Description
Our UK Menswear market report helps you to understand the broader industry trends and consumer behaviour. Featuring insight into UK menswear market size and market projections, alongside in-depth analysis of consumer attitudes and shopping habits. Use Mintel’s market intelligence to understand the latest trends and market opportunities. Read on to discover our insights and learn more about our men’s clothing market report.
UK Menswear Market – Current Landscape
The menswear market is estimated to increase 3% in 2023 to reach £15.4 billion, up from £15 billion in 2022. While men are making some changes to their clothes shopping habits as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, their purchasing patterns have been less impacted than those of women. As the economy improves, consumers will return to more normalised spending habits.
Menswear Consumer Trends
The majority of men have made some changes to their clothes buying behaviour to save money, with buying clothes less frequently and cutting back on impulse purchases being the most common behaviours.
- UK menswear consumer behaviour: The online channel is still the preferred way to shop for fashion for men, and 67% of male consumers agree that shopping online can be more convenient than in-store.
- Menswear consumer insight: 60% of male Gen Zs and Millennials see buying new clothes as a mood booster.
- UK menswear market challenge: As only 81% of over-55 males purchased new clothing compared to 95% of males aged 16-34, an ageing population could negatively impact value growth of menswear.
- Menswear market opportunities: A faster click-and-collect service would encourage 23% of consumers to shop in-store at one retailer over another.
UK Menswear Market – Future Trends and Opportunities
In a more competitive environment, menswear retailers need to do more to differentiate themselves; creating stores that stand out from the ordinary through their unique offering and experiences can help.
By removing some of the barriers to shopping in-store such as queues for changing rooms and to pay for or collect items, retailers can better engage with their customers and re-ignite the appeal of fashion stores.
Read on to discover more about our UK Menswear Market Report, read our UK Clothing Retailing Marker Report, or take a look at all of our fashion market research.
Quickly Understand
- How will the cost-of-living squeeze impact the menswear market?
- How and where people have bought menswear in the last 12 months and growth in online purchasing.
- Changes in shopping priorities when buying menswear in the last year.
- Attitudes towards shopping for menswear and interest in the latest innovations.
Popular Menswear Brands Covered in this Report
Marks & Spencer, Primark, Next, H&M, River Island, Zara, Boohoo Man, Mr Porter, Gap, Superdry, Tommy Hilfiger, Uniqlo, Lululemon, Adidas, Shein.
Expert Analysis from a Specialist in the Field
This report, written by Tamara Sender Ceron, a leading senior analyst in fashion retail, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight current trends in the UK menswear market and add expert context to the numbers.
The menswear market will benefit in 2023 from men being more confident about their finances than women. While men are making some changes to their clothes shopping habits as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, their purchasing patterns have been less impacted than those of women. Retailers can appeal to them with a focus on durable, timeless and unique products that can be purchased fast and conveniently either in-store or online. However, retailers will need to do more to differentiate themselves by making the shopping experience more fun, particularly amid an era of uncertainty.
Tamara Sender Ceron
Associate Director – Fashion Retail
Table of Contents
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Overview
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- Key issues covered in this Report
- Products covered in this Report
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Executive Summary
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- The five-year outlook for menswear
- Figure 1: Category outlook, 2023-28
- The market
- Menswear sales will slow but prove more resilient than womenswear
- Figure 2: Market forecast for menswear, 2017-27
- Clothing inflation remains high
- Companies and brands
- Demand for greater inclusivity drives genderless launches
- M&S stands out as the most trusted brand
- Figure 3: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, 2023
- The consumer
- Online usage heightened, but people return to stores
- Figure 4: How men bought clothing in the last 12 months, 2023
- Online-only retailers most popular, but young shop at sports and value retailers
- Figure 5: Where men bought clothing for themselves in the last 12 months, 2023
- Men change shopping behaviours less than women
- Figure 6: Savvy shopping behaviours when buying clothes for themselves, 2023
- Making the store shopping process faster
- Figure 7: What would encourage men to shop in-store at one retailer over another, 2023
- Higher earners drawn to better-fitting clothes
- Figure 8: Interest in the latest fashion innovations, 2023
- Using gamification to make shopping more fun
- Figure 9: Attitudes towards fashion, 2023
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Issues and Insights
- Impact of cost-of-living squeeze on menswear
- What are the main opportunities for growth in menswear?
