In this fast-paced modern society, consumers have a developed a need for instant gratification. Tables have turned for the food industry, the technology industry, and now the fashion industry. Among young adults, a shift is seen in taste from big brand names such as Abercrombie, to dynamic retailers that frequently renew their styles. Zara, a blossoming Spanish retailer specializing in high street-wear, is dominating the fashion scene with its cheap-chic apparel and its reliability to regularly renew stock and have new trends available.

What allows Zara to keep up with the demands of modern consumers is similar to Dell’s approach of extremely fast-paced operations: low inventory stock and high inventory turn-over rate. This mitigates whatever risks of carrying large inventories, especially in the spirited fashion industry, where trends bloom and wither rapidly. Zara takes only around two weeks for a drawing board design to become store-shelved, and allowing Zara introduced new trendy items weekly.

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And here’s where economics comes into play. Zara, because of their tight turnover and low inventory, potentially faces an issue of scarcity of the more popular items. But Zara uses this as leverage, allowing the scarcity of popular items to keep consumers on their toes and to check back frequently for new stock, thus further increasing demand.