Fashion-savvy women who follow the latest trends and consider themselves to be "stylish" spend three times the average on all apparel, accessory and beauty purchases by female shoppers in the United States, according to a study conducted by Bain & Co. in cooperation with Vogue magazine, www.nationaljewelernetwork.com writes.
The study, "Why She Shops: The 2010 Fashion and Beauty Study," included a survey of more than 5,000 female shoppers and evaluated 134 apparel, accessory and beauty brands.
The results reveal some interesting findings about the style-conscious woman, including that when it comes to luxury, 15 percent of style-conscious women account for 70 percent of luxury spending in apparel, accessories and beauty.
In terms of their shopping habits, it seems that the majority of these women do remain skeptical about paying full price for clothing and accessories, and the vast majority of those surveyed are seeking durability. The survey shows that only 11 percent of those surveyed agreed with the statement "I usually pay full price," and 80 percent agreed with the statement "I am willing to pay more for clothing and accessories that will last more than one season."
As a result of these preferences, the style-conscious woman is spending more on "classic" styles as opposed to contemporary brands, with 65 percent of brands purchased in 2010 falling into the classic category, and 35 percent of brands purchased this year falling into the contemporary category.
"Style-conscious women are telling us that they are looking for more classic products than they can find, and that the marketplace has been a bit too slow to let go of younger, trendier looks," Erika Serow, a Bain Retail Practice partner and lead author of the study, said in a media release. "But brands can win in a variety of ways, as long as they listen deeply to and deliver on the needs of their target audiences."
The study also included a 2010 Fashion and Beauty Brand Index, a listing of the top brands among the 134 studied. In accessories, Coach, Express and Louis Vuitton rose to the top, with the trio of brands scoring three times higher than average on dimensions such as "matches my style" and "trusted/high quality." In apparel, Express, Victoria's Secret and Banana Republic took the highest marks. Another common characteristic between the top-scoring brands was that they had substantially higher customer loyalty and advocacy scores, according to the survey authors.
"Big or small, mass or luxury, older or younger, the consistent thread for winning brands is loyalty," Serow said.
As for where these style-conscious women are shopping, those surveyed spend 55 percent of their apparel spend and 40 percent of their accessories spend with specialty retailers.
Online, the style-conscious spend nearly twice as much on apparel, accessories and beauty products as the average woman. Despite being heavier users of mobile and social media applications than the average population, these style-conscious women are only beginning to take advantage of digital media in their shopping. Five percent use text messages to help them shop, 10 percent rely on social networks for shopping ideas and 12 percent make purchases from their mobile phones.
