Know Your Customer: Who Is Shopping for Apparel and Footwear Right Now?

December 3, 2020

Consumer behavior is shifting as more people than ever before are turning to e-commerce for their basic needs. As we see this shift to digital adoption and consumption, the need for retailers to connect effectively with both new and loyal shoppers has never been more important.

Consumers who traditionally shop for apparel and footwear in brick and mortar stores must now visit their favorite retailers online. There is a huge opportunity for retailers to connect with new shoppers who are just entering the online shopping universe or getting their first exposure to your brand. 

The question lingers as “essentials” purchases skyrocket - are consumers shopping for apparel and footwear too? And if so, who is? We look to the Fashion Genome to find out.

Checkout Count Shows “Personal Open to Buy”

In the past weeks we’ve seen “digital window shopping” on the rise; now consumers are making apparel and footwear purchases. 

Beginning during the week of March 22nd, the amount of total checkouts began to steadily rise, and surpassed the total number of checkouts during the same week last year, in 2019, during the week of April 12th. In fact, during the week of April 12th, the number of checkouts increased YoY by approximately 29%, meaning consumers are purchasing more than this time last year.

Extended time at home, steep promotions, and the anticipation of warmer weather creates pent up demand, and are likely factors that are driving increased fashion-related purchases. 

Shoppers Opt-In to Personalization Exponentially 

An indication of growing interest in apparel and footwear comes from True Fit’s shopper network. We see an uptick in adoption - or more shoppers creating profiles - across our network of 250 global retailer sites. 

So far in April 2020, we saw an average of 20% registration increases week over week, and served over 200 million fit recommendations to shoppers across our network. These traffic and adoption patterns rival peak holiday periods. 

Weekends are traditionally the most “popular” shopping days, but in April, the difference in traffic between weekdays and weekends appears smaller and smaller. 

Who is Checking Out Apparel and Footwear Online?

Consumers are trading the dressing room and in-store experiences for online shopping from the comfort of home. We are seeing growth in new True Fit registrations across every age segment in recent weeks, and the growth rate is highest for shoppers aged 19-34.
 

The number of shoppers registering for True Fit is growing beyond normal seasonal numbers, especially for shoppers aged 19-34.
 

What Can Retailers Take Away from This?

  • Overall interest in apparel and footwear is up, as seen from both the uptick in True Fit shopper registrations and weekday traffic, so the time is now to launch acquisition and retention strategies and track your visits-to-conversion rate.
  • Younger shoppers - age 16-34 - are more likely to engage right now, so consider prioritizing this audience when developing marketing strategies.
  • Whether shoppers are sitting on the sidelines, assuming that steep discounts are coming, or pulling the trigger right now, retailers should strategically take advantage of digital window shopping and checkout growth to move popular inventory first.

Thinking about how you can optimize holiday planning to maximize revenue? Here are some tips based on consumer behavior to include in your strategies.