Trend Q&A: The rise of decentralised social media and more

Decentralised social media, the Asian travel market and transparent supply chains. That and more on today’s episode.

Want to know what’s next? Listen to the show where our experts from around the globe unpack your biggest challenges. This week, WGSN’s CEO Carla Buzasi takes us to South Carolina, Hong Kong and London, where our experts tell us how to capitalise on decentralised social media, enter the post-pandemic market in China and build a transparent supply chain for knitwear.

Watch the full episode below or read on for highlights of this episode:

Q: How will the rise of decentralised social media affect brands over the next few years?
“While social media usage skyrocketed during the pandemic, digital trust is rapidly declining among the nine major social platforms, from TikTok and Facebook to Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. 

“Brands should adopt an infrastructure similar to social DAOs (decentralised autonomous organisations), which can help cultivate fan communities by offering new community-managed experiences.”
– Candice Medeiros, Insight Strategist, WGSN
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Q: As China’s travel restrictions continue to ease, what are the key things to keep in mind?
“The Chinese consumer of three years ago is not the same type of profile you see now. Even though the country was under lockdown for almost three years, they weren’t stagnant at all. International and national brands took the opportunity to heavily innovate during this time.

“The type of innovation that places experience over purchasing, education over blind buying and dedication to the detailed needs of both young and old consumers, that’s what’s going to attract Chinese consumers back.”
– Wendy Wong, Trend Forecaster & Brand Specialist, WGSN
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Q: How can I make my knitwear supply chain more transparent?
“Explore platforms such as Retrace or Sedex, which use machine-readable data to digitise your supply chain, and be engaging. Include accessible and interactive data on your website. A great example of this is Sheep Included, which enabled customers to access information via a tag on the clothing. It even allows customers to name the sheep that provided the wool.”
– Charlotte Casey, Senior Knitwear Editor, WGSN
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