Good fit, consistent sizing are key to fashion brand loyalty
5-2-2025
GOOD FIT, CONSISTENT SIZING ARE KEY TO FASHION BRAND LOYALTY
Investing
in fit technology and ensuring consistent sizing across ranges will help
clothing brands enhance customer loyalty, writes GlobalData apparel analyst
Pippa Stephens.
With consumers becoming increasingly discerning about their fashion purchases, brands and retailers must understand shoppers’ priorities to remain ahead of the competition.
Fit is the most important factor for UK
clothing shoppers with consumers seeking items that complement their body shape
and are also comfortable. Fashion players should therefore focus on making it
easier for consumers to select the correct size through fit guides and
technology, and pay greater attention to fit in their design processes with
these actions helping to enhance shopper trust and loyalty.
Fit is also the most crucial factor for UK
consumers when purchasing clothing with 89.8% rating it at least a seven out of
10 in terms of importance in GlobalData’s UK consumer survey conducted in
December 2024, coming just slightly ahead of comfort at 89.6%.
Surprisingly, it also ranked ahead of both
value for money, quality and price, which were rated important to 89.5% and
83.4% of respondents, respectively. This is despite consumers’ budgets
continuing to be squeezed following almost three years of high inflation,
highlighting the significance of players prioritising their fit and sizing to
elevate their desirability.
Top 10
factors important to UK shoppers when purchasing fashion
Source: Data is derived from
GlobalData’s UK Monthly Survey of 2,000 nationally representative consumers
conducted in December 2024. Consumers were asked to rate each factor in terms
of how important they are to them when purchasing clothing. The chart shows the
percentage of consumers that rated each factor at least a seven out of 10.
Of those that stated that fit is an
important purchase driver, 62.8% perceive good fit to mean items that fit their
body well, while 48.3% consider it to mean that items fit them comfortably.
Retailers and brands should ensure they
provide comprehensive fit guides and invest in fit technology to help shoppers
make more informed purchase decisions. This is particularly important online as
consumers are unable to see or try on items in person before purchasing.
47.2% interpret fit to mean accurate sizing
and 27.7% think of it as having consistent sizing across different styles. As a
result, players need to focus on regulating sizing across their ranges,
otherwise consumers will lose trust in their products and potentially shift to
competitors that are more reliable.
To ensure broad appeal, brands and retailers
also need to offer a selection of different fits with 23.2% perceiving good fit
to mean that they can find the type of fit they like, in terms of items either
being tight or loose.
19.7% interpret fit as meaning that a wide
range of sizes are offered, such as petite, plus size or tall. This latter
point also supports inclusivity perceptions, and retailers should use models of
different sizes or AI-powered virtual fit tools to give shoppers a better idea
of how items will look on their body shape.
Which
attributes make consumers perceive a brand a good fit when shopping for
fashion?
Source: Data is derived from
GlobalData’s UK Monthly Survey of 2,000 nationally representative consumers
conducted in December 2024. The question was asked to respondents that rated
fit as at least a seven out of 10 in terms of importance when purchasing
clothing.
Most shoppers (93.5%) that had purchased
clothing from US sports brand NIKE in the last year scored it at least a seven out of 10
in terms of fit, making it the top rated brand, while German rival adidas was just slightly lower at 91.7%.
Though good fit is important within
sportswear, as it can have a significant impact on performance, it is also
easier to achieve due to the use of stretchy materials and the popularity of
loose styles like hoodies and joggers.
UK fashion retailers Marks & Spencer and
Next also ranked highly, at 92.5% and 91.7%, respectively, partly bolstered by
the presence of petite and tall options across much of their ranges.
US fashion brand Levi’s had strong fit
perceptions among 91.6% of respondents, with fit especially vital within jeans
due to denim’s rigidity and lack of stretch.
On the other end of the scale, only 74.0%
cited that ultra-fast fashion giant Shein offers good fit, with online fashion
retailers ASOS and Boohoo rated only slightly higher, at 76.3% and
79.7%, respectively.
As well as these players being impacted by
their online specialisms, their ultra-fast fashion models also affect the
accuracy of their sizing, as the speed at which they churn out new styles means
they are unable to spend as long on the design and sampling processes.
In
November, Stephens said inclusivity remains a buzzword within the fashion
industry so it is crucial for fashion brands and retailers to expand ranges for
plus size and maternity shoppers.
By Just Style
Copyright © 2021 Powered By AEC Egypt