Why to consider a career in fashion e-commerce?

Fashion e-commerce is a booming industry and projected to have an expansive growth into the next decade. Just starting your career or looking to switch professions? There are numerous job opportunities in fashion e-commerce from data scientist to e-commerce personal stylist. With the success of online retail platforms such as Farfetch and Zalando, these companies are attracting top talent from all over the world. Not only do their employees work in an innovative environment, they are also at the forefront of the latest developments in fashion and technology. Here are just a few reasons why working in fashion e-commerce could be for you.

Bright future and long-term global growth

According to a recent McKinsey report, e-commerce could triple in sales over the next decade, especially in online luxury shopping. E-commerce is expanding rapidly in countries such as China, South Korea and seeing a consistent growth in the US and Europe. According to Shopify - a Canadian e-commerce company - major factors contributing to the rise of e-commerce include the global increase of wages resulting in a growing middle class as well as the development of innovative technologies. Companies are using artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a more efficient and interactive online shopping experience.

Grow with a fashion e-commerce startup

Interns and recent graduates should consider working for a fashion e-commerce startup or a newly formed online department of a traditional retailer. The benefits of being involved at the early stages of an online business is that you can learn how a company develops based on the data and consumer insights. For example, you could grow with an emerging startup and gain hands-on experience working across multiple departments. A developer at a budding e-commerce company could be involved in dealing with the platform’s user interface to working with the algorithm and data management.

A flexible work environment with less hierarchy

If the value of your input matters to you, working at a fashion e-commerce company may offer more room for self-development as well as sharing your ideas. The newly designed Zalando Campus in Berlin has special areas for social interaction and for employees to brainstorm together. Mostly, with less structured hierarchy than traditional corporations, you could be given the opportunity to develop a software the way you imagine it since there is room for trial and error. In the world of fashion e-commerce, things change daily so an exciting part of it is learning from what didn’t work and finding the solution to success.

Be at the forefront of technological innovation

The influence of technology is already visible in the fashion industry with designers using 3D printing, producing wearable tech and online fitting rooms made possible with virtual reality. In the realm of fashion e-commerce, specific technologies are being developed to further assist the customer’s onsite search and product recommendations. Innovations in artificial intelligence and voice recognition is also helping to personalize mobile retail by making it faster and easier to locate a customer’s ideal product. Here at FashionUnited, our developers created an innovative media network as well as a product locator page, tweaked so that it fits seamlessly into our partners’ websites. The product locator allows them to sell items on their own website without having to set up a webshop.

Learn from data feedback in real-time

For professionals who are skilled in tech and analytics, a career in fashion e-commerce could be attractive because of how often new algorithms are tested and the immediate feedback learned from online marketing campaigns. Social media’s role has become vital in how brands engage with their community and maintain a loyal following. As visual platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat continue to launch new features and tools, the interaction between a brand and its audience will be the driving force of success in fashion e-commerce.

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