Fashion Forecasting: Time Horizons, Research, and Demand Planning

All flashcards

Fashion forecasting

Interpreting social, consumer, and market signals to estimate future styles and buying behavior.

Trend cycles

Some styles reappear over time, but the timing is not fixed and returning styles may be adapted.

Demand forecasting

Estimating future customer demand to guide decisions about pricing, supply, and business expansion.

Family-level forecasting

Forecasting demand for groups of products, such as T-shirts, often to support mid-term planning.

SKU-level forecasting

Forecasting demand for individual stock-keeping units, often to guide short-term restocking and store distribution.

Quiz questions

1. How far ahead does short-term fashion forecasting commonly look?Answer: About one to two years.
2. In a large fashion company, what can vertical integration help an in-house trend department achieve?Answer: Coordination among researchers, developers, and buyers around a unified sales-floor look.
3. What can image-analysis systems identify in large databases of fashion images?Answer: Features such as colors, garment types, and clothing details.
4. Which statement best distinguishes family-level from SKU-level forecasting?Answer: Family forecasts cover product groups; SKU forecasts cover individual product references.
5. What is the first step in a typical process for selecting merchandise using forecasts?Answer: Understand the business vision and the profile of its target customers.