Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Womenswear sales slow
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- Figure 1: Best- and worst-case forecast of UK sales of women’s outerwear, 2009-19
- M&S maintains trustworthy image, built on customer service
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- Figure 2: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, November 2014 and January 2015
- One in seven women wear plus sizes
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- Figure 3: Women’s UK clothing size/waist sizes, January 2015
- Primark leads, but loses popularity among young
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- Figure 4: Retailers from which women bought clothing for themselves in the last 12 months, split by in-store and online, January 2015
- Women cut back
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- Figure 5: Changes in shopping behaviour for number of items of clothing bought and amount spent in the last 12 months, January 2015
- Discounting hits womenswear hard
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- Figure 6: Female shopping behaviour when buying clothes in-store or online, January 2015
- Smart fitting rooms could reduce returns
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- Figure 7: Women’s attitudes towards innovations when shopping for clothes in-store and online, January 2015
Issues and Insights
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- How has the womenswear market performed and what is the forecast for the sector?
- The facts
- The implications
- How can retailers cater to older women?
- The facts
- The implications
- How can retailers use technology to improve the shopping experience?
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Womenswear grows by 4% in 2014
- Menswear outpaces womenswear
- Sector will reach £32 billion by 2019
- Women remain cautious about their spending
- Decline in young women to impact market
- Ageing population presents an opportunity
- High rates of obesity lead to rising demand for larger clothes
Market Size and Forecast
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- Figure 8: UK sales of women’s outerwear at current prices, 2009-19
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- Figure 9: Best- and worst-case forecast of UK sales of women’s outerwear, 2009-19
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Market Drivers
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- Ageing female population
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- Figure 10: Trends in the age structure of the UK female population, 2009-19
- Female employment set to rise
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- Figure 11: Female employment and unemployment, 2009-19
- Obesity
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- Figure 12: Proportion of overweight and obese female population, 2008-13
- Women are less confident about their finances than men
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- Figure 13: How respondents describe their financial situation, by gender, March 2015
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- Figure 14: Current financial situation compared with a year ago, by gender, March 2015
- Women cutting back on clothes purchases
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- Figure 15: Activities women have done in the last three months, March 2014 and 2015
- Technology
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- Figure 16: Personal ownership of consumer technology products, by gender, November 2014
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- Figure 17: Personal ownership of consumer technology products, by gender, November 2014
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Retailers focus on new store concepts
- Personalised websites
- Retailers cut back on adspend
- M&S associated with good customer service
- Next has strong all-round brand image
- White Stuff benefits from positive customer reviews
Innovations
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- In-store technology
- Virtual shopping experience
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- Figure 18: Karen Millen’s ‘Shop Knightsbridge’ online platform
- New fashion brand targeting mums
- Contemporary concept
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- Figure 19: A contemporary feel for Jigsaw’s new Milton Keynes store, designed by GP Studio
- Online personalisation
- Marketing to create a hype
Space Allocation Summary
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- Formal/casual split
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- Figure 20: Retailers of womenswear: formal/casual space allocation, October 2014
- Space allocations: Detailed estimates
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- Figure 21: Broad range clothing retailers, detailed space allocations for womenswear, October 2014
- Figure 22: Broad range clothing retailers and supermarket chains, detailed space allocations for womenswear, October 2014
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- Figure 23: Womenswear specialists, retailers’ space allocation estimates, October 2014
- Estimated sales breakdown
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- Figure 24: Leading clothing retailers’ estimated sales, by product, 2014
- Sales densities
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- Figure 25: Leading clothing retailers’ estimated sales densities, by product, 2014
- Market shares
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- Figure 26: Leading clothing retailers’ estimated market shares for womenswear, 2014
Brand Research
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- What you need to know
- Brand map
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- Figure 27: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, November 2014 and January 2015
- Key brand metrics
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- Figure 28: Key metrics for selected brands, November 2014 and January 2015
- Brand attitudes: Primark predominantly noted for value
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- Figure 29: Attitudes, by brand, November 2014 and January 2015
- Brand personality: Ted Baker seen as most exclusive
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- Figure 30: Brand personality – Macro image, November 2014 and January 2015
- Marks & Spencer noted for customer service traits
