There’s a lot riding on the holiday season, for brands across every segment of apparel, footwear, and accessories. And with historic uncertainty affecting consumer sentiment, AI potentially transforming retail touchpoints, and plenty of other transformation taking place, the need to be able to predict how products will perform in the open market is stronger than ever.
That performance might be judged in pure sell-through and market fit, it might be judged in outdoor performance, trend acuity, comfort, durability, colour fastness over washing cycles – there are a myriad different ways to measure success. And this makes the small window before market, with prototypes in-hand, vital, since feedback from product testing can stress-test, sense-check, and challenge or validate the choices that will separate a seasonal success from a post-holiday inventory headache.
Our friends at MESH01 have spent years working in precisely that space: refining the rubrics for product testing, and also building out a platform that connects brands with verified testers who wear and use prototype products, then share structured feedback on performance, fit, and comfort.
In and around the holiday season this year, MESH01 is running a short industry survey to better understand how brands approach real-world product and wear testing today. It asks simple questions about familiarity, ownership, tools, goals, challenges, budgets, and plans for future investment. It also explores how open companies are to new methods and technologies that make testing easier to run and scale, and to feed back into not just the current product run, but future cycles of design and development. The survey is equally relevant for teams who don’t currently run formal testing, since it also maps awareness, interest, and the likelihood of future adoption.
As important as product testing is, brands take a wide range of approaches, each influenced by their own needs and experiences. Within that mix, there are approaches that help teams make better decisions and build stronger products. The survey brings these methods together to build a clearer view of how testing is managed across the industry, and what would make it easier for brands to use it effectively in both common areas and in specific sectors such as sportswear, performance apparel, adaptive clothing, and more.
By sharing their experience, our readers can help outline where testing adds the most value and where more support or innovation might be needed. That insight will play a key part in guiding where MESH01 takes its technology and services next, reflecting what brands say will actually help them.
The survey takes around five minutes to complete, and all responses are confidential. For anyone involved in product development, sourcing, design, or quality, it’s a chance to contribute to a collective view of how testing is done, and how it could be improved for everyone involved in making products that last.
Take the survey here. And look for some future analysis of the results in 2026.