Table of Contents
Issues in the Market
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- Online fashion proves its case
- Wave of investment
- Challenges for online fashion
- Key themes
- Definitions
- Abbreviations
Insights and Opportunities
The Market in Brief
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- Size of the market: growing fast but still very small
- Catalogue operators dominate
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- Figure 1: Online fashion: Channels of distribution 2005 (estimated)
- High street second
- Pureplayers the smallest sector
Market Drivers
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- Broadband take-up
- Wider ranges to buy from
- Consumer confidence
- Youngest and oldest take to online fashion
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- Figure 2: Percentage of Internet users buying clothing and footwear in the past three months, July 2004 and July 2006
- Where consumers shop
- What they like: Convenience appeals
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- Figure 3: Greatest advantages about online fashion shopping
- Figure 4: Greatest disadvantages about online fashion shopping
- Figure 5: What consumers would like to see on online fashion sites
- What they don't: Untried product
- Delivery and returns a worry
- ...and what they would like
- The future
- Broadband penetration rises further
- High street catch-up
- New entrants
- The future: rapid expansion, for now
- Limits to growth
Fast Forward Trends
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- Trend 1: French Trotters
- Trend 2: Fashion is All
- Definition
- Trend 3: Disorganised Tourism
Industry Insights
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- Current trading
- What do you expect for the coming year?
- Which lines do you put on your site and which sell best?
- Who's the best fashion e-tailer?
- Key drivers of growth
- Does speed of delivery matter?
- The 'last mile': any solutions to the perennial problem?
- How can returns be minimised?
- Improving customer navigation and conversion
- How important are stores or catalogues to online success?
- Marketing your Internet business: best practice
- Websites turn into 'magazines'
- What are the opportunities for/obstacles to future growth?
Internal Market Environment
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- Shoppers extend their online repertoire
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- Figure 6: Websites actually purchased from in the last three months, 2002-06
- Increasing penetration of broadband
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- Figure 7: Internet penetration, 2003-06
- Declining concerns about Internet fraud
- Increasing availability of ranges online
- Younger and older consumers buy online fashion too
Broader Market Environment
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- Personal disposable income
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- Figure 8: UK personal disposable income (PDI), current and constant prices, 2001-11
- Consumer expenditure
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- Figure 9: UK consumer expenditure, current and constant prices, 2001-11
- Employment levels
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- Figure 10: UK employment and unemployment, 2001-11
- Demographics
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- Figure 11: UK population by age, 2001-06 and 2011
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- Figure 12: UK adult population aged 15+ by socio-economic group, 2001-11
The Market in Context
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- Fashion spend beats booze, lags leisure
- Forecast
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- Figure 13: Market size and forecast of online retail sales of clothing and footwear, 2001-11
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- Figure 14: Indexed growth of online retail sales of clothing and footwear, 2001-11
- Factors incorporated in the forecast
- Online retail sales
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- Figure 15: Online retail sales and total retail sales, at current prices (excl. VAT), 2001-06
- Fashion's share of online sales falls
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- Figure 16: Online retail sales of clothing & footwear compared with total online retail sales, 2001-06
- Online still small for clothing and footwear
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- Figure 17: Consumer online and total spending on clothing and footwear, at current prices, 2001-06
Strengths and Weaknesses in the Market
Who’s Innovating?
