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Recent trends that we have observed in the fashion space have prompted us to investigate what the devil is happening in the menswear space! Men have, of course, always worn clothes (for the main), but the rise in digital demand and traffic within the menswear segment is outstripping the growth seen even in womenswear, which should be of interest to consumer sector investors. Our data is conclusive towards a growth in the market, but what is causing this shift in spend behaviour? Will it last? Who should fashion brands be targeting? Is it a result of push or pull? Is price becoming less of a barrier to entry? What other macro trends should we be looking out for?
We looked at a variety of brands within the sector, ranging from high street brands such as Topman and Ben Sherman to pure play newcomers such as boohooMAN and ASOS, plus established high-ends such as Hugo Boss and Burberry, and saw that those brands that are succeeding have responded to changing audience demands across range, price, shopping channel and size availability. They are investing in online and offline, never alienating their audiences and embracing new technology to pull more people into the purchase funnel – be it marketing or direct sales.
“Our data is conclusive towards a growth in the market, but what is causing this shift in spend behaviour?Who should fashion brands be targeting?”
managing director
foreword fleur hicks
onefourzero used online demand data as well as analysis of posts on social media, review websites and forums to understand customer demand and behaviour for the different areas of the menswear sector. In the modern world, every business is a digital business, and demand data derived from Google search volumes matters more than ever. Given that 81% of shoppers research products online before buying, Google’s data is a reliable proxy for growing markets, and can indicate changes in consumer preferences and behaviour.
To drill down into why demand for menswear is increasing, we used our suite of social listening tools to analyse online conversations relating to the sector. Considering that on Twitter alone 350,000 posts are created every minute, not only is the data significant, but the prevalence of online commentary is notable by its volume.
onefourzero is a digital analytics firm providing data-driven reports for investors and brands to help drive commercial growth, marketing investment, digital strategy, operations and international expansion.
Our services combine big data with our multi-disciplinary team of analysts who produce concise, straightforward reports that are derived from high volumes of complex data.
We provide sector, geographic and brand level real-time performance data drawn from Amazon, Google, Facebook, Twitter and many more sources, enabling our clients to understand market dynamics, market share, competitive benchmarking and potential growth across consumer industries.
Always at the forefront of technology and data, we understand that we need to innovate and educate constantly.
The digital world does not stand still, and nor do we. To find out more or speak to the team, please contact [email protected]
about onefourzero
why digital data matters
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Key findings
• Online searches for menswear-related terms have increased by over a third since the beginning of 2015.
• Celebrities and online influencers have great impact on this sector. For example: searches for waistcoats increasing by over 100x after Gareth Southgate appeared wearing the piece during the World Cup.
• Online brands are well perceived by consumers, attracting higher positive sentiment than popular high street stores that still struggle to secure a space on the online world.
• The luxury menswear segment is growing steadily - a reflection of increased interest for quality clothing and style.
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“Men are now buying clothing more frequently and taking more interest in fashion than ever before”
Since 2015, the UK’s online menswear market has been growing significantly, as investors and designers alike realise the untapped potential of this market. In this period, there has been a significant shift in the attitudes to men’s fashion, as brands use similar marketing techniques to those long used in womenswear.
There are increased societal pressures upon people to look, dress and appear a certain way; the influence of celebrities is huge; it’s easier than ever to shop, thanks to the growing online retail sector. All of these factors have combined to assist the growing interest and demand in menswear. Men, especially millennials, are now buying clothing more frequently and taking more interest in fashion and style than ever before.
The results of this analysis reveal the direction that British menswear is taking, demonstrating the breadth of opportunities the sector holds, from budget fashion to high-end.
introduction
Figure A - Source: Google. Searches over time – Numbers represent volume of searches.
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By analysing the most popular terms relating to menswear, we can confidently assert that the menswear sector is one to watch, and an excellent private equity investment opportunity, more so than womenswear right now, for which searches have remained stable over the same period, with no notable trend for growth.
