Summary

• As stated by BOF, retailers must use data-driven strategies to navigate economic uncertainty and changing customer values in 2025.
• To do this, retailers must have access to connected insights that combine competitor, business, and customer data in one place.
• EDITED’s Retail Intelligence Solution provides this unified view, ensuring retailers can evolve with the changing landscape through data-driven, contextualized decisions. 

Introduction

Economic turbulence, geopolitical challenges, and shifting customer values will define 2025, according to The Business of Fashion (BOF) State of Fashion 2025 report.  

To succeed in this volatile landscape, retailers must adopt data-driven strategies. By connecting market, business performance, and customer data, you can make smarter decisions, optimize efficiencies, and maximize profit for 2025 and beyond.

Only with combined data do retailers gain a complete, contextualized understanding of performance, ensuring all decisions are market-informed, profit-aware, and customer-centric. 

Taking a Market-Aware Approach

One of the three critical strategies involves integrating market data. 

BOF explains that to succeed in the tumultuous and uncertain year ahead, retailers must localize their approach, broaden their price ranges, and focus their brand positioning on customers who are increasingly prioritizing value. 

It states, “AI-powered curation, content and search can help customers discover brands and products more effectively — and feel more inclined to make a purchase.” 

In order to effectively prepare for these changes in 2025, you must take a market-aware approach and contextualize your offering with that of competitors. Ask yourself: 

• What products are successful with my competitors that are not in my assortment?
• How do competitor prices and discounts compare to mine for similar products?
• How frequently do my competitors introduce new products or collections?
• Which promotions are my competitors running, and how frequently?

Taking a Profit-Aware Approach

The report also highlights that supply chains will need to become more agile, as companies are trying to reduce excess inventory to minimize the risk of shortfalls. 

With pressure around margins and from global governments to reduce emissions and fashion waste, new technology is needed to drive advances in inventory management.   

By taking a profit-aware approach, you can look holistically at the pieces that make up profit to truly understand which choices will be profitable for your business. You can use a retail intelligence solution to answer: 

• Which products are generating the most or least profit for your business? 
• Which profit-driving products have high or low views online?
• Which products are most commonly purchased together, driving higher basket values?
• Which products can you merchandise together online to drive more profitable conversions?

Taking a Customer-Centric Approach

BOF also harps on the fact that brands are reevaluating which consumer cohorts to focus on.

It notes that while the fashion industry has historically prioritized younger shoppers, the “Silver Generation” of customers over 50 is growing as a proportion of the overall population – and fashion spending. In 2025, brands will benefit from courting these often-overlooked customers.

Winning in 2025 means knowing who your best customers are, and tailoring your approach to their needs.

Ensure your strategy is customer-centric with connected data and determine: 

• Who are your most profitable customers?
• What percentage of total revenue do your top customers contribute, and how does this compare across customer segments?
• What bundles or combinations could you offer to encourage repeat purchases from high-value customers?

Take 2025 by Storm With EDITED’s Retail Intelligence Solution

BOF explains that while the future is unknown, leaders who move quickly to identify the bright spots, whether geographic, demographic, or technological, will be primed for success, but only if they evolve. 

How can they make these changes and evolve with the times? With EDITED’s True Retail Intelligence solution, retailers gain access to all of this data – market, profit, and customer – in one unified view, harnessing the power of AI for better, data-backed decisions. 

Schedule time to chat with us now to see how EDITED can help your business win in 2025 and beyond.