The Shape of the Future: Key Apparel Industry and Technology Trends for North America in 2025

Your apparel business is likely grappling with the persistent industry challenges of labor shortages, rising material costs and pressure to increase sustainability that have affected many organizations over the past few years.

So, as we progress into 2025 , how can your organization rise above these pressures and achieve growth?

So your business stays ahead of the curve and in-the-know regarding the latest and greatest, we commissioned B2B International to conduct extensive fashion and apparel industry research, including a survey of over 100 senior business leaders. Below, we’ve summarized the key trends to give you a preview into what to expect.

Of course, there’s much more in our full Fashion and Apparel Industry Trends and Technology Report. Download the full asset for free when you’re ready.

Trend No. 1: Cyber Threats Replace Inflation as the Most Significant External Pressure

In a significant shift from the previous year, inflation is no longer the greatest pressure perceived by fashion and apparel companies. Instead, it’s been replaced with concern over cyber threats.

The research shows that 31% of organizations highlighted cybersecurity as their most significant external challenge. This underscores the need for digital transformation and cloud adoption, as modern systems and remote data storage provide protection from potential cyberattacks.

While many businesses will need added support and reassurance that their sensitive information is kept safe, these are great first steps. The operational continuity that Cloud-based apparel enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions promote creates resilience to disruptions, which—cybersecurity-related or otherwise—are increasingly frequent in today’s environment.

Other key external concerns from survey respondents include reduced demand from customers and staffing struggles. Utilizing data analysis will prove vital in helping apparel organizations forecast and plan accurately, while automation can assume tedious, repetitive tasks and release staff to concentrate on more critical projects.

Trend No. 2: Data Holds the Key To Finding New Business

According to the fashion and apparel companies surveyed, finding new customers is the main internal focus areas for improvement in 2025, followed by scaling to meet demand and managing operating costs.

The most popular strategy for addressing these issues is better leveraging data. 43% of businesses have already invested in using data to find new customers, while 90% are prioritizing forecasting, showing a drive to prepare for the future.

Pairing a business intelligence (BI) solution with a cloud ERP is a great way to use technology to get more out of your data. Just keep in mind that data quality is essential—you must thoroughly vet and clean it, otherwise you’ll deal with the “garbage in, garbage out” problem.

Of note, companies using industry-specific technologies to collect data anticipate higher revenue growth don’t. We’ll explore the advantages of solutions purpose-built for the fashion and apparel market more in Trend No. 4.

Trend No. 3: Migration to the Cloud Has Been Gradual but Shows Serious Promise

Despite the obvious benefits of cloud technology—like greater scalability, assured continuity and broader accessibility—and the positive impact that cloud migration has on financial prospects, apparel organizations are still taking their time when it comes to migrating their systems.

The report shows just 17% have already moved to cloud, while the majority are still in the process (44%) or investigating what’s involved (31%). Stronger cybersecurity and risk mitigation are primary drivers, but improved financial prospects are also a major benefit, with those businesses that have already transitioned projecting greater increases in both revenue and profit in 2025.

Still, concerns over regulatory compliance, system integration and data privacy are holding some organizations back. Businesses with revenues of under $100M are particularly cautious when it comes to migration, likely due to the effort involved in the switch.

Educating key stakeholders around the opportunities afforded by cloud migration, and more specifically purpose-built cloud ERP solutions, will help ease the transition. Look out for vendors that can offer step-by-step support to suit unique business models and challenges can facilitate the move as well.

Trend No. 4: Industry-Specific Functionality Is an Important Driver of ERP Purchases

Our research revealed that those apparel organizations using industry-specific ERPs expect a 3.7 percentage point advantage in annual expected revenue growth over those using in-house solutions, and a 2.7% advantage over those using a horizontal ERP. Nevertheless, 50% of respondents with an ERP indicated that they’re still using a horizontal solution, compared to 35% on industry-specific systems.

This is likely due to a lack of education around the specific benefits specialized solutions offer and concerns over complex and/or time-consuming implementations. Smaller to mid-size apparel organizations would be particularly disadvantaged by long periods of downtime or difficult integration.

The fact of the matter is, most industry-specific ERPs are designed to be simple to implement. They also have tailored functionalities to support the highly specialized processes of fashion and apparel brands, including:

• Style master functionality, which makes managing SKUs by categories simple

• Rules-based allocation, ensuring important clients get their orders

• Warehouse management capabilities, streamlining the supply chain

• Shop floor control (SFC) and product lifecycle management (PLM) integrations for a seamless experience and comprehensive feature set

Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that beyond an industry-specific ERP, fashion and apparel businesses should also look for a software vendor with deep expertise in the market. Only then can you be sure that your provider truly understands your needs and how to fulfill them.

Trend No. 5: Exploration and Application of AI Continues To Surge

Artificial intelligence (AI) is at center stage for the apparel industry as we head into 2025. So much so that only 1% of the apparel organizations that we surveyed had absolutely no plans to leverage AI, with 71% in the process of implementing or already using it in some capacity.

That said, many businesses aren’t sure exactly what AI tools they should be using or which will give them the competitive edge they are seeking. What they do know is that AI may be a critical turning point in harnessing the power of their data to meet and surpass customer expectations while excelling in innovation.

Efficiency and quality gains are also among the expected benefits of leveraging AI. Beyond data analysis, popular applications of the technology are improving customer experiences with personalization and feedback analysis, as well as performance and supply chain optimization.

So, what’s holding the apparel companies back from diving in head-first with AI? Concerns about fairness, bias, privacy and transparency, along with the need for high-quality data to be able to make the most of AI’s analytics features, are the main reservations.

On this front, partnering with a technology vendor that understands the logistics and practical applications of AI in the industry can help to circumnavigate many of the barriers to AI adoption.

What Do These Trends Mean for Your Apparel Technology Strategy?

These five industry trends paint a clear picture: technology will be a key differentiator for apparel companies in 2025 and beyond. To ensure your organization isn’t left behind, you’ll need to invest in cloud-based solutions with strong data analytics capabilities and industry-specific functionalities to keep pace with changing consumer demands and drive profitable growth.

For that you’ll need the right partner. Aptean is a leader in the fashion and apparel software space, offering a full suite of solutions including ERP, SFC, PLM, BI and electronic data interchange (EDI) systems. Brands around the world that have chosen us as their technology partner are reaping the results—read their success stories to see for yourself.

Now you’ve had a glimpse of what lies in store, don’t forget to explore our full Fashion and Apparel Industry Trends and Technology Report. To learn more about our cutting-edge apparel software, contact our team or schedule a personalized demo.