Fast fashion has taken the world by storm ever since it emerged. It can easily create micro-trends, producing masses of poorly designed clothing pieces. While doing bad for the environment, by not lasting long, it profits from free labor. Despite all of the bad it creates, it is still popular and used by many. But why? Because of its design.
One successful platform that takes its design to its advantage is Shein. Shein is a platform that sells clothes that are trending at the moment, quickly jumping in with lower prices to gain more product sales and website visits.
Their website design directly helps them with how they have built and maintained their traction. Plastered all over the website/app, potential customers see phrases such as “Special Deals Just For You”, “Up to 90% OFF”, and “REGISTER AND GET 30% OFF!” This helps to engage customers to stay on the site and shop, as constant ads of deals are popping up, making the consumer believe they will get the most bang for their buck.
This design of urgency is essential to maintaining the brand’s image. Fast fashion, such as Shein, are highly dependent on the latest fashion trends and cycles. They therefore focus on impulse buying of their younger audiences who feel they need to have anything to fit in. This is their key demographic, as they know teenager and young adults will buy anything quickly in order to stay trendy.
Their prices and wording across the platform definitely help with this. It helps the indecisive person make a decision easier, saying that there are special discounts, especially ones that are made just for them. This sense of urgency allows faster purchases. It also connects users to the platform, making them favor this fashion site over others.
Fast fashion is so controlling in the online space, not only with their cheap and attractive clothing, but also because their platform design is meant to give customers the feeling of urgency and excess, which it trains us to want. In this sense, we, as consumers, see that fashion designs itself to be popular. Wanting something fast is what they are all about- fast money and fast turnover onto the next big trend!
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