Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The five-year outlook for online fashion
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- Figure 1: Category outlook, 2022-27
- The market
- Online fashion sales weaken as cost pressures increase
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- Figure 2: Best- and worst-case forecast for consumer spending on online fashion, 2017-27 (prepared in June 2022)
- Online captures 44% of fashion spending
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- Figure 3: Online as a percentage of all spending on clothing, footwear and accessories, 2016-22
- Inflation is the key concern for 2022 for consumers, brands and the economy
- Companies and brands
- Brands experiment with live shopping
- Shein usage soars
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- Figure 4: Attitudes towards and usage of selected online-only brands, 2022
- The consumer
- Footwear and womenswear most purchased online
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- Figure 5: Fashion items bought online in the last 12 months, 2022
- Older Millennials’ usage of smartphones for fashion soars
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- Figure 6: How consumers have bought fashion items online in the last 12 months, 2022
- Young pureplay fashion market becomes more competitive
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- Figure 7: Retailers without physical stores from where consumers have bought fashion online in the last 12 months, 2022
- Next grows online, but value retailers set to benefit
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- Figure 8: Retailers with physical stores from where consumers have bought fashion online in the last 12 months, 2022
- Wide range of products is important
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- Figure 9: Most important factors when choosing one retailer over another when buying fashion, 2022
- Gen Zs worry about unsustainable packaging
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- Figure 10: Agreement with shopping behaviours when shopping for fashion online, 2022
- Women find customer reviews most useful
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- Figure 11: Most useful tools to help with finding the correct size/fit when shopping online for clothes, 2022
Issues and Insights
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- Impact of cost-of-living squeeze on online fashion
- What are the main opportunities for growth in online fashion?
- Adapting to a new digital reality
- Promoting social commerce
- Enhancing delivery options
- Tapping into user-generated content
- Using fit solutions to reduce the growing issue of returns
Market Size and Performance
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- Online fashion sales begin to fall in 2022
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- Figure 12: Online consumer spending on clothing, footwear and accessories, 2017-22
- Online captures 44% of fashion spending
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- Figure 13: Online as a percentage of all spending on clothing, footwear and accessories, 2016-22
Market Forecast
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- Five-year outlook for online fashion
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- Figure 14: Category outlook, 2022-27
- Online fashion sales weaken as cost pressures increase
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- Figure 15: Best- and worst-case forecast for consumer spending on online fashion, 2017-27 (prepared in June 2022)
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- Figure 16: Consumer spending on online fashion, 2017-27
- Pureplays see slowdown in sales
- Market drivers and assumptions
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- Figure 17: Key drivers affecting Mintel’s market forecast, 2016-26
- Learnings from the last income squeeze
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- Figure 18: Value sales of online clothing, footwear and accessories, 2006-12
- Forecast methodology
Market Drivers
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- Personal ownership of consumer technology products
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- Figure 19: Personal ownership of consumer technology products, 2021
- Social media use
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- Figure 20: Social media use, 2022
- Catering to an ageing population
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- Figure 21: Trends in the age structure of the UK population, by gender, 2021 and 2026
- The conflict in Ukraine will hurt the UK economy
- GDP reached pre-pandemic levels in November 2021…
- …but the post-COVID-19 bounce-back will be followed by a period of slower growth
- Employment has held up better than expected
- Inflation is the key concern for 2022 for consumers, brands and the economy
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- Figure 22: Overall CPIH and garment CPIH percentage change, 2021-22
- Consumers’ financial wellbeing has slipped from its recent high point…
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- Figure 23: Household financial wellbeing index, 2016-22
- …and concerns over inflation are coming to the fore
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- Figure 24: Consumer concerns about household finances, 2021-22
Market Shares
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- Amazon has the largest share, but pureplays see declining growth
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- Figure 25: Top ten online fashion retailers in the UK by estimated market share, 2021
- Figure 26: Top online fashion retailers in the UK by estimated market share, 2020 and 2021
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Fashion brands develop sizing and fitting tools online
- Meta acquires Presize, betting on virtual sizing technology
- The Very Group to launch personalised size and fit tool across 300 fashion brands
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- Figure 27: The Very Group and Truefit too, 2022
- Fashion brands add third-party offering
- Mountain Warehouse opens online marketplace
- Yoox debuts online high-end fashion marketplace
- Arket adds third-party brand for the first time
- Brands diversify offering outside fashion
- Mango to sell Ritual Cosmetics online
- Farfetch to launch its own beauty marketplace with over 100 brands
- More fashion brands enter rental market
- M&S teams up with Dotte to launch childrenswear resale service
- Little Mistress partners with Hirestreet for rental service
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- Figure 28: Little Mistress, 2022
- Boohoo to launch resale platform for each of its 13 brands
- French Connection launches rental service from its own website
- Sustainable launches take on several formats
- JD Williams launches sustainable brand Anise
- YOOX launches RETHINK WITH <3
