2023 US Online Clothing Shopping Trends! More than 70% of Consumers Choose Amazon!

Digital Commerce 360 ​​and Bizrate Insights surveyed 1,003 U.S. online shoppers in June 2023 to further understand their purchasing preferences in the apparel and accessories category.

35% of online shoppers purchased more clothing online in the past year

35% of online shoppers said they bought more clothing online in the past year (June 2022 to June 2023) than in previous years. Meanwhile, only 17% of online shoppers said they spent more in physical stores in the past 12 months.

Nearly half of respondents said they spent roughly the same amount online (48%) and in-store (49%) over the past year. A third of respondents (33%) spent less in-store over the past year, while only 17% spent less online over the same period.

Shopping Preferences of Apparel Shoppers

Half of the respondents (50%) said they have a favourite store that they visit regularly.

More than a third (38%) of respondents said that when they are looking for a specific size, they prefer to buy it at a store where they have tried and purchased it before. Just under a third (31%) said they like to buy something new from time to time to keep their style up to date, and 30% said they like to buy new clothes when the seasons change.

A quarter of respondents (25%) said that lack of in-store stock prompted them to shop online. One in five said they tracked retailers’ promotions and only bought discounted items. Additionally, one in five said they browsed retailers’ websites to learn about current fashion trends.

Only 10% of apparel shoppers said the lack of in-store salespeople caused them to buy more items online. Only 11% shopped online because they were busy at work. In addition, 14% said they preferred pickup options, including in-store pickup or curbside pickup.

Apparel shoppers shop at a variety of retailers, with Amazon (74%) being the most popular. 40% of apparel shoppers made 26% or more of their purchases on Amazon in the past year.

Top 5 Website Features Apparel Shoppers Value

Digital Commerce 360 ​​and Bizrate Insights also surveyed apparel shoppers about the website features they value most when buying online.

About two-thirds of respondents (66%) said it was important for them to see customer ratings and reviews when shopping online. More than half said they valued filtering features to help narrow their searches (56%), as well as the ability to zoom in or view many product details (54%). Nearly half wanted accurate delivery times (49%) and the ability to compare products (46%).

On the other hand, only 4% said they wanted the ability to schedule virtual appointments with retailers, 6% wanted live-streaming capabilities, and 10% wanted a styling analyzer to help them choose items based on their taste.

Reasons why apparel shoppers walk into stores

When it comes to buying apparel and accessories, the top reason consumers go to a store rather than online is to try the product on, with 63% of respondents citing this reason, and almost as many saying they want to see the product in person (59%).

Other causes include:

Urgently needed goods (56%)

Don’t want to pay for shipping (43%)

Inventory reorganization (19%).

The survey found that only 1% of respondents said they do not buy clothing in physical stores. 5% said they were dissatisfied with online customer service, and 9% said they were concerned about receiving counterfeit goods from online orders.

Editor ✎ Nicole/

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