- Making in-store shopping more convenient and faster
- Improving the shopping experience
- Encouraging sustainability through a thrifting mindset
- Focusing on driving purchasing by rewarding loyalty and engagement
- Impact of cost-of-living squeeze on menswear
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Market Size and Performance
- Menswear sales benefited from pent-up demand
- Figure 10: Market size for menswear, 2017-22
- Menswear retail landscape evolves
- Menswear sales benefited from pent-up demand
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Market Forecast
- Five-year outlook for menswear
- Figure 11: Category outlook, 2023-28
- Figure 12: Market forecast for menswear, 2017-27
- Menswear sales will slow, but more resilient to income squeeze
- Figure 13: Consumer spending on menswear, 2017-27
- Learnings from the last income squeeze
- Forecast methodology
- Five-year outlook for menswear
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Market Drivers
- Catering to an ageing male population
- Figure 14: Trends in the age structure of the UK population, by gender, 2021 and 2026
- Men more likely than women to be obese
- Clothing inflation remains high
- Figure 15: Overall CPIH and garment CPIH percentage change, Jan 22-Feb 23
- Inflation will continue to eat into consumer spending power over the course of 2023
- …but men feel the impact of price rises less than women
- Further interest rates increases will hit mortgage-holders
- High inflation and rising interest rates will compound the impact of the slowing recovery
- Consumer spending power will be curbed
- Low unemployment is helping underpin
- Consumers’ financial wellbeing has fallen from the highs of 2021…
- Figure 16: Household financial wellbeing index, 2016-23
- …and most people are feeling the effects of price rises
- Catering to an ageing male population
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Launch Activity and Innovation
- New menswear launches
- M&S expands third-party brands
- Figure 17: M&S third-party brands, Nov 2022
- Next rolls out Gap concessions
- The Outnet launched menswear in March 2022
- Superdry to add new menswear range
- Frasers to relaunch Givers & Hawkes
- Harley-Davidson launches new menswear
- Figure 18: Harley-Davidson new menswear collection, March 2023
- Extending into new areas
- Lee Jeans adds footwear
- Harrods grows men’s grooming space
- Sustainability
- Mr Porter to launch repair service
- Figure 19: Mr Porter fit & fix service, 2023
- Crew partners with Thrift+ on resale
- Tommy Hilfiger rents out menswear
- Inclusivity
- Mr Porter partners with Arket on unisex range
- Bestseller introduces gender-neutral brand
- Uniqlo introduces more Made for All genderless clothing items
- Figure 20: LifeWear Made for All classic denim shirt, February 2022
- Sportswear transforms into lifestyle clothing
- adidas introduces trend-led collection aimed at Gen Z
- Figure 21: adidas sportswear range, March 2023
- Lululemon grows focus on men
- H&M launches H&M Move activewear
- Figure 22: H&M Move Running and Outdoor training collection, March 2023
- New menswear launches
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Advertising and Marketing Activity
- Menswear advertising spend drops in 2022
- Figure 23: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on men’s fashion, 2018-22
- Frasers Group is the biggest advertiser
- Figure 24: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on men’s fashion, by leading advertisers, 2018-22
- Digital accounts for majority of advertising spend
- Figure 25: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on men’s fashion, by media type, 2022
- Key campaigns
- M&S value campaign
- Figure 26: Value You Can Trust campaign, 2023
- H&M launches men’s Essentials range
- Figure 27: H&M Essentials campaign, 2022
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
- Menswear advertising spend drops in 2022
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Brand Research
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- Brand map
- Figure 28: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, 2023
- Key brand metrics
- Figure 29: Key metrics for selected brands, 2023
- Brand attitudes: M&S stands out for great customer service
- Figure 30: Attitudes, by brand, 2023
- Brand personality: Shein has close associations with unethical, but also seen as fun
- Figure 31: Brand personality – macro image, 2023
- Zara viewed as stylish
- Figure 32: Brand personality – micro image, 2023
- Brand analysis
- M&S stands out as most trusted brand
- Primark is the most differentiated brand
- Zara is highly recommended
- Online-only fashion brands have low usage
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What They Buy
- Rising purchases of clothes and footwear
- Figure 33: What fashion items men have bought in the last three months, 2020-23
- Sportswear remains popular among young men
- Figure 34: What clothing items men have bought in the last three months, 2020-23