Top name brands such as Reiss and Dr. Martens are already private equity-backed, and their success demonstrate the chances in this ever-growing market.
The results are supported by other market researches such as GlobalData, which predicts that menswear will be the fastest growing clothing subsector by 2022, with growth of 21.2%, outperforming womenswear by 5.8 percentage points.
According to the same research, 27.4% of all online clothing shoppers have used click & collect as a delivery; however only 19.7% of men have, compared to almost one third of female online clothing shoppers. With so many aspects included, from logistics to design, there are a multitude of opportunities for investments within the sector.
Online search demand for menswear-related keywords
In order to explore all areas of the sector and give an overview of menswear as a whole, onefourzero analysed over 30 key terms on Google relating to menswear and found that the overall trend in the UK is upwards, as the graph shows.
The trend line shows an increase of over a third, excepting seasonal peaks (though these are notably rising too). Even New Year natural demand dips keep in line with a general growth trajectory, with interest never falling back to its lowest 2015 levels of around 500,000 searches per month. By contrast, around Christmas 2017 the searches peaked at over 1,400,000, a nearly 300% increase.
“By 2022, menswear will be the fastest growing clothing subsector, outperforming womenswear by 5.8%”
market analysis
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Figure B - Source: Google. Interest over time - A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means
that the term is half as popular. A score of 0 means there was not enough data for this term.
Figure C - Source: Google. Interest over time - A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means
that the term is half as popular. A score of 0 means there was not enough data for this term.Online search demand for "mens casual wear"
Online ‘fast fashion’ is one of the sub-sectors of clothing retail market that has been growing exponentially over the past few years. This includes online retailers such as ASOS, Missguided and PrettyLittleThing.
The online clothing market is forecast to grow by 55.3% by 2022, accounting for 34.2% of the market, up from 13.5% in 2012.
At the moment, many digital fashion brands are focused on young women, meaning there have been gaps in the market for other demographics.
digital brands: disrupting the market
To achieve this level of online buzz from consumers, boohooMAN has focussed on understanding its customers and ensuring their shopping experience is as streamlined and enjoyable as possible. The website is fully optimised for mobile – an important factor, since 73% of online purchases are now made on mobile devices - and last year the company also launched a dedicated app.
Traditional high street brands often struggle to transition the business to online at first, with technically inferior websites and lack of initiatives to properly engage with customers. boohooMAN came after the success of its sister-brands, so its entire strategy is focused on providing the best customer journey.
Finally, boohooMAN has also put energy into ensuring all potential customers feel included by the brand. The company has recently launched big and tall ranges to attract customers with different body sizes and shapes, segments that are usually associated with female fashion brands, indicating a shift in men’s attitudes towards how they shop.
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Internet womenswear retailer Boohoo, who also own brands such as PrettyLittleThing and Nasty Gal, saw this opportunity and in 2016 launched boohooMAN. The brand has quickly grown in the past few years to equal and at times overtake online interest for more ‘traditional’ brands such as Ben Sherman and Oliver Spencer. It is difficult to report the sole results solely of boohooMAN as it is part of the larger boohoo group of online stores, but
in 2018 the group reported a revenue of £579.8 million with strong growth across all geographies - including the UK, which increased by 95%.
Furthermore, boohooMAN, like many other online fashion brands, is on an upward growth trend. It’s a space incredibly attractive to investors.
This work has clearly paid off: since its launch in March 2016, only 4% of online sentiment towards boohooMAN has been negative. This analysis considered over 127,550 posts, of which 27% were positive and 69% neutral. In other words, customers seem satisfied with the services and products, with hardly any online complains.
Leaving a good digital footprint is imperative for digital fashion brands, as online customers are strongly driven by reviews and overall mentions on social media channels.
Naturally, traditional high street brands also need to pay attention to how the customer experience they offer – either online or in-store – is received. Even when a customer walks into a physical store, they are likely to have researched the brand and the products online before. Product reviews and social media reactions strongly influence today’s customers.