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- Gap stretches online offer
- Next takes to the catwalk
- Using community and sharing websites
- Experimenting with delivery locations
- Trying different delivery times
Attitudes Towards Online Fashion
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- Key consumer findings
- Main benefits
- Finding own size and avoiding high street hassles are top benefits
- Wide choice and comparison appeals
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- Figure 18: Main benefits of shopping for fashion online, October 2006
- Women love trying on clothes at home
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- Figure 19: Benefits according to demographic, October 2006
- Figure 20: Attitudes towards shopping online for fashion, October 2006
- Main consumer problems online
- Not trying items on a challenge
- Speed still a worry
- Delivery concerns
- Paying online still worries a quarter
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- Figure 21: Main consumer problems with online shopping, October 2006
- Men are more cautious online
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- Figure 22: Disadvantages according to demographic, October 2006
- What improvements consumers want
- Online video a draw
- Size and fit: more help needed
- Delivery: more flexibility
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- Figure 23: Improvements that would encourage consumers to buy more frequently online, October 2006
- Men want video clips
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- Figure 24: Consumer improvement suggestions according to demographic, October 2006
Where They Shop For Fashion Online
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- Key consumer findings
- Behavioural patterns: browsing, buying online and buying in store
- Next, best on the high street
- Sports shoppers show trust in brands
- Topshop/Topman sites drive store traffic
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- Figure 25: Consumers' behaviour relative to individual retailers' websites in the past 12 months, October 2006
- The M&S Consumer
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- Figure 26: Consumers' demographic breakdown in relation to M&S in the past 12 months, October 2006
- The Debenhams Consumer
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- Figure 27: Consumers' demographic breakdown in relation to Debenhams in the past 12 months, October
- The John Lewis Consumer
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- Figure 28: Consumers' demographic breakdown in relation to John Lewis in the past 12 months, October
- The Sports Shop Consumer
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- Figure 29: Consumers' demographic breakdown in relation to sports shop in the past 12 months, October 2006
- The Next Consumer
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- Figure 30: Consumers' demographic breakdown in relation to Next in the past 12 months, October
- Home shopping operators and pureplayers
- The home shopping and pureplayer customer
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- Figure 31: Consumers' demographic breakdown in relation to pureplayers in the past 12 months, October 2006
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- Figure 32: Consumers' demographic breakdown in relation to pureplayers in the past 12 months, October 2006
- Littlewoods Shop Direct leads catalogue players
- Pureplayers: in need of more trust?
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- Figure 33: Consumers' behaviour relative to individual retailers' websites in the past 12 months, October 2006
- Market penetration
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- Figure 34: Market penetration of websites visited in the last 12 months, October 2006
Channels of Distribution
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- Figure 35: Online fashion: Channels of distribution, 2005
- Figure 36: Estimated shares of online fashion market, 2005
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Retail Competitor Analysis
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- Leading pureplayers
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- Figure 37: Leading pureplay online fashion retailers, 2006
- Catalogue operators
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- Figure 38: Leading catalogue fashion retailers, 2006
- Multichannel retailers
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- Figure 39: Leading multichannel online fashion retailers, 2006
- Evaluation
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- Figure 40: Online retailers, evaluation, 2006/07
- Recommendations for retailers to realise their potential
Retailer Profiles
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- Arcadia
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- Figure 41: Arcadia, turnover, operating profits and margin, 2002-06
- ASOS
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- Figure 42: ASOS, group financial performance, 2002-06
- Boden
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- Figure 43: JP Boden & Co, financial performance, 2001-05
- Debenhams
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- Figure 44: Debenhams, gross transaction value, turnover, operating profits, pre-tax profits and margin, 2002-06
- Figleaves.com
- Financial performance
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- Figure 45: Figleaves.com, turnover, operating profits and margin, 2002-05
- Littlewoods Shop Direct Group
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- Figure 46: Littlewoods Shop Direct Group, turnover, operating profits and margin, 2002-05
- Marks & Spencer
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- Figure 47: M&S UK retail sales, by merchandise category, UK operating profits and margin, 2004/05 and 2005/06
- N Brown
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- Figure 48: N Brown group, turnover, operating profits and margin, 2002-06
- Next
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- Figure 49: Next, turnover, operating profits and margin, 2002-06
- Otto UK
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- Figure 50: Freemans, turnover, operating and pre-tax profits and margin, 2002-06
- Figure 51: Grattan, turnover, operating and pre-tax profits and margin, 2002-06
- Redcats UK
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- Figure 52: Empire Stores Group, turnover, operating profits and margin, 2001-04
- Identifying targets
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- Figure 53: Consumer typologies, October 2006
- Information-seekers (24%)
- Size-concerned (35%)
- Service-orientated (41%)
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- Figure 54: Consumer typologies according to demographics
Appendix
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- Research methodology
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