Kohl’s, one of America’s biggest retailers since 1962, have their eyes on what’s next in fashion. The retailer recently announced their new strategy “to be the most trusted retailer of choice for the active and casual lifestyle,” in the pursuit of focusing on womenswear and activewear. Serendipitously, the “active and casual lifestyle” has been the song of 2020 as the pandemic continues on, and Kohl’s aims to meet this demand. With that said, not all pieces currently featured in Kohl’s collections may resonate with their target audience: the following trends are a mere glimpse into a wider range of trends with yes-or-no potential in Spring 2021.
Forecasting trends for Spring 2021 womenswear
There’s a straightforward way for Kohl’s to refine their Spring 2021 collection assortment to include active and casual wear trends, and it goes by the name of trend forecasting. Trend forecasting can provide foresight to more accurately meet consumer demand, with insights on specific shapes, colors, patterns, and materials to ensure that all of Kohl’s bases are covered for an on-trend activewear and loungewear assortment. The following trends are based upon Kohl’s current collection assortment on their e-commerce platform, compared with predictive analytics to gauge demand for the Spring 2021 season in North America.
1. Tie Dye Sweatshirt
Throughout 2020, tie dye has been gaining momentum, particularly in the US: it’s predicted that in Summer 2021, the psychedelic print will rise in visibility by +14% in US womenswear. For Kohl’s, this is a good moment to plan their upcoming collections to keep on selling sweatshirts — but this time in tie dye, to combine a popular loungewear and a trendy print. The piece will have a universal appeal, and because it’s not a seasonal trend, tie dye sweatshirts have the green light for year-round collections.
And because the tie dye pattern is booming, its feature on a sweatshirt gives this piece a predicted rise in visibility of +4% between Spring 2020 and Spring 2021. Its medium magnitude — in other words, its medium level of potential market demand, makes the tie dye sweatshirt a safe bet for Kohl’s Summer 2021 collection.
2. Cowl Neck Jumper
Cowl neck jumpers typically remind us of colder seasons, curled up by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate. As it were, the appeal of this garment will not extend from Winter into Spring: cowl neck jumpers are forecasted to decline in visibility by -18% between Spring 2020 and Spring 2021. Its small magnitude coupled with such a decline qualify this piece as a mark down, signalling that Kohl’s should avoid including it in their Spring 2021 collection.
With that said, the cowl neck jumper remains an excellent garment for Winter collections. With its optimal launch time in January, Kohl’s can continue to draw in its mass market consumers with this piece in a variety of Winter colors, including beige and light blue, which are predicted to rise in visibility by +3% and +5% among US women, respectively.
3. Casual cycling shorts
Finally, cycling shorts have been an Instagram staple for quite some time now, dressed up with an oversized blazer or dressed down with chunky sneakers. Logic follows, then, that the garment appeals most to both mainstream and edgy consumers, who each put their own stylistic twist on the historically sporty piece.
So believe it or not, but cycling shorts will be even more booming in Summer 2021 than in Summer 2020: it is forecasted that the trend will rise in visibility by +121%. This skyrocketing growth rate coupled with its massive magnitude make cycling shorts a fashion bet for Kohl’s Summer 2021 collection.
Spring 2021 womenswear trends are just around the corner
Casual apparel is king for Spring 2021, as evidenced by the sneak peek into a few of the trends that will lead the US womenswear market next season. Cycling shorts and tie dye sweatshirts are the athleisure trends to feature in upcoming Spring collections, while cowl neck jumpers should rather be avoided for the warmer months.
Kohl’s can take advantage of their position as a retailer fluent in activewear and loungewear with trend forecasting, which provides a way to ensure that their upcoming collections are aligned with the market’s most desirable trends. With this data-driven approach, Kohl’s can more easily achieve their vision of growing their activewear assortment to 30% of sales, benefitting from the heightened demand for athleisure in the US womenswear market.
