How The Internet Killed The Shopping Mall
With the internet becoming more and more integrated into our lives, how has it affected our consumption of fashion and fashion week?
Kelis Edwards
In the days before online retail, people would flock to their nearest shopping mall to browse designer stores and fast fashion outlets like Next or the now-defunct BHS. Whilst an ultimately capitalist form of bonding, in-person shopping for clothes and other items gave couples, families and friends the time to spend with one another where they would try before buying and then end their day by heading to a restaurant to savour a successful shopping trip. Shopping malls are dying slowly thanks to its cheaper, faster substitute: the Internet. By 2025, it's predicted that the UK population will reach 68.3 million, with 95% of the population (roughly 65 million people) owning or having access to a smartphone. Mass accessibility has increased the number of people with access to digital stores, and along with it, we have seen a mass decrease in the workforce of in-person retail. Alongside the job shortages, the experience of online customer service has faltered. You no longer speak to someone in person to ask their opinions or if they can help find the right clothes for you, a rather personal and helpful experience. Instead, you now speak to a live chat bot to find a specific item or where your order is and become increasingly frustrated at the lack of human understanding.
According to a report from Parcel Hero, it is predicted that by 2030, nearly half of all high-street shops will close. So it’s no wonder that online storefronts like Pretty Little Thing (PLT) and their cheap labour dupes are choosing to promote pop-ups and showrooms to avoid the added pressure of rental costs. PLT, in particular, has seen a profit loss of £91 million, but with their online presence, you wouldn’t think that this was a brand struggling with their numbers. The trick of PLT and co is to always be on the hunt for current trends and what celebrities are wearing. In addition, influencers and fashion companies use them to promote their latest collection or even dupe a high-end retailer, which most people can't afford because of the extremely high prices.
Brands and fashion houses are arguably at an advantage, too, having multiple buying platforms for their audiences to browse and buy from the comfort of their own homes, with some even taking to YouTube to debut their fashion week collections. It has also allowed everyone to become a critic, democratising their engagement with fashion, a notoriously nepotism-heavy, upper-class-friendly art form. That elitism may still exist within the stores, but there is some democratisation of participation online.
Fashion houses like Schiaparelli have been very cleverly using these platforms with inclusion in mind to have fashion heads from all over the world gather digitally to enjoy the biggest events of the year, such as our Met Galas and Oscars, watch without having to be physically present in London, New York and Milan. It makes it an enjoyable experience for everyone, regardless of where they are.
However, all of this comes at a very real cost. Despite being responsible for the inhuman treatment of workers, including wage requirements and poor working conditions, many of us still partake in the fast fashion cycle of economic abuse. These fashion sites have operating bases working out of countries like India to avoid the oversight they may face in other places, getting away with not paying workers when it comes to the actual production of clothing. The statistics are astonishing: the fast fashion industry employs around 75 million factory workers. Of those workers, it is estimated that less than 2% make a living wage- a horrifying consequence of companies trying to produce a massive amount of clothing for the lowest price to meet enormous customer demand.
Regardless, individuals still shop on these sites, attracted to the low prices, cheap shipping and daily offers to keep up with the social media influencers who haul after haul and encourage an unparalleled level of wastefulness. You are told by your Instagram feed and TikTok page that the top you bought last week no longer fits the latest ‘core’ aesthetic while suggesting something new for you to buy. Our collected data makes these ads hyper-individualised, able to assess and predict your preferences ahead of time until you have a closet full of new clothes that are poor quality and appropriate for only a few weeks in the trend cycle.
Independent businesses are finding it more and more difficult to survive because the Internet has provided a marketplace for endless, attractive trends. As a result, footfall has declined drastically, leaving independent businesses struggling with high rent costs and their ideas being stolen by fast fashion corporations. And try as they may keep up, even engaging with customers online can be a risk for smaller businesses: one of the most notable examples is what happened to Bailey Prado, whose idea for handmade crochet pieces that were size inclusive was stolen and replicated by SHEIN. On the other hand, the digital fashion revolution has presented us with many opportunities for growth and play creatively; it has also impacted our shopping behaviour and added to the workload of designers and small business owners.
The Internet has been both a blessing and a curse to the industry. I think it’s time we decide whether endangering fashion for innovation is worth the risk.