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- Figure 31: Brand personality – Micro image, November 2014 and January 2015
- Brand analysis
- Zara offers more accessible higher-end proposition
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- Figure 32: User profile of Zara, January 2015
- Ted Baker is seen as most exclusive, limiting overall usage
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- Figure 33: User profile of Ted Baker, January 2015
- Marks & Spencer maintains trustworthy image, built on customer service
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- Figure 34: User profile of Marks & Spencer, November 2014
- Next has all-round brand image that appeals to wide range of women
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- Figure 35: User profile of Next, January 2015
- Primark has value image, but 25-34s likely to note a stylish element as well
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- Figure 36: User profile of Primark, January 2015
- New Look has limited target group, but has strong positive image among them
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- Figure 37: User profile of New Look, January 2015
- White Stuff has potential for growth
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- Figure 38: User profile of White Stuff, January 2015
- Fat Face has a similar image to White Stuff but lacks same satisfaction and recommendation
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- Figure 39: User profile of Fat Face, January 2015
- Debenhams has trustworthy image but lacks the same customer service image as M&S
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- Figure 40: User profile of Debenhams, November 2014
- Topshop/Topman’s overall image suffers from youthful targeting
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- Figure 41: User profile of Topshop/Topman, January 2015
Brand Communication and Promotion
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- Advertising spend declines in 2014
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- Figure 42: Main monitored advertising expenditure on womenswear, 2011-14
- Press is the main form of advertising
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- Figure 43: Main monitored advertising expenditure on womenswear, by media type, 2014
- M&S doubles adspend on womenswear
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- Figure 44: Main monitored advertising expenditure on womenswear, by advertiser, 2011-14
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Driving purchases of fashion accessories alongside clothing
- Plus-size sector remains underserviced
- Older women more likely to wear larger sizes
- Primark leads, but young shopping more online
- Increase in over-55s buying clothes online
- Women cut back on clothes purchases in last year
- Increase in discounting impacts womenswear
- 33% of women return clothes bought online
- Smart fitting rooms could reduce in-store returns
- Latest technology can help draw young into stores
What Fashion Items Women Buy
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- Figure 45: Spending habits for clothing, footwear and accessories, by gender, March 2015
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Female Clothes Sizes
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- One in seven women wear plus sizes
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- Figure 46: Women’s UK clothing size/waist sizes, January 2015
- Older women wear bigger clothes sizes
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- Figure 47: Profile of women who wear clothes in plus sizes, by age, January 2015
Where Do Women Buy Clothes?
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- Primark leads, but loses popularity among young
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- Figure 48: Retailers from which women bought clothing for themselves in the last 12 months, split by in-store and online, January 2015
- Women aged 55+ shopping more online
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- Figure 49: Women who have purchased clothes online in the last 12 months, by age, December 2013 and January 2015
- Young fashion retailers need to convince shoppers to visit stores
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- Figure 50: Women who have bought clothing for themselves in the last 12 months from Primark, Next, Topshop, New Look, H&M and other mid-market high street retailers, in-store, by age, January 2015
- Under-35s shop at five or more retailers
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- Figure 51: Repertoire of in-store retailers from which women have bought clothes in the last 12 months, January 2015
Changes in Purchasing Behaviour
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- Women cut back
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- Figure 52: Changes in shopping behaviour for number of items of clothing bought and amount spent in the last 12 months, January 2015
- Young women spend more on clothes
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- Figure 53: Changes in shopping behaviour for amount spent in the last 12 months, by age, January 2015
Shopping Behaviour
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- Discounting hits womenswear hard
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- Figure 54: Female shopping behaviour when buying clothes in-store or online, January 2015
- Catering to older women
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- Figure 55: Female shopping behaviour when buying clothes in-store or online, by age, January 2015
- A third of women return clothes bought online
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- Figure 56: Profile of women who have returned clothes bought in-store and bought online, by age, January 2015
Consumer Attitudes towards Innovations
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- Smart fitting rooms could reduce returns
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- Figure 57: Women’s attitudes towards innovations when shopping for clothes in-store and online, January 2015
- Young want to use mobile devices to shop in-store
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- Figure 58: Women’s attitudes towards innovations when shopping for clothes in-store and online, by age, January 2015
Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Fan chart forecast
- Abbreviations
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