Fashion startups used to be all about fashion. If it fit well, was reasonably priced, and looked good, you had a winner. However, in order for consumers to consider those things, a brand must first capture their attention online, making the business much more complicated. Getting noticed online is all about values. Consumers want brands that share their values, such as sustainability, fair wages, and other personal values, making acquiring new customers more expensive, complicated, and demanding than ever. A new study from Syte, a product discovery platform, has data that shows how much more difficult it is now. Almost half of online fashion shoppers use direct load (they do not search but type in the url or website name).
Even if a brand gets a consumer to type in the url, there is only a 3% chance of a sale occurring. This is higher than if they arrive at a brand’s website in another way. If they come from a paid Facebook or Instagram ad, the likelihood of a purchase is less than 1%. Over 80% of online fashion shoppers use a mobile device to shop. Even if a brand entices a customer to shop on their website, the customer is most likely distracted because they are doing something else while shopping.
According to the data, mobile fashion consumers spend nearly 20% less time shopping than desktop users. They also look at fewer pages and spend about 30% less time than on desktop.And it’s not just fashion. With consumers on mobile devices and shopping when they’re distracted, capturing their attention is harder than ever. That means more messaging is required and that’s driving customer acquisition costs higher and higher.
