In the October 1999 issue of the Textile Consumer, the article “Will Apparel Consumers Respond to Global Marketing Strategies?” used research from Cotton Incorporated’s and Cotton Council International’s Global Lifestyle Monitor to examine whether brands could be marketed globally or whether marketing strategies should be implemented locally. The article concluded that “cultural preferences appear to be a better indicator than age or technological influences of why consumers shop, what outlets they prefer, and where they get their clothing ideas.” Cultural preferences continue to be important in understanding consumer behavior, as evidenced by results of the 2001 Global Lifestyle Monitor survey. This article highlights the following findings from that research: 

• A shift in shopping patterns favors small independent retailers.
• Casual wear is popular across markets.
• Popularity of denim remains high, although ownership is on the decline in several countries. Overall, consumers are satisfied with current denim styles. 
• Fiber content remains a primary concern for consumers globally, but interest in content has changed significantly in some countries. 
• Consumers from India were included for the first time, and the findings indicate that their attitudes and behavior differ greatly from those of other consumers.

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Consumers Like To Shop for Apparel

Shopping for clothes remains a favorite pastime of most consumers. Globally, 64% of consumers say they enjoy or love shopping for apparel. On average, consumers shop for clothes 14 times a year, and they spent an average of $902 on clothes for themselves in 2001, compared with $934 in 1999. 

Consumers in India are by far the most likely to either love or enjoy shopping, possibly because their opportunity to reach shopping destinations is limited by geography. On average, Indians shop for clothes 6 times per year, compared with 15 trips by consumers in other countries. 

The 1999 survey indicated that Koreans and Hong Kongers were least likely to enjoy apparel shopping; this finding remains consistent in 2001, and these respondents showed some of the largest declines in shopping enjoyment. Koreans’ expenditures on apparel remain well below (-15.6%) the index of $934 set in the 1999 Global Monitor as the average annual apparel expenditure. However, Hong Kongers’ clothes spending remains slightly above the index.

From 1999 to 2001, Italians doubled apparel shopping trips and spent more on clothes, with expenditures 30% above the index. In response to a rebounding economy, Japanese consumers also made more trips to stores and exceeded the expenditure index by 47.8%. However, consumers in some countries spent much less on apparel because of weakening economies; for example, spending by shoppers in Brazil and Colombia fell to 30.2% and 47.3% below the index, respectively. U.S. consumers continue to spend more on apparel (+3.4%) than the world average. Based on the 2001 survey, Indian consumers appear to spend much less on clothing than do consumers in the other countries surveyed. Excluding India from the 2001 total, globally, consumers indicated that they spent 4.9% more on apparel than in 1999. 

Consumers shop at a variety of outlets before purchasing an apparel item. When asked where they shop for clothes, consumers most often name small independent retailers. In 2001, 55% of consumers (up from 50% in 1999) said they shopped at small niche retailers. Consumers were most likely to patronize independent retailers in India (82%), Italy (78%), Hong Kong (74%), and Taiwan (64%). The primary appeal of the smaller retailers is the level of personal service they offer to consumers. Department (50%), specialty (48%), and chain stores (37%) were the next most popular outlets. Although relatively few consumers said they shopped at factory outlets, the percentage rose from 13% in 1999 to 18% in 2001. Driving the increase in factory outlet shopping was a 10-percentage-point gain among consumers in the Asian countries. 

Although consumers tend to cross-shop different outlets for an apparel item before making a decision, the majority (84%) buy most of their clothes at four types of outlets: independent retailers (25%), department stores (21%), and chain and specialty stores (19% each). When consumers were asked where they bought most of their clothes, independent stores were named most by consumers in Italy (46%) and India (65%); department stores were the primary outlets in Japan (33%), Taiwan (33%), Korea (33%), Germany (22%), and Colombia (37%); and chain stores were most popular in Brazil (34%), the United Kingdom (27%), and the United States (25%). Specialty stores led in Hong Kong, with 37% of consumers buying most of their clothes at these outlets. These results were not significantly changed from 1999.

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