1000 new fabric designs were created & produced every season. The further manufacturing process was totally dependent on people’s poll. Tradeshows were arranged for mass publicity of the new collections.

Today, however, the rules have changed a bit. Of course, people’s poll is still important! But what we can do is simply rely on technology and watch the machines achieve the goals by breaking the paradigms. Designing & manufacturing with tech takes less time to produce and often reduces the costs.

Design Archive- Cloud Storage for storing designs.
Design Archive- Cloud Storage for storing designs.

Digitizing the designing manufacturing & marketing process has led to high efficiency & shortened delivery time. The labor now, is not only skilled but a critical thinker (educated & technically skilled to monitor the computer-driven machines and environment), hence these are all well-paid positions in the industry.
Now we can simply design the fabrics, store the whole collection in the cloud with the help of computerized machines, and showcase it to the prospects all across the world.

A Retail Innovation

SPAR: In-Store Technology Innovation

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SPAR India, a multinational retail chain was awarded Images Most Admired Retailer of the Year – In Store Technology Development, IRF 2017.

IRF- Most Admired Retailer of the Year- In Store Technology Development
IRF- Most Admired Retailer of the Year- In Store Technology Development

SPAR has always been passionate about adopting new ideas to engage their consumers. Taking in consideration, the ongoing changes in consumer behavior brought on by technology, SPAR took a step forward and digitized their hypermarket with home furnishing & Store navigation application for enhanced Consumer experience.

The easier the retailer makes it for shoppers to find what they’re looking for, the less likely consumers are to leave a store without making the purchase.
The Home Furnishing application in the buzz is “3D Showroom” – An ideal product visualization tool which helps consumer to decorate their dream house with SPAR products.

The conventional way of shopping for home furnishing products was a game of imagination. How will this look in my room? Will this match my curtains? This solution has given the consumer a break from the guessing work.

Pick a product. Drape it. Check combinations. Buy it. Voila!

SPAR has redefined convenience by letting the consumer make his own choices & seeing it turn into reality, Virtually!

Now that’s interesting!

Textile & Fashion Industry

Enhanced Retail Experiences with Digital Visual Merchandising.

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Visual Merchandising has always been about creating a warm & fuzzy feeling for the shopper. Mainly it’s about the look, feel & culture of a brand, where the main purpose is to attract, engage, motivate the customers.

Converting a Passive Looker into Active Buyer!

A well designed and impactful display of product attracts & exposes a customer to a wider range of merchandise.

Rise of Millennials

With the rise of digital natives (millennials) – who understand and have an affinity with technology, they want to be associated with brands that interact with them.

According to a 2015 Global Trends Survey, there are 92 million millennials in the US alone and they’re hitting their spending power now; with spending expected to total 30% of sales in the US by 2020.

Personalised In-Store Experience

Digital signage, when used most effectively, has the ability to create a tailored in-store experience for customers. Because millennials seek out content digitally, information must be shared quickly to the exact place where they’ll be looking; with dynamic digital signage systems updating messaging quickly and targeting it effectively.


Millennials also have huge purchasing influence as they’re socially connected and having larger and more powerful networks than other generations. Using the power of social sharing via your digital signage systems creates an opportunity for your customers to influence their network and promote your brand/products.

“Demand is driving the growth of digital signage on the continent and despite the challenges of e-commerce, brick-and-mortar retail is strong and provides an excellent opportunity for retailers and marketers to engage and build relationships with their consumers. Where better to connect with and influence your customer in the best possible way than directly on the shop floor,” adds Day.

Digital signage has succeeded in retail networks in the following ways:

  • Digital signage’s vibrant and clear display has been proven to drive customers towards stores and influence their decisions to purchase.

  • Digital kiosks provide customers with a convenient self-service approach to store navigation and an effective tool that can hold vital information about the store, products on offer and promotions including a multi-faceted starting block for many future campaigns

  • Social media channels have a very real presence in our lives due to the power and ease in which information can be shared.

  • QR codes, SMS short codes and Smartphone Apps have become a regular feature within advertising strategies. They provide fast effortless access to brands, products and any related information a customer may seek.

    • Referrence article- http://movingtactics.co.za

Textile Ecommerce Solutions

Cutting Edge Textile E commerce Solutions that are here to stay

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E commerce Solutions

In this fast paced world consumer mentality has changed. Today’s customers no longer view shopping as a full day event but are rather looking for quick service along with quality and variety. The level of competition has increased drastically over the past few years with the advent of globalization and increased online presence of more and more merchants and retailers. Now what does this mean for the textile, fashion and retail industry? It means that to keep up with their competitors and to possibly surpass them, the designers and retailers both require innovations and new age textile ecommerce solutions. The good news is that with the increase in demand for such technological ideas, there has been the growth of providers as well.

CAD/CAM Solutions
The future lies in CAD/CAM solutions that target augmented reality and 3D technologies. These technologies improve the shoppers’ in-store experience. They increase customer satisfaction, thereby promoting brand loyalty and higher sales conversion. Technologies like mix and match allow the retailer to display a greater variety of apparel and also reduce the number of clothes that are spoil due to trials. More importantly it allows the customer to create an entire virtual wardrobe by combining different styles, all without even trying on the clothes.
ERP Integration
Technologies like ERP Integration allow the textile manufacturers to save working time and effort. The textile industry is constantly faced with the challenge of being in synch with the evolving markets and consumer behavior. Organizing inventory and manufacturing just in time to prevent product idling and allow immediate supply need skillful handling of the supply chain. This is why ERP integration is a novel opportunity to utilize existing infrastructure of the organization to promote further business strategics.
Design Technologies

With the need to come up with completely new stock of designs every few months, there is an increased demand for 3D simulation software that allow the designer to virtually design not only the outline of the apparel but also design garments. This also includes software that allows fashion designers to create and store their designs in a database. Textile Companies are now spending Rs 5 lakh- Rs 10 lakh at a time for CAD software that will enable their designers to research with varying texture, elaborate patterns and produce the same patterns in different colors.

Product Lifecycle Management
The popularity of PLM software is on the rise since it organizes data and analyses fashion trends to keep up with them. The ephemeral nature of the designs and fashion inclinations deems it necessary that there is flow of information between all levels of the company. By using PLM software, the adaptability to immediate changes is increased. It also reduces the wastage of resources and man hours. The inventory management needs are met sufficiently well when PLM software is utilized at all levels of the organization.

The above technologies have revolutionized the fashion textile and retail industry by increasing the profitability of ventures. CAD/CAM technologies are the most widely used textile e commerce solutions that give greater business returns with only a small investment. The future lies in the digital and virtual aspects of the designing world so as to keep up with changing trends. More and more retailers are opting to create an online presence so as to cater to the tech savvy generation and to keep up with the increasing number of online shopping sites.