This is a huge opportunity for improvement for high street brands that are still exploring ways to expand their business online. In the digital world, good customer service means having an easy and functional website and engaging with customers. This helps to build the loyalty that keeps businesses alive and allow growth after all.
“In the digital world, good customer service means having an easy and functional website and engaging with customers”
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Online search demand:BoohooMAN vs Ben Sherman vs Oliver Spencer
While high street retailers such as Topman do have an online presence, there is a lack of competition in the online-only menswear sector, particularly in terms of casual clothes which ‘fast fashion’ retailers often focus on.
However, despite the short number of online-only menswear brands, demand for casual men’s clothes is growing significantly. For example, the trend line for ‘men’s casual wear’ shows search demand has doubled since the start of 2015 in the UK.
Ben Shermanboohoo MAN Oliver Spencer
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The power of engaging correctly with loyal and potential customers cannot be overstated, and social media is now the most effective channel. The rise of internet influencers is changing the way customers shop and, therefore, the way brands advertise.
An example is boohooMAN’s recent collection with footballer Dele Alli. The range was widely promoted on Instagram via covert marketing. Similar tactics have been used by many other brands with the help of celebrities. In the UK, 44% of Instagram users are men who – just like women – are often inspired by their idols.
Millennial shoppers consider social media endorsements by influencers more relatable and, therefore, reliable than traditional ads in magazines with highly posed and edited images. Apps like Instagram bring the consumer closer to the celebrity and the product, making it easier to develop a relationship with the brand.
Dele Alli’s boss also became an influencer this summer, although for a different reason. During the last Football World Cup, social media channels were flooded by mentions about the waistcoat worn by the English team’s manager Gareth Southgate. On the day of the semi-final match between England and Croatia, for example, there were 26,774 tweets with the hashtag #WaistcoatWednesday, of which only 2% were negative (even after England lost).
As a reflection, searches for Gareth Southgate’s choice of clothing peaked each time England played in the tournament, or shortly afterwards. Interestingly, Marks & Spencer - that’s been fighting a decline in clothing sales for the past couple of years - appeared to be the retailer of choice for the classic piece, with record of searches.
However, these spikes may or may not have a long-term effect – in this case, search levels for waistcoats returned to normal after England crashed out of the competition. Companies need to be alert and act quickly to take advantage of such moments.
Yet the power of Southgate cannot be denied, and those investing in the menswear sector must bear in mind that consumers are greatly influenced by their idols when considering how to market their clothing.
For example, the womenswear sector has been greatly influenced by Amal Clooney’s choice to wear mustard yellow to this spring’s Royal Wedding. Many retailers’ summer collections have been filled with the shade, and the trend now remains strong through autumn. As temperatures drop, we might see menswear brands bringing back the “waistcoat fever” to lead seasonal collections.
Figure D - Source: Google. Interest over time - A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means
that the term is half as popular. A score of 0 means there was not enough data for this term.
England v Belgium England v Columbia England v Croatia
England v Sweden
the impact of celebrities and online influencers
“Millennial shoppers consider social media endorsements by influencers more realistic and reliable than traditional ads”
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waistcoat M&S waistcoat
Figure E - Source: Google. Interest over time - A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term.
A value of 50 means that the term is half as popular. A score of 0 means there was not enough data for this term.
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Online search demand for "best men's shops"
Some of fast fashion’s main competitors are the more ‘traditional’ high street brands such as Topman and River Island, and even budget fashion retailers such as Primark. Like boohooMAN, they often specialise on casual wear, so would also want to profit from the rise in searches for this type of product. However, as many websites are still not optimised for mobile browsing, for example, they lose out for their more tech-savvy digital counterparts.
