Operating successfully in the clothing market has become
increasingly exacting and competitive for retailers and brands.
Consumers are demanding more - in style, value, and availability
for instance - and they have more choices too in terms of brands,
product offer and services. This applies to online clothing
retailing in particular, as the number of transactional sites has
grown and expanded, from established bricks and mortar retailers,
pure play specialists, and brands selling direct.
At same time, the slide into recession put more pressure on
retailers, squeezing margins and, in some cases, forcing closures.
Consumers too reined in spending. Yet many consumers have been
unaffected by tighter economic conditions, and some retailers have
continued to experience growth in sales, if not in profits.
The picture is not all one of gloom, and will not be even if the
recession proves more long-lived than was estimated in late 2009.
At this pivotal point, YouGov SixthSense's study looks at the wider
framework of consumers' shopping habits and how their attitudes are
likely to shape their choices.
To download a full table of contents for this report,
click here.