Digital Fashion Communication: An Explorative Study of Fashion Newsletters

摘要

The retail sector is experiencing a time of change due to technological advances; also consumer habits are changing. This process of change has been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which is impacting individuals' daily lives. Digitalization is not only impacting consumers' shopping habits but also the communication between brands and consumers. This study focuses on email marketing, in specific fashion brands' newsletters. The top 50 apparel brands according to the 2020 brand finance are utilized as a sample. It emerges that most brands have a newsletter, showing that it is still an important and widely utilized form of communication. Then, it analyses the messages utilized to drive individuals' subscription. Three main themes are identified, cognitive, emotional and financial. Moreover, the information collected for the subscription process is registered. This allows to gain an insight into the personal information collected. Subsequently, it conducts a benchmark of the confirmation emails received. In total thirty-four confirmation emails are analysed, both the subject lines and the content. Interestingly, low levels of explicit personalization are found within the analysed messages. Overall, this study shows the relevancy of newsletters and provides suggestions for future research.