Dear Reader, what has this world turned into? Seriously. What has happened that people have to fake wealth to be able to „make it“ in the influencer era?
As of recently, famous online retailers have opened up about their monitoring of returns. The outcome from that, truly shocking. The result: Lifetime Bans from these retailers for certain customers. And we are not just talking ASOS or Zara, we are talking big names that carry true luxury brands like Dior, Prada and such. The Marks & Spencer, Farfetch, Macy’s and Co. have decided that what has been happening in the world of returns is simply not something they will keep allowing to happen.
Let‘s cut to the reason as to why…
Becoming an Influencer and living the luxury lifestyle has become something that more and more people are drawn into and, considering that „all you need“ is basically a Social Media account to build a following – it sounds easy, sounds even fun and truth be told, from what we know of the industry, it looks like the actual dream. Because who does not want to be flown to Paris for Fashion Week? Who does not want to be flooded with free merchandise from big brands? It all sounds dreamy. However, with more and more wanting a piece of that cake, the competition had become big. But the average young person does not start with a luxury lifestyle. But the audience, after being so used to the high class, uber aesthetically pleasing content – basically demands that, otherwise your content will, most certainly, not go „viral“.
Let‘s take a step back…
I was there when FleuDeForce, InTheFrow, Lydia Elise Millen and Co. embarked as some of the OGs in the field of influencing and content creation. But let me tell you, I recall their starting points. The cheap hair-dye days, the kruket teeth, the dormrooms and at best the Zara Hauls because that was basically all they could afford back then. And you know what? It’s what we all could relate to. During Uni, whilst working waitress jobs and saving up all the money to buy that one it bag of the year. It was all so innocent to follow these girls along and seeing that industry being birthed. And yes, it started with Blogs, it started with cheap OOTD pictures and it was REAL it was AUTHENTIC and somehow, in these 10+ years, that field has taken a turn for the worst. 10 years ago, that Industry was in it’s baby shoes and today, it’s a multi billion dollar industry – no wonder the stakes have gotten so high.
And yes, all the OGs from back then have these perfectly polished, aesthetically pleasing content. They have teams surrounding them, professionals on all sides but that requires money coming in, big money coming in. And for them, after having build that industry up, it has panned out to now be just that: a luxury lifestyle.
Yes, I’m guilty of watching only aesthetic content. I want to see the lovely homes, the luxury hauls, the well done editing and the polished influencers. But I’m aware they were the exact opposite once – it took time to evolve. But today, there is no “time to evolve”, you are demanded to perform or fail. And what is easier to portray wealth as doing a haul? The “look how much I can afford” is the key to the system. But one has to afford a Zara haul just as much as a Net-a-Porter one. But many have now apparently gone down the route of ordering from all the online retailers, showing these hauls, going so far as taking OOTDs in these items and then returning everything – and the audience is left none the wiser. It’s the “fake it till you make it” principle and it’s crushing online retailers.
Yes, I know – we all order in stuff we might not keep and return. But there is a difference. Ordering 5 items and keeping all apart from one is different as ordering big hauls of merchandise from 5 online retailers in a week and then sending it back to make it look like you can afford it. We are so tainted by wealth and aesthetics, that one cannot keep up anymore.
I find it a horrific turn of events in this space. Once Influencers where the ones bringing the big bucks to the online retailers because people shopped what influencers bought and wore and now, people desperate to make it in this space have to resort to lying in order to appear wealthy and gain followers. How truly sad is that?
What a sickness this industry has become. To say I was surprised would be lying tho… everything that looks too good to be true will eventually taint the entire industry. So what is there to come? Further bans for stylists because they also fit the visuals of ordering a lot of merchandise and then returning a lot as well because they ordered more for a client to choose? Will people who order a lot suddenly also get banned? Even worst, I have it on good authority that you cannot contest a retailers decision to ban someone because of their ordering and returning habits even tho they might have nothing to do with influencers.
It’s a rats tale and we are all contributors to the problem here.
I would love to read your thoughts on that. So please share them in the comment section down below.
Perfectly put. The entire industry is rotting from the outside inwards.
Author
Let’s still hope it is not and retailers find a way to introduce a micro-influencer program that allows for that sort of return habit. But one has to qualify for that.
Well great, I live in a small town and order-in basically everything… I also return a lot. That will now end with me and people like me being banned. Great.
This might just as well kill the industry. If all are under scrutiny for our return habits, we are all doomed. But I believe that retailers will not be able to keep doing that for long because they will put people off from ordering and therefor lose them money.
Author
I still have hopes that something will happen, some program that one has to qualify for and so the retailers can at least distinguish between influencer return habits and ordinary people return habits.