Apparel November 2019 Apparel November 2019 issue | Page 70

NEW AVENUES
THE NEW CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE
Given today’s digitally driven times, Samir Alam analyses the role social media
infleuncers play in apparel retail.
Social media has been one of the most powerful
inventions of the digital age. While the internet
itself has given the world the ability to connect
better, social media has introduced a new
dynamic to this connectivity—influence. This is
why influencer-based marketing has been one
of the fastest-growing trends in recent years. As
an industry, the scale of influencer marketing has
grown worldwide, having measured US$4.6 billion
in 2018. Research estimates that this growth will
reach US$6.5 billion by the end of 2019. In this
article, we will be discussing the reality behind the
power social media and its influencers have on
apparel retail.
THE RISE OF INFLUENCERS
Social media has made an impact on every
facet of human existence, from politics and
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interpersonal relationships to education and
business. Given the prominence of smartphones
and mobile technologies, the ability to stay
connected, share, and consume content from
peers has seen a remarkable shift in human
interactions. Since 2004, the growth of social
media has been exponential, with multiple
platforms, applications, and tools enabling billions
of people to carry out functions with the kind of
ease that was unknown to them before. As of
2019, nearly 42 per cent of the human population
is active on social media, with Facebook being
the leading global platform, having about 2.32
billion daily active users. Other major platforms
include Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and most
recently, Tik Tok.
All these platforms have evolved in different
ways but they share a common theme—they