Mobile Shopping Here I Come!

June 18th 09, 10:51

The way we buy fashion online may be changing again in the near future based on what is happening in Japan where mobile retailing is already an established market. According to a new report from WGSN, nearly half of Tokyo’s single females are accessing the mobile web more than five times a week, with the peak shopping time between 1pm and 3pm. What seems to be happening is they are trying on items in stores, but rather than buying them there, they are ordering them via their phones, in order to collect the loyalty points they earn from the website while avoiding carrying their purchases home!

According to the IMRG Capgemini Index, UK internet shoppers spent an estimated £43.8 billion last year with clothing once again being the fastest growing online sector. Interestingly enough, the overall amount spent on health & beauty products has not increased since the Index started tracking this sector although as you would expect, there were seasonal spikes in November and December which also show year-on-year growth. Likewise, after recording a growth of 73% in the year up to April 2008, online lingerie sales decreased by 26% between April 2008 and April 2009.

Could this be that women in particular still want the instant gratification they get from buying themselves a treat in the form of a lipstick or some new underwear? They want it NOW & not in a couple of days time when any online purchase would arrive!

Jill Thater
Client Services Director