Higher-priced clothes more buoyant than fast fashion in 2023 - Mention Me data

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 14, 2023

We’ve heard about how challenged fashion sales have become in recent months but there’s a strong sign that some consumers are choosing quality over quantity in the cost-of-living crisis. And brand advocate recommendations are crucial in the process.

That’s according to data from UK brand advocacy firm Mention Me. It looked at 500 brands to understand shopper buying habits and said that higher-priced items “are outselling fast-fashion”.

It said fashion industry sales fell 2% in Q1 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, but average order volume grew by 8%, driven by a preference for higher-priced labels. 

The 500 brands Mention Me looked at generated 20 million transactions in the study period during 2022 and 2023 and it seems that fashion brands with a higher price point saw 6% larger growth in orders year on year compared to fast fashion.

Fashion was the third-best-performing retail sector in the first quarter of this year, with only financial services and travel/hospitality seeing higher growth.

Additionally, fashion had a higher repeat rate than any other sector with 11% of consumers going on to make a second purchase within 30 days.

It’s also interesting that Mention Me said “referrals from friends and family have increased 16% year on year, demonstrating how recommendations are increasingly influencing purchases”. 

The rate at which advocates were sharing with friends increased from a share-rate of 5.9% to 7.3%.

That’s important because the data shows fashion advocates “bring in customers that spend more than non-advocates”.

The best-performing sub-categories were fashion accessories and footwear with year-on-year growth of 70% and an increase in the number of orders (driven by referrals) of 260%. This was closely followed by the growth of menswear and then womenswear, both also with positive growth. 

Simon Dring, COO of Mention Me, said: “The fashion sector is rife with potential brand advocates. Friends are often complimenting one another on their outfits, naturally leading to sharing where items are from and referring the brand in question. Better yet, referred customers tend to spend more and return more often than those acquired through other channels. That presents a major opportunity for brands to grow a highly valuable customer base.

“Our data shows consumers are opting for quality over quantity, reflecting a real shift in consumer sentiment. The cost-of-living crisis, combined with sustainability concerns around fast fashion, is driving consumers to buy fewer, higher-quality clothes that will last longer.”

And Ben Henshall, Data Analyst at Mention Me, added: “We often see a peak in booking holidays in January and February, while the April tax deadline drives a peak in orders for financial services. It’s interesting to see fashion right up there in terms of order numbers at the start of the year.”