While some recent reports and news articles have talked of the death of the high street, this may be an opportunity
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Online brands have certainly recognised the continued importance of the physical aspects of the shopping experience - formerly online pure play Missguided, for instance, opened its first physical store in late 2016, after seven years of online-only business. On the same note, high street shops must also recognise the importance of a strong online presence. One thing that is mutual across the sector, however, is the importance of providing a memorable customer experience, online or offline.
Deloitte’s ‘Global Powers of Retailing 2018’ report highlighted the need to be “more than a store”. Fashion stores, both digital and physical, must remain relevant
“Stores, both digital and physical, must remain relevant and interesting not only to attract new customers, but to build loyalty”
high street brands: on the search for innovation
for the high street to revolutionize itself. With the correct investment and guidance, brands that have previously focussed on physical stores can reinvent themselves with a digital makeover and online relaunch.
Online searches for ‘best men’s shops’ in the UK, for example, have increased at a similar rate to that of ‘best men’s brands’. The use of the word ‘shops’ has more connotations with physical stores, suggesting there is still demand for the high street – as long as it can also be found online.
and interesting not only to attract new customers, but to build loyalty. When there is so much competition, it is not enough to rest on the laurels of being a well-known high street name. Deloitte affirms that high street stores must put “digital in the physical”.
Some of the most successful high street brands already make digital a core part of the in-store shopping experience. Collecting emails at check out, offering free Wi-Fi and intuitive apps, encouraging customers to engage with online campaigns and embracing the concept of “smart store” – every effort brings the brand closer to the customer of the future.
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Figure F - Source: Google. Interest over time - A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means
that the term is half as popular. A score of 0 means there was not enough data for this term.
Online search demand for "mens designer clothes" Online search demand for "best men's brands"
This consistent growth suggests the sub-sector is in good health and will continue to grow at a similar, if not better, rate over the coming years. The increased interest in luxury menswear is not a passing trend, but due to a shift in lifestyle perspective where men are now more open to spending extra money on their appearance.
Fashion boutiques are no longer the domain of women. Instead, designer brands like Burberry now receive high
Globally, the luxury menswear sector has grown consistently, reaching almost 14% YOY. Furthermore, searches in the UK for ‘men’s designer clothes’ have been growing steadily since 2015.
luxury brands: consistent growth driven by the modern men
proportions of male traffic to their websites. Indeed over 50% of visitors to Folk and Barbour websites were male as of August 2018; both of these brands charge upwards of £200 for a jacket. It seems the menswear sector now has an increased focus on quality, evidenced by, for example, the huge rise in searches for ‘best men’s brands’ between 2015 and 2018.
Figure G- Source: Google. Interest over time - Interest over time - A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term.
A value of 50 means that the term is half as popular. A score of 0 means there was not enough data for this term.
“The menswear sector now has an increased focus on quality”
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Since 2015, the UK’s online menswear market has been growing consistently and the trend is set to continue over the next four years. This has been fuelled by a combination of easier online shopping, increased interest in male appearance and heightening influence of social media celebrities.
With the growth of online fashion retail, it’s easier than ever to shop – potentially making it a more pleasurable experience for those men who previously didn’t like to hit the high street. As customer behaviour towards the menswear sector changes, new opportunities are created. Brands must, therefore, invest in digital data for innovative marketing strategies such as the social media-orientated ones mentioned in this report.
When such a core market is integrated with emerging technologies that make shopping a more engaging and easy process, brilliant businesses are likely to emerge. As innovations such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality develop further, so does the customer experience, and investors should pay attention to new trends in fashiontech.
Following the example of other sectors, menswear brands must also take advantage of this moment and further explore the capabilities offered by these new technologies. Therefore, it is imperative that traditional high street brands embrace a full digital transformation, allowing them to compete with digital-born fashion retailers. An extensive digital diligence is essential to evaluate market position, understand customer engagement, identify trends and potential risks to then develop an appropriate strategy that will guarantee the best possible returns.
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“As technologies such as AI and AR develop further, so does the customer experience, and investors should pay attention to new trends in fashiontech”
conclusion
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