Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Products covered in this Report
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Sales of womenswear continue to grow
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- Figure 1: Consumer spending on women’s clothing, 2013-23
- Clothing prices fall into deflation
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- Figure 2: Consumer price inflation, March 2018-March 2019
- Companies and brands
- Amazon outperforms the clothing specialists in terms of trust and differentiation
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- Figure 3: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, December 2018 and February 2019
- Marketing spend boosted by uplift in digital advertising
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- Figure 4: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on women’s fashion, 2014-18
- The consumer
- Most still shop in-store for clothing, but online now also popular
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- Figure 5: How women bought clothing in the last 12 months, December 2018
- Women continue to favour value and high street brands
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- Figure 6: Womenswear brand preferences, December 2018
- One in five British women buy plus-size clothing
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- Figure 7: Clothing sizes worn by womenswear consumers, December 2018
- Consumers are frustrated with size variation
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- Figure 8: Attitudes towards buying clothing, December 2018
- A strong demand for more representative clothing models
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- Figure 9: Interest in innovation, December 2018
- Savvy shoppers are taking advantage of discounting activity
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- Figure 10: Clothing buying behaviour, December 2018
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Merging the online and offline experience
- The facts
- The implications
- The big discounting challenge
- The facts
- The implications
- Ongoing issues with returns, sizing and fit
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Continued uplift in sales of womenswear
- Low inflation could impact growth
- Ongoing uncertainty threatens consumer confidence
- Market exposed to unpredictable weather
Market Size and Forecast
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- Womenswear market forecast to grow 3.8% in 2019
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- Figure 11: Consumer spending on women’s clothing, 2013-23
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- Figure 12: Consumer spending on women’s clothing, at current and constant prices, 2013-23
- Forecast methodology
Market Drivers
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- Population changes threaten growth
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- Figure 13: Trends in the age structure of the UK female population, 2016-26
- Figure 14: Trends in the age structure of the UK female population, 2016-26
- Clothing and footwear inflation peaks in 2017
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- Figure 15: Consumer price inflation, 2007-18
- Downward pressure on womenswear prices
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- Figure 16: Consumer price inflation, March 2018-March 2019
- Real wages remain strong to date in 2019
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- Figure 17: Real wage growth – Average weekly earnings vs inflation, January 2014-March 2019
- Consumers are worried about Brexit
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- Figure 18: How consumers think Brexit will impact the UK economy, December 2018
- Footfall declines apparent across all types of retail locations
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- Figure 19: Change in UK retail footfall, by location, January 2016-December 2018
- Fluctuating weather patterns hit retailers hard
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- Figure 20: Change in average daily temperatures in the UK, January 2016-December 2018
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Retailers focus on improving the online experience
- Increased digital advertising in the UK womenswear market
- Amazon could be a strong player in the UK clothing market
- New Look leads on in-store womenswear space
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Product launches and innovations
- Tapping into new categories
- Customised denim
- Voice shopping
- Online fashion styling tips and shopping
- Sustainable fashion
- Store concepts and shop environment
- Clothing rental service
Advertising and Marketing Activity
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- Advertising spend increased in 2018
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- Figure 21: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on women’s fashion, 2014-18
- Uplift in expenditure driven by digital
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- Figure 22: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on women’s fashion, by media type, 2018
- Figure 23: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on women’s fashion, by media type, 2014-18
- Key campaigns
- M&S most digital campaign to date
- Nasty Gal adverts banned for being ‘socially irresponsible’
- Women empowerment campaigns
- Tapping into the power of celebrities
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
Brand Research
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- Brand map
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- Figure 24: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, December 2018 and February 2019
- Key brand metrics
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- Figure 25: Key metrics for selected brands, December 2018 and February 2019
- Brand attitudes: White Stuff and FatFace worth paying more for
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- Figure 26: Attitudes, by brand, December 2018 and February 2019
- Brand personality: Fast fashion retailers seen as fun and accessible
