Today I explored consumer habits when buying underwear based on Mintel statistics. I looked into age ranges and where this fits into the Victoria's Secret Market, and what consumers value when it comes to their underwear and where they purchase it from. From the market being 16-24 yr olds.
According to Mintel in the last 12 months based on 772 internet user females, 23% had bought a
T-shirt bra whilst 19% has bought a push-up/ enhancing bra. These figures grew in difference looking at the 16-24 year old demographic as 23% had bought a push up bra and 36% had bought a t shirt bra. This suggests and increased demand when it came to younger women for more comfort bras rather than ones that are classed as 'sexy'. It is also good to note that the most popular item for women was briefs with 48% of 16-24 year olds purchasing them in the last 12 months and 60% of women in the sample purchasing them in the last 12 months. Only 10% of women has purchased a thong, 13% has purchased a non-wired bra, 14% had purchased a sports bra and a tiny 6% had purchased a strapless bra.
In a sample of 653 Female internet users 16+, 26% purchase their underwear and loungewear from value own label brands such as Primark. However this jumps up hugely when we look at women aged 16-24 as 48% buy from own label. 63% of women are buying from Standard own label brands such as M&S and Victoria's Secret. This number has decreased to 39% when it comes to 16-24 year olds. A small 6% (increases to 10% in 16-24yrs) would buy from premium brand such as Calvin Klein. This shows there is a market for VS and consumers still value from buying from specialist underwear brands. However, this target market is consuming from own-label and hugely cheaper brands suggests Gen Z and younger millennials do not value premium or higher price point underwear.
Based on a sample of 885 women, 82% (83% in 16-24 yr olds) had purchased their underwear in-store compared to 33% (37% 16-24) buying online. This suggests that the market for underwear is still heavily dominated by the in-store experience of shopping however, the online market is still reaching women and seems to be growing as competitors such as Aerie and online-only brands seem to be increasing in sales and profit year on year as consumers seem to be moving away from traditional brick and mortar ways of shopping. Victoria's Secret perhaps need to take a look at bringing the online experience in-store and merging the digital world into their high street experience.
However, when we look into the specifics, I found the online market and Victoria’s Secret sales in the last 12 months seem to be a lot smaller than expected. Women are reaching for convince and smaller prices point according to these statistics. Based on a sample of 805 women, 34% of women have bought from M&S (biggest percentage however dropped to 23% in 16-24yr olds) and 28% have bought from Primark, this jumped up massively as 54% of 16-24yr olds had bought from this retailer. A high percentage of women have choose supermarkets for their underwear as 16% (15% 16-24) have bought from Tesco, 12% (9% 16-24) have bought from Sainsbury's and 17% (19% 16-24) have bought from Asda. 12% (16% 16-24) have bought from clothing stores. A tiny 6% have bought from Victoria's Secret (However doubled to 12% in 16-24) and only 2% have bought from another specialist, 2% buying from Boux- Avenue (7% 16-24). 4% had bought from Ann Summers (9% 16-24) Only 1% of women had bought from a designer e.g Calvin Klein (5% 16-24). A big percentage of women have chose online retailers as their outlet of choice for underwear. With 22% buying from Amazon (27% 16-24) and another 18% buying from online only retailers (13% 16-24). 7% had bought from Asos only (23% 16-24). From all these figures I can conclude that M&S is currently the biggest retailer for underwear based on these statistics. The online market tower is catching up, a huge percentage of women are choosing online only consumers as we come into the digital world. These figures also show a huge decline in sales from underwear specialists. It seems that women want connivence of buying underwear rather than going to specialists they may purchase some as they are buying clothes or going to the supermarket.
Based on a sample of 805 women it was found that 65% of women in 2018 have actually purchased their underwear from clothing stores and 64% of 16-24 year olds. 36% had bought from supermarkets, lowered to 26% in 16-24 year old. 20% bought from department stores (22% 16-24yr olds) and 14% bought from online-only retailers however, this was higher in 16-24yr olds as 19% had bought their underwear online. This suggests Gen X and Gen Z becoming very online and digital based. 14% had bought from underwear specialists however the number shot up in 16-24yr olds as 28% bought from specialists. As this is the target audience for VS, it shows the consumer is still buying into the in-store experience.
Next figures based on sample of 825 women and 1,499 internet users
Sales and purchasing underwear:
Based on a sample of 825 females, 44% agreed that its only worth buying underwear and nightwear when there's a sale on compared to the 23% that disagreed. This suggests there isn't a huge demand for underwear and that women may only purchase when there is a sale on. 55% of females aged 16-24 agreed they only buy underwear when there are sales.
Models Representation: A huge 78% of women agree that brands such use models to represent the average person. This is based around consumer values and what they want to see. It is clear from the statistics that women want brand to normalise the average size and see themselves in the brands that they are buying from. This is where the big problem could lie with Victoria's Secret. As they are only using model around a size 4-8, and the average women in the UK is a 16, they are far from representing women in their brand. This could be a big reason why women choose to buy from other retailers. 75% of females aged 16-34 said there should be model representation in underwear campaigns. This is more noticeable as 78% of Gen Z and millennials agreed with this statement.
Ranges in Underwear: 55% of women agree that the ranges available at different retailers are too similar. This suggests that retailers may need to change up their style and step out of their comfort zone. My suggestion for this would be that Victoria's Secret needs to bring out a complete new range instead of something their customers are used to. The figures suggest that consumers are getting bored of seeing the same ranges, Victoria's Secret needs to bring out something to make them stand out, something out of their comfort zone.
Online Vs in Store
-48% of females agree is is cheaper to shop online than it is in-store. When it came to 16-24 year old females, 54% said it was cheaper to shop online than it is in store.
Comfort over Design
-78% of females said they prefer comfort over design, 75% of 16-24 year old women agreed with this statement.
When to buy underwear:
53% of women agree that it is only worth buying underwear when something has gotten old or it has worn out. 54% of women aged 16-24 agreed with this statement.
Shopping experience:
55% of women agree that shopping in-store is easier than online. This figure increased to 68% in women aged 16-24
Own Label vs Branded
A low 29% of women agreed that branded products are better than own label ones, however this figure had increased to 41% when it came to women aged 16-24 years. The suggets than Get Z's and younger millennials still value and look for branded products when buying their underwear. This comes as an advantage to Victoria's Secret and this is their target consumer.
Try before you buy:
57% of women agree that it is better to try underwear on in-store before buying. This figure increased massively as 71% of women aged 16-24 agreed. This is a huge benefit for Victoria's Secret as they ride themselves on in-store fitting and a good customer experience in store. They need to keep the experience as it is something their target audience especially values.
Nice loungewear at home: 55% of women agree it is important to wear nice loungewear at home. 58% of 16-24 year old women agree with this.
Trustworthy:
67% of women agree it is important to buy from a trustworthy retailer. 73% of women aged 16-24 agree with this statement.
Average Spent on Underwear (850 internet users)
On average, Women aged 16-24 spend around £37 (£36.77) on themselves on underwear in the last 12 months. It's good to mention that when looking at Women aged 25-44 the average had significantly increased to £52 (£52.33). This suggesting that older women are more likely to invest more in their underwear. However, this could be due to household income as you see from the graph below, the more household income, the more disposable money you have and therefore the more able you are to invest in underwear. Victoria's Secret must keep this in mind when setting their price points in their products. Their target being younger and less willing to invest in underwear, it may be a good idea to bring down their price points to match the income of the consumer.
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