CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN FASHION RETAIL

CURRENT STATE AND THE CHANGING FUTURE

UNDERSTANDING THE APPAREL SHOPPER JOURNEY

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CURRENT STATE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN FASHION RETAIL

The consumer psyche is changing fast.

CONSUMER SHIFTS IN FASHION RETAIL

 End of Ownership
 Getting Woke
 Now or Never
 Radical Transparency
CONSUMER SHIFTS IN FASHION RETAIL

 End of Ownership
“The lifespan of fashion products is being stretched as
pre-owned, refurbished, repaired and rental business
models continue to evolve. Across many categories
consumers have demonstrated an appetite to shift away
from traditional ownership to newer ways in which to
access product.”
CONSUMER SHIFTS IN FASHION RETAIL

 End of Ownership
In more and more categories, consumers are choosing to
rent rather than own goods outright. Think of Spotify
supplanting CD sales and downloads, Netflix replacing video
stores and ZipCar standing in for car ownership among many
young urbanites. This is a fundamental evolution in consumer
behaviour and we expect I will have an impact in the fashion
business in the years ahead.
CONSUMER SHIFTS IN FASHION RETAIL

 End of Ownership
This trend is partly driven by the young generation’s hunger for
newness, while embracing sustainability. Research shows that
the average person today buys 60 percent more items of
clothing than they did 15 years ago.44 But consumers keep that
clothing for only half as long as they used to.
CONSUMER SHIFTS IN FASHION RETAIL

 End of Ownership
For example, a survey done in Britain found that one in
three young women consider clothes “old” after wearing
them once or twice.45 One in seven consider it a fashion
faux-pas to be photographed in an outfit twice.
CONSUMER SHIFTS IN FASHION RETAIL

 End of Ownership
Simply put, young people today crave newness, and these
cohorts are much more likely to embrace churn in their
wardrobes. At the same time younger generations are more
interested in sustainable clothing than older consumers. Rental,
resale and refurbishment models lengthen the product lifecycle
while offering the newness consumers desire.
CONSUMER SHIFTS IN FASHION RETAIL

 Getting Woke
Younger consumers are seriously concerned with social
and environmental causes, which many regard as being the
defining issues of our time. They increasingly back their
beliefs with their shopping habits, favoring brands that are
aligned with their values and avoiding those that don’t.
CONSUMER SHIFTS IN FASHION RETAIL

 Getting Woke
the dynamics behind the numbers are compelling. Over the past
three years a third of consumers worldwide have expanded the
scope of their purchasing decisions to incorporate principled
values and views. A new global ethos is emerging, and billions of
people are using consumption as a means to express their
deeply-held beliefs.
CONSUMER SHIFTS IN FASHION RETAIL

Now or Never
The time lag between discovery and purchase is a pain point for
customers who continue to expect better experiences.
Companies are increasingly focusing on reducing this source of
friction and launching new technologies to enable a smooth and
speedy transition from inspiration to acquisition.
CURRENT STATE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN FASHION RETAIL

Technology leaders such as Amazon, Deliveroo, Netflix, and

Uber Technologies have raised customer expectations of speed
and convenience. Through its Prime offering, Amazon has
created an expectation that delivery should be next day, or
even same day. Customers now expect to get a taxi, watch a
film, or receive a meal almost instantaneously and to make a
choice based on an easy-to-assess interface or app.
CURRENT STATE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN FASHION RETAIL

This resulting need for immediacy shows up in various customer

experiences. Some 61 percent of respondents to one UK survey are
not willing to wait more than 45 minutes for a food delivery to
arrive. Around one in five say they will wait just five to ten
minutes for a taxi ordered via an app. This changing sentiment is
revealed by shifting patterns of internet searches. Google-search interest
for businesses and the like that are “open now” has tripled in the past two
years. Searches for “store hours” have dropped. This demonstrates a subtle
but fundamental change in mind-set.
CURRENT STATE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN FASHION RETAIL

Fashion companies have largely failed to follow.

Across the industry, the process is more fragmented
than it is on digital-native platforms, with customers
often struggling to shop based on their ideas,
desires, or inspirations.
CURRENT STATE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN FASHION RETAIL

One reason for the fragmentation is that the way

consumers get inspired has changed. In the old world,
they would often get ideas for purchases directly from
brands (intermediated by magazines) or from in-store
assistants. Now consumers turn to a much wider range
of inspirations, from social media, celebrities, and
influencers to spotting an attractive look on the street
CURRENT STATE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN FASHION RETAIL

According to a 2017 survey of millennials, consumers are

more likely to find inspiration from external sources
(such as influencers, friends, and TV) than directly from
the brand or retailer (for example, the store website and
in-store staff). Some 41 percent of respondents say they
rely on influencers and bloggers, compared with just 20
percent who put their faith in store employees.
CURRENT STATE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN FASHION RETAIL

In fashion, some emerging technologies are similarly aiding in

product identification. 21 Buttons is a social network that is
designed to increase “shoppability” potential, by enabling
influencers to share shopping links to items they wear in
posts. WeChat users are linked from blog posts directly to
brand mini e-commerce sites, allowing them to find
inspiration and purchase in one place without ever leaving the
Chinese “mega-app.”
CURRENT STATE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN FASHION RETAIL

Looking forward, visual search is a particularly

interesting proposition for the fashion industry.
Screenshop enables users to take a screenshot or
picture of “tops, skirts, shoes, etc.” and then shop similar
items straight from their phones.UK start-up SnapTech
(previously SnapFashion) is a leader in the field.
CURRENT STATE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN FASHION RETAIL

Larger fashion players and retailers are also catching

the wave, either developing tools in-house or
partnering with technology companies. Asos, for
example, has developed a “Style Match” search tool
and the company expects visual search to help drive
sales growth of 30-35 percent.
CURRENT STATE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN FASHION RETAIL

Already, fashion is seeing a constant stream of innovation,

with technology creating new experiences for customers.
Asos, for example, is using visual search to let customers
purchase items that they’ve seen, even if they don’t know the
brand or the name of the item. Asos customers can also talk
not to a sales assistant, but to Google Assistant. Zara is
shipping products to customers straight from their stores.
CURRENT STATE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN FASHION RETAIL

Zozo is producing custom-fit garments on a mass scale.

Innovations of this sort often begin as a novelty in the market
but can quickly set new customer expectations. Once
customers experience Amazon Prime delivery, for example,
or shop using apps on mobile devices, it becomes harder and
harder to lure them back into stores or to force them to use
old-fashioned websites and wait a week for delivery.
CONSUMER SHIFTS IN FASHION RETAIL

 Radical Transparency
Fashion companies must come to terms with the fact
that a more distrusting consumer expects full
transparency across the value chain. Given the need to
regain that trust, fashion players cannot afford not to
examine longstanding practices across their businesses.