M-commerce and social media key for fashion e-shopping - report

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 24, 2019

Mobile browsing and social media have both strengthened their hold on the UK shopping experience, according to a new report from parcels carrier Royal Mail. It's all part of a retail world in which the online experience generally is becoming far more important to shoppers and especially to those buying fashion.

The company said on Tuesday that consumers are continuing to migrate to internet shopping, especially doing so from home, due to the ease of comparing prices (54%), the wider choice available (51%) and how easy it is to search for what they want (46%).

And their online spend is increasing, with each consumer spending around £38 per transaction at the moment, compared to £36 a year ago. In a three-month period, the average UK shopper made an online purchase just over six times. They spent, on average, £226 online over the period.

Clothing remains the most popular category purchased online, with women significantly more likely to buy fashion than men (53% vs 37%).

And it seems that for more and more of them, mobile is key. A year ago, 39% of shoppers said they shopped from their smartphone, but today that figure is 43%. That said, 50% still use laptops.

And 23% of online shoppers have bought items after seeing social media posts or comments. As many as 45% of consumers in the age group between 18 and 34 have done so (the posts or comments coming from friends, bloggers or celebrities) and 30% of those in the 25 to 34 age group want to be able to shop directly on social media channels.

And while we said earlier that shoppers like to be able to shop from home (97%), as many as 42% also do so while travelling or commuting and the same number do so at work. It's no surprise then that 75% of consumers make their purchases online in the evening, although 65% e-shop in the afternoon and 52% at lunchtime.