As the international ‘fashion pack’ reflect on the latest couture and prêt à porter trends seen on the catwalks of Paris, London and Milan Fashion Weeks, millions of Britons are looking a little closer to home to get their fashion fix. New research from marketing expert Tradedoubler shows that a quarter of shoppers (25 per cent)1 are now turning to supermarket fashion brands such as Tesco’s F&F;, Asda’s George and Sainsbury’s TU.
Increasing quality, competitive pricing and easy to use online services are now positioning supermarkets as a viable threat to fashion retailers on the high street. These figures are highlighted in the latest study into fashion-buying trends commissioned by the Tradedoubler Insight Unit2, Performance Marketing: A New Catwalk for Fashion Brands.
High street stores also have to compete against the growing threat of what Tradedoubler is calling ’retail store abandonment’. Its research shows that 70 per cent of connected shoppers use their mobiles to research the best possible price, driving 55 per cent to abandon the store they are in to either buy at an alternative outlet or go online to buy (60 per cent).
Dan Cohen, regional director at Tradedoubler, said: “Our latest research could be seen as a cause for major concern for Britain’s high street fashion outlets, but now’s not the time to panic. Fashion followers need to be given what they really want: great value, expert advice and easy to use online and mobile services. Fashion retailers must provide consumers with a reason to visit every week, just as they do in the best supermarkets.
“Across Europe over £22bn is spent purchasing fashion online and 69 per cent of shoppers are turning to fashion websites and blogs for inspiration and advice on what to wear. So, it’s only by implementing an effective multi-channel approach via blogs, social media, email marketing, microsites and a strong presence on affiliate platforms to support their high street presence that fashion stores are going to be able to compete with the fast turnaround, high value and quality that the supermarkets now provide.”
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Notes to Editors:
Tradedoubler creates award-winning, multi-channel performance marketing programs for clients on a payment-by-results basis. It generates more than €3.5bn in sales for its clients, with fashion being a large contributor. Fashion and beauty clients in the UK include: Tesco F&F; and The Body Shop. Tradedoubler works with publishers such as shopstyle; polyvore; Aigue Media; OSOYou and ShoeWawa.
1. Shoppers who own a smartphone and shop online at least once per month.
2. Tradedoubler Insight Unit, commissioned the research from Fox Insights. The survey was conducted online amongst 2,500 smartphone users who shop at least once a month online – in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Poland. The countries covered by the research account for 89 per cent of the retail e-commerce market in Europe.
3. Source: Forrester Online Retail Forecast 2012-2017. Western Europe.
About Tradedoubler
Tradedoubler is an international leader in performance-based digital marketing and technology. Founded in Sweden in 1999, Tradedoubler pioneered affiliate marketing in Europe and remains the most successful pan-European affiliate marketing company, combining strategic international insight with detailed in-country expertise. It helps 2,000 advertisers achieve their business goals through its high quality affiliate network of 140,000 publishers and was the first to offer an integrated e- and m-commerce offering to help advertisers extend their online programmes to users on mobile devices. The share is listed on Nasdaq OMX on the Stockholm Exchange.
