See now, buy now meets consumer behaviour

Behind the scenes, 'see now, buy now' fashion requires major changes in everything from production to sourcing to distribution and channel decisions. Burberry pioneered the trend toward making fashions available 'from the runway', meaning selling new styles as the new collection is being introduced.

Instead of waiting months to be able to buy new styles, consumers can click or order in season, right now. It makes sense from a consumer behaviour perspective. Not surprisingly, this is the new marketing model for a growing number of fashion brands. Yet it's quite a challenge to support. 'A switch to this kind of operational model requires extremely intense collaboration between teams that would typically work in a relatively siloed approach', explains the chief brand officer for Tommy Hilfiger.

See now, buy now isn't just for high-end fashion marketing. Fast-fashion firms like H&M are also adopting this approach. H&M Studio recently introduced new styles for men and for women in a see now, buy now strategy. The intro took place in a pop-up space, livestreamed in virtual reality via the Swedish retailer's YouTube channel.

For retailers, see now, buy now is an opportunity to create and satisfy demand in a timely manner, rather than creating anticipation and potentially losing demand due to a long wait for product availability.

It's consumer-led and puts shopping into the same moment as fashion trends are being created. In other words, see now, buy now fits today's consumer behaviour, when paying with a swipe or a click is often the norm and brands ride the tide of social media for immediacy and buzz marketing.