Fashion Accessories Retailing - UK -
The Consumer – What Fashion Accessories They
Buy
In June 2009,
Mintel enlisted GMI to conduct a consumer survey regarding fashion accessories.
The questions were asked to a nationally representative group of 2,000 people
aged 16 and over.
The first question
asked was:
“Which, if any, of these fashion accessories have you
bought for yourself or others, in the last 12 months?”
Key points
●
Under-35s are the
most likely purchasers of fashion accessories. With the exception of handbags,
the over-35s clearly need more encouragement to spend.
●
Four in ten adults
bought a belt in the last year, making it the most popular fashion accessory,
more frequently bought even than handbags.
●
As belts have been
a key fashion look in womenswear, with the changing silhouette, this also shows
how fashion is a key driver.
The young dominate purchasing
●
With
the exception of handbags, interest in purchasing accessories significantly
declines after the age of 35, as these consumers have changing priorities in
terms of their money with greater family commitments and less interest in the
latest fashion.
●
Belts,
scarves and gloves in particular are mostly bought by 16-24s. They are the most
interested in changing fashions, they have few commitments other than spending
on themselves and there is a strong selection of brands and retailers catering
for the youth market.
Affluence affects ties and scarves
●
Socio-economic
status particularly affects the purchasing of ties (as they are primarily
related to wearing for work), but it also affects scarves where a significantly
lower percentage of C2DEs have bought them compared to ABC1s.
●
This
could be because scarves are regarded as very much a ‘want’ discretionary
purchase and not a need. There is an opportunity here for an increase in
purchase for gifts.
●
ABC1
men are more likely to have managerial jobs which require them to wear a tie at
work. There is potential to market to them and also people buying gifts for
them.
Cross marketing of accessories
●
Marks
& Spencer is the most used grocery store by consumers buying all
accessories except belts. Therefore, it has a clear opportunity for
cross-marketing (ie promoting accessories at the till points) to encourage more
food shoppers into the clothing and accessory area.
●
Women
who shop at M&S, Debenhams, River Island, Bhs, Burton and John Lewis are
most likely to buy ties – these will either be self-purchase or a gift. Men’s
ties are an opportunity for Primark, supermarkets and the internet, as they
have relatively low percentages of people buying these items compared to other
fashion accessories.
●
Primark
and the supermarkets especially could cross-promote ties with men’s shirts – ie
buy a shirt and get a tie half price. This would compete with retailers
offering shirt-and-tie sets where perhaps the man likes the shirt, but would
prefer a different tie.
●
Belts
are an opportunity for retailers who have low percentages of shoppers buying
these items compared to other accessories. These retailers include M&S,
supermarkets, Accessorize and Dorothy Perkins.
●
Belts
are now often included with skirts/trousers, and so real fashion design, or
added value is needed – especially as the highest concentration of belt buyers
is among 16-25s. More visual ‘how to wear’ signage could also be beneficial.
●
Supermarkets,
New Look and Claire’s shoppers are most likely to buy handbags. This clearly
shows the attraction of their value credentials, although their customers
include a good proportion of ABC1s.
●
Among
the 30% who bought scarves, there appears to be little loyalty as many
retailers have the highest proportion of people buying scarves from them. This
particularly includes Primark, other value retailers, Topshop/Topman, H&M
and Accessorize.
●
Scarves
have been a key fashion look and continue to be an important styling accessory
in 2009, so retailers who can show shoppers how to wear them and who
co-ordinate them with their clothing offers will encourage repeat purchases.
H&M, River Island and Sainsbury’s Tu are good examples.
Key analysis:
Older groups need encouragement: The over-35s are generally making fewer
accessory purchases and need to be encouraged to buy more. Belts are the most
popular item from the survey – retailers could look to offer longer styles for
more ‘mature’ waistlines and have more visual cues (ie mannequins and photo
posters) to show how they can be worn, for instance on the hip, on top of
shirts to emphasise the waist, with skirts or trousers etc.
Versatility is a
reason to buy: Showing an item’s versatility will encourage shoppers to spend,
as they will be able to see multiple wearing occasions and the item’s
longevity. This is particularly the case for scarves, which can be worn in many
different ways.
Show and tell
example: Sainsbury’s Tu collection has swing tickets with ‘six ways to wear’
sketches that is a good example of communicating versatility of an item to the
shopper. Retailers such as department stores, which often have more emphasis on
staff and personal customer service, can offer live demonstrations.
Expanding product
co-ordination and display: While fascinators boosted the hat market in the last
couple of years, this trend has now waned and there are opportunities for
retailers to boost sales here with easy-to-wear more casual styles shown
alongside clothing. The importance is to show co-ordination and, again, ‘how to
wear’ visual clues.
More mirrors
needed: In Mintel’s store research for this report, we found that many stores
do not have enough mirrors in the clothing/accessory area. This means that
consumers picking up an accessory and wanting to quickly see how it might look
when worn have to hunt around for a mirror. Introducing mirrors next to the
accessories offer, will appeal both to impulse shoppers, and those who may be
more carefully considering their purchases.
Also Read Consumer Attitudes towards Buying Handbags in UK. Contact Dissertation Writers at Mahasagar Publications, India.
