Download pdf
The Rise of SHEIN: Navigating the Digital Era of Fast Fashion and Its Comprehensive Impacts
- 1 Warwick Business School, Warwick University, Scarman Rd, Coventry, CV4 7AL,UK
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This comprehensive study investigates SHEIN's ascent as a digital fast fashion powerhouse, emphasizing its multifaceted impact across economic, social, and environmental domains. The research traces SHEIN's evolution from a modest e-commerce startup to its current status as a global fashion leader, underscoring its revolutionary digital retail strategies. These strategies have significantly shaped consumer behavior and fashion trends, marking a shift in the broader landscape of retail consumerism.Central to this analysis is SHEIN's business model, which is dissected to understand its market positioning and competitive tactics within the fast fashion industry. The thesis closely examines SHEIN's pricing strategies, supply chain management, marketing techniques, and technological innovations. These elements collectively contribute to its success but also raise questions about sustainability and ethical practices.A critical aspect of this research is the exploration of SHEIN's environmental footprint. The study assesses the ecological implications of its rapid production and distribution models, highlighting the sustainability challenges that confront the fast fashion sector. It discusses the company's initiatives (or lack thereof) in addressing environmental concerns, including waste management and carbon footprint reduction.Furthermore, the thesis explores the social implications of SHEIN's operations. It scrutinizes the company's labor practices, customer engagement, and its role in shaping global fashion consumption patterns. The study evaluates how SHEIN balances profitability with social responsibility, particularly in light of growing consumer awareness about ethical consumption.
Keywords
SHEIN, Digital transformation, E-commerce, Fast fashion
[1]. Tokareva, E. (2023). How brand values and corporate social responsibility affect generation Z-customers’ choices in apparel industry.
[2]. Chloe, C. A. R. R. (2022). The impact of user-generated content in the fashion industry: A case study of SHEIN and PrettyLittleThing. Connectist: Istanbul University Journal of Communication Sciences, (63), 27-57.
[3]. Porter, M. E. (1980). Porter’s Five Forces Model. Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors.
[4]. Stringer, T. (2023). Ethical consumption in a fast fashion world (Doctoral dissertation, Queensland University of Technology).
[5]. Martinicorena Gómara, A. (2023). Fast fashion and sustainability. The case of Shein.
[6]. Gazzola, P., Pavione, E., Pezzetti, R., & Grechi, D. (2020). Trends in the fashion industry. The perception of sustainability and circular economy: A gender/generation quantitative approach. Sustainability, 12(7), 2809.
[7]. Jin, Y. (2023). SHEIN: How Does the Most Mysterious 10 Billion-Dollar Company in China Achieve Overseas Growth?. In Innovation of Digital Economy: Cases from China (pp. 361-373). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
[8]. Valacich, J., & Schneider, C. (2018). Information systems today: Managing the digital world. Pearson.
[9]. Banica, L., & Hagiu, A. (2016). Using big data analytics to improve decision-making in apparel supply chains. In Information Systems for the Fashion and Apparel Industry (pp. 63-95). Woodhead Publishing.
[10]. Chatterjee, I. (2022). Social Change and Well-Being: Perspectives of Women Entrepreneurs in a Social Entrepreneurship Program.
[11]. Jia, H. (2022). Analysis of business development of a technology commercial company (Master's thesis, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya).
[12]. Vyas, H. (2022). Creating the Vogue through Sustainability: Waste Management in the Garment Industry.
[13]. Lagun, C. S. (2022). Sustainable or greenwash? An analysis of how fast fashion brands use social media marketing (Doctoral dissertation).
[14]. Dabija, D. C., Câmpian, V., Pop, A. R., & Băbuț, R. (2022). Generating loyalty towards fast fashion stores: A cross-generational approach based on store attributes and socio-environmental responsibility. Oeconomia Copernicana, 13(3), 891-934.
[15]. Fletcher, K. (2013). Sustainable fashion and textiles: design journeys. Routledge.
Cite this article
Qu,Z. (2024). The Rise of SHEIN: Navigating the Digital Era of Fast Fashion and Its Comprehensive Impacts. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences,76,248-254.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer/Publisher's Note
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
About volume
Volume title: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Business and Policy Studies
© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who
publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this
series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published
version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial
publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and
during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See
Open access policy for details).