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- Figure 27: Brand personality – macro image, December 2018 and February 2019
- River Island seen as aspirational
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- Figure 28: Brand personality – micro image, December 2018 and February 2019
- Brand analysis
- The online-only retailers: ASOS, Boohoo and Missguided
- The fashion-led retailers: River Island and Urban Outfitters
- The off-price fashion retailer: TK Maxx
- The lifestyle brands: White Stuff and FatFace
Space Allocation Summary
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- Methodology
- New Look to give more space to womenswear
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- Figure 29: Men’s, women’s and childrenswear space allocation overview, October 2018
- M&S holding on to market-leading position
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- Figure 30: Leading clothing retailers, estimated sales, by product, 2017
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- British women shop for clothing often
- Two out of three womenswear consumers shop online
- Value and high street brands remain popular
- Demand for plus-size and petite fashion strong
- Women face a number of pain points when shopping for clothing
- Merging the online and offline experience
- Consumers take advantage of widespread discounting
What They Buy
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- Market driven by young and old
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- Figure 31: Women who have bought clothing in the last 12 months, by demographics, December 2018
- Clothing and underwear most frequently purchased
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- Figure 32: What fashion items women have bought in the last 3 months, March 2019
- Separates remain more popular than dresses
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- Figure 33: What clothing items women have bought in the last 3 months, March 2019
- Women less likely to buy multiple clothing items
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- Figure 34: Number of clothing items bought on last shopping trip, by gender, March 2019
- Women spend less per shopping trip
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- Figure 35: Amount spent on clothing items on last shopping trip, by gender, March 2019
How They Shop
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- Online penetration high
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- Figure 36: How women bought clothing in the last 12 months, December 2018
- Online market driven by young women
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- Figure 37: How women bought clothing in the last 12 months, by age, December 2018
Brand Preferences
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- High street brands reign supreme
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- Figure 38: Womenswear brand preferences, December 2018
- Young women favour value brands
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- Figure 39: Womenswear brand preferences, by age, December 2018
Womenswear Sizing
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- One in five buy plus-size clothing
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- Figure 40: Clothing sizes worn by womenswear consumers, December 2018
- Strong demand for mature plus-size fashion
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- Figure 41: Clothing sizes worn by womenswear consumers, by age, December 2018
- Most are confident in their clothing size
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- Figure 42: Repertoire of clothing sizes worn by womenswear consumers, December 2018
- Strong demand for petite clothing
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- Figure 43: Height of womenswear consumers, December 2018
Attitudes towards Buying Clothing
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- Difficulty finding clothing that fits well
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- Figure 44: Attitudes towards buying clothing, December 2018
- Frustration with size variation is widespread
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- Figure 45: Attitudes towards buying clothing, by age, December 2018
- Plus-size shoppers find shopping more problematic
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- Figure 46: Attitudes towards buying clothing, by clothing size worn, December 2018
- Premium and luxury shoppers face fewer challenges
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- Figure 47: Attitudes towards buying clothing, by brand preferences, December 2018
Interest in Innovation
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- Demand for sizing avatars is strong
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- Figure 48: Interest in innovation, December 2018
- Young women want better fitting rooms
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- Figure 49: Interest in innovation, by age, December 2018
- Premium and luxury shoppers want more in-store tech
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- Figure 50: Interest in innovation, by brand preferences, December 2018
Clothes Buying Behaviour
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- Womenswear shoppers are less critical of value fashion
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- Figure 51: Clothing buying behaviour, December 2018
- Discounting problematic in the youth market
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- Figure 52: Clothing buying behaviour – discounting, by age, December 2018
- Overconsumption rife amongst women
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- Figure 53: Clothing buying behaviour – frequency and returns, by age, December 2018
- Premium brands have eroded price integrity
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- Figure 54: Clothing buying behaviour – frequency and returns, by brand preferences, December 2018
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Best- and worst-case forecast
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- Figure 55: Consumer spending on women’s clothing, best- and worst-case forecast, 2018-23
- Forecast methodology
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