Apparel is the most popular retail category among all channels, according to a survey by OneStop Internet. The survey revealed that apparel is driving online growth, with 45% of respondents saying they plan to buy more clothing online than any other retail category in the next year.
Out of the 80% of respondents who said they made an apparel purchase within the past year, 75% said they made an online clothing purchase. Fifty-two percent of them said they plan to make more online clothing purchases over the next 12 months.
When shopping for apparel, 58.5% respondents said they did so from a desktop computer or tablet.
The survey also revealed a substantial growth opportunity for online apparel retailers. A quarter of respondents said they did not make any online purchases within the last year but plan to do so over the next 12 months.
“We’re seeing consumers that have never bought online expressing plans to take that first step with apparel, so now is really the time for clothing brands to invest in their ecommerce strategies and go after this untapped segment of shoppers,” said Michael Wang, president and CEO of OneStop Internet.
Flexible return policies offer improvement in consumer confidence when buying clothing online, the survey found. For example, retailers like Warby Parker let shoppers try eyewear on at home before purchasing.
Wang added that shoppers who may have been concerned about the fit of a clothing item can in many cases order online and know they can return it easily for free if it doesn’t fit. This makes a difference in terms of confidence.
When it comes to how much shoppers are willing to spend, 39.7% said they will shell out between $51 and $100 from a desktop computer or tablet.
Daniela Forte is Multichannel Merchant’s Associate Editor.