- Hugo Boss enters resale market with own platform Hugo Boss Pre-Loved
- Brands experiment with live shopping
- M&S to inspire customers via live stream shopping on its website
- Klarna launches Virtual Shopping via its Store App
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- Figure 29: Klarna’s live shopping feature, 2022
- Threads launches ecommerce and live shopping
- Savage X Fenty launches live shopping
- Omnichannel shopping post-COVID accelerates role of technology in stores
- Nike’s Rise concept store
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- Figure 30: Nike’s inside track feature at its rise concept store in Seoul, 2021
- Amazon’s first physical fashion store
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- Figure 31: Amazon Style fitting room technology, 2022
- Website launches
- Primark to relaunch website by the end of March
- M&S launches Goodmove on third-party sports website
- Bottega Veneta launches app with AR filter
Advertising and Marketing Activity
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- Ad spending soars in 2021
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- Figure 32: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on fashion by pureplays, 2018-22
- Shein the top ad spender in 2021
- Shein and Klarna launch pop-up
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- Figure 33: Klarna and Shein pop-up, 2022
- Shein launches purposeful collection ‘evoluSHEIN’
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- Figure 34: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on fashion by pureplays, by top advertisers, 2018-22
- Digital channel dominated ad spending
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- Figure 35: Recorded above-the-line, online display and direct mail total advertising expenditure on fashion by pureplays, by media type, 2021
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
Brand Research
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- Brand map
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- Figure 36: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, 2022
- Key brand metrics
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- Figure 37: Key metrics for selected brands, 2022
- Brand attitudes: Very is highly trusted
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- Figure 38: Attitudes, by brand, 2022
- Brand personality: Shein perceived as fun, but unethical
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- Figure 39: Brand personality – macro image, 2022
- Thread seen as aspirational and Farfetch as expensive
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- Figure 40: Brand personality – micro image, 2022
- Brand analysis
- Shein’s usage soars
- Amazon and eBay expand fashion offer
- Very seen as stylish
- Farfetch and Thread expand their offering
Fashion Items Bought Online
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- Footwear and womenswear most purchased online
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- Figure 41: Fashion items bought online in the last 12 months, 2022
- Three in 10 men have not purchased fashion online
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- Figure 42: Fashion items bought online in the last 12 months, by gender, 2022
- Gen Zs and Younger Millennials buy most range of items
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- Figure 43: Repertoire of fashion items bought online in the last 12 months, by age group, 2022
How They Shop
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- Big rise in smartphone purchasing
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- Figure 44: How consumers have bought fashion items online in the last 12 months, 2022
- Older Millennials usage of smartphones for fashion soars
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- Figure 45: Consumers who have bought fashion items online via a smartphone in the last 12 months, by age group, 2020 and 2022
- Growth of marketplace app usage
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- Figure 46: How consumers have bought fashion items online, 2022
Where They Shop
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- Multichannel retailers remain most popular
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- Figure 47: Types of retailers used to purchase clothing online in the last 12 months, 2022
- Young pureplay fashion market becomes more competitive
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- Figure 48: Retailers without physical stores from where consumers have bought fashion online in the last 12 months, 2022
- Next grows online, but value retailers set to benefit
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- Figure 49: Retailers with physical stores from where consumers have bought fashion online in the last 12 months, 2022
- Figure 50: Repertoire of retailers with physical stores and online-only retailers from where consumers have bought fashion online in the last 12 months, 2022
Most Important Factors When Buying Fashion Online
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- Wide range of products is important
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- Figure 51: Most important factors when choosing one retailer over another when buying fashion, 2022
- Enhancing delivery options
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- Figure 52: Most important factors when choosing one retailer over another when buying fashion, 2022
- Baby Boomers most brand loyal
Shopping Behaviours
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- Close to six in 10 return items purchased online
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- Figure 53: Agreement with shopping behaviours when shopping for fashion online, 2022
- Gen Zs worry about unsustainable packaging
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- Figure 54: Agreement with statement ‘I am concerned about the environmental impact of packaging used when shopping for fashion online’, by generation, 2022
- Young Gen Zs buy and share fashion on social media
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- Figure 55: Agreement with statements about online fashion shopping behaviours, by generation, 2022
- Ensuring online shopping is enjoyable
Finding the Correct Size/Fit When Buying Online
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- Women find customer reviews most useful
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- Figure 56: Most useful tools to help with finding the correct size/fit when shopping online for clothes, 2022
- Developing accurate online fit tools
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
Appendix – Forecast Methodology
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- Market forecast
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- Figure 57: Best- and worst-case forecast for consumer spending on online fashion, 2022-27
- Market drivers and assumptions
- Forecast methodology
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