Want to shop for the hottest looks without leaving the comfort of your home? You're not alone. Our research shows that online fashion shopping is on the up with more and more Londoners turning to the internet for the latest trends.
Lets look at the numbers...
Londoners increased their online fashion spending by 11% in the first half of 2012 compared to the same period last year. Online shopping accounts for 8% of all Londoners' fashion shopping and over 30% of all consumers have made an online fashion purchase in the first half of 2012. The growth in online fashion spend is driven by Londoners buying more often (the number of times people purchased is up 8%) and spending more (spend per customer is up 7%).
Increased consumer comfort with the online channel has led more shoppers to venture online for luxury fashion resulting in a 28% increase in the number of consumers purchasing in this category compared to the first half of 2011. In fact, a small but growing number of luxury online shoppers, 14%, who had never purchased luxury goods previously, went online to experience luxury shopping for the first time during this period.
Londoners boosted spending on high-end fashion by 18% in the first half of 2012 compared with the same period last year. As a result, over 25% of all online fashion spending by Londoners during this period was in the luxury category. This trend is led by Gen X and Y (18 to 45 years old) who made up 74% of luxury online purchases in the first half of the year.
What does this mean? I believe it shows that e-commerce is changing the way Londoners shop and engage with their favourite brands. We're seeing more consumers embrace online shopping with increased spending on luxury purchases. This is especially true with Gen Y and Gen X, who are driving the deepening of online luxury spend.
These numbers show that this season, the 'in' thing may not be revealed at Fashion Week. It may be happening already in many homes across London, and it may be happening online.