- Men spent more than women per shopping trip
- Figure 35: Amount spent on clothing items on last shopping trip, by gender, 2023
- Men aged 35+ buy fewer items
- Figure 36: Number of clothing items purchased on last shopping trip, by gender, 2023
- Rising purchases of clothes and footwear
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How They Shop
- Online usage heightened, but people return to stores
- Figure 37: How men bought clothing in the last 12 months, 2023
- In-store shopping revives
- Figure 38: How men bought clothing in the last 12 months, 2020-23
- Young men favour smartphones
- Figure 39: How men bought clothing in the last 12 months, by generation, 2023
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- Figure 40: Repertoire of how men bought clothing in the last 12 months, by generation, 2023
- Online usage heightened, but people return to stores
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Where They Shop
- Online-only retailers most popular
- Figure 41: Where men bought clothing for themselves in the last 12 months, 2023
- Luxury retailers and higher-priced stores see drop-off
- Figure 42: Where men bought clothing for themselves in the last 12 months, 2020-23
- Young males choose sports stores and value retailers
- Figure 43: Where men bought clothing for themselves in the last 12 months, by generation, 2023
- Younger Millennials shop around
- Figure 44: Repertoire of types of retailers where men have bought clothing in the last 12 months, by generation, 2023
- Online-only retailers most popular
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Savvy Shopping Behaviours
- Men make fewer changes than women
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- Figure 45: Savvy shopping behaviours when buying clothes for themselves, 2023
- Young Millennials become savvier
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- Figure 46: Savvy shopping behaviours done in the last 12 months when buying clothes for themselves, by generation, 2023
- While worst off cut back most, affluent still change behaviour
- Figure 47: Savvy shopping behaviours done in the last 12 months when buying clothes for themselves, by financial situation, 2023
- Men make fewer changes than women
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What Drives In-store Shopping
- Making the store shopping process faster
- Figure 48: What would encourage men to shop in-store at one retailer over another, 2023
- Young Millennials drawn to sustainable options
- Rising demand for experiential stores
- Figure 49: What would encourage men to shop in-store at one retailer over another, by generation, 2023
- Retailers can benefit by adding more options
- Figure 50: TURF Analysis – Menswear, 2023
- Methodology
- Making the store shopping process faster
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Interest in the Latest Innovations
- Higher earners drawn to better-fitting clothes
- Figure 51: Interest in the latest fashion innovations, 2023
- Rewarding engagement with a brand
- Men keener on unique cultural collaborations than women
- Figure 52: Interest in the latest fashion innovations, by generation, 2023
- Higher earners drawn to better-fitting clothes
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Attitudes towards Fashion
- Using gamification to make shopping more fun
- Figure 53: Attitudes towards fashion, 2023
- Eco-awareness grows
- Using gamification to make shopping more fun
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Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
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Appendix – Forecast Methodology
- Market forecast
- Figure 54: Best- and worst-case forecast for consumer spending on menswear, 2022-27
- Market drivers and assumptions
- Forecast methodology
- Market forecast
About the report
This market report provides in-depth analysis and insight supported by a range of data. At the same time, introductory and top-level content is provided to give you an overview of the issues covered.
Market
Mintel provides a range of market information, frequently through the category level, including market size and forecasting, complete with market drivers that illustrate the forces that shape a category or market.
Consumer
Mintel’s proprietary consumer research provides our analysts with the attitudinal and behavioral data used to provide valuable insight to topical issues.
Brand/Company
Mintel provides overviews of the top brands and manufacturers, and uses consumer research to explore attitudes and reactions to brands, as well as insight into what will resonate with consumers.
Data
Market reports provide appendices of data to support the research and insight produced. Our databooks* are easily manipulated and downloadable to support your research needs and covers factors from consumer attitudes to market forecasts.
*databooks not available with UK B2B Industry reports.
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