We want to be fashionable without breaking the bank is the unsurprising results of a survey conducted of more than 3,000 online shoppers in the US.
And even though the survey was of people who were knowledgeable and savvy online shoppers, 82% of them shopped for clothing in bricks-and-mortar stores and 57% online.
“We think this could be indicative of ‘showrooming’,” said Rojeh Avanesian, vice president of marketing and analytics at PriceGrabber. “That’s where a shopper browses in-stores so they can see it and try it on, but then they go online to find the lowest price.
"The bottom-line is consumers wants to be fashionable and stay in touch with the latest trends, but they’re also very budget conscious.”
Most shoppers (57%) spend less than $200 a month on clothes and accessories, 16% spend between $200 and $400 and the remainder have no budget for clothes and accessories at all.
“But ‘no budget’ doesn’t mean ‘unlimited budget’,” Mr Avanesian said.
The survey also revealed the different views of men and women when it comes to clothing choices – with casual being the key.
Both men and women said they liked their partners to dress casually the best at 35% and 42% respectively. For men, this was followed by ‘classy’ and ‘business casual’ in how they like to see their partner dress; for women, it was the reverse. This was also evident when asked about what people like to see their first date wear with 39% of men and 47% of women preferring casual. One in five men said it didn’t matter to them.
Despite Sex and the City glorifying very high heels, men aren’t fussed. More than half said they prefer a modest heel, while only 10% said ‘the higher the better’. But if you do want to dress to impress, don’t wear wedges or ballet flats and team it with the ‘sporty’ look. Women, on the other hand, go for loafers or boots – and if you want to turn off a first date, then men should wear sandals with something revealing.
And with Mother’s Day around the corner (second Sunday in May in case you’re not sure), the survey showed that the most popular fashion items as gifts are:
- jewellery – 52%
- perfume – 36%
- watches – 25%.
In addition to the 57% of people who shopped online for fashion, another 15% said they order via mail catalogues and 10% shop from their tablet or mobile phone.
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