Who buys fast fashion?
In the United-States, 88% of consumers prefer shopping for fast fashion, followed by consumers in Europe (46%), India (25%) and China (21%). The most popular fast-fashion retailers in the world are Uniqlo (21%), H&M (18%) and Zara (18%). But fast fashion has an enormous social and environmental cost.
The target audience for fast fashion retailers are largely consumers aged 18 and 24 who are often students with low incomes (Lam etal., 2016). Females of this age group are found to shop in fast fashion retailers more often than any other demographic group.
Major players in the fast-fashion market include Zara, H&M Group, UNIQLO, GAP, Forever 21, Topshop, Esprit, Primark, Fashion Nova, and New Look. Many companies are both retailers and manufacturers, though they often outsource the actual production of clothing (see "The Disadvantages of Fast Fashion").
China is particularly dominant – the quantity of garments sold there is more than the other nine countries in the list combined. On average a US consumer purchases one mid-priced item of clothing per week.
- Fashion Forward consumers: who look for latest trends and styles.
- Traditional consumers: who prefer to have a conservative look in their garments.
- Value driven consumers: who seek more value and comfort in their apparels, rather than fashionable looks.
Despite users flooding the comment sections of videos of Shein hauls about these rumors, the company claims it “never engages in child or forced labor.” In addition, its website states: “We regularly evaluate and address human trafficking and slavery risks in product supply chains through in-house inspectors who are ...
The success of fast fashion helped double the size of the fashion industry between 2000 and 2014. In 2021, the fast fashion sector is expected to generate $31 billion globally, an increase of 22% from 2020 — which represents more than a full recovery of COVID-19-related losses — according to Research and Markets.
- Shop from sustainable and ethical fashion brands.
- Buy less often and buy high quality.
- Donate or sell gently used clothing.
- Host a clothing swap.
- Buy or rent secondhand clothes.
- Recycle textiles and garments.
Research Results
By age group, most fast fashion shoppers were between the ages of 18 and 24. Of that age group, 147 out of 157 female respondents stated that they shopped at a fast fashion company. Out of 135 men in this age group, 115 said they consistently shopped at a fast fashion location.
In 2020, the 35 to 44 age group was the highest spender on women's and girl's clothing, spending 785 U.S. dollars on average in the year.
Which demographic spends the most on clothes?
Answer: Those between the ages of 35 and 44 years spend more money on clothes than adults in other age groups. It is projected that individuals between the ages of 35 and 44 spend 209 USD on clothing each month, compared to 161 USD spent by those between the ages of 25 and 34.
If you have your own fashion brand, likely, you will already have an idea of what type of customer you want to attract – this is called your target market. Knowing your target market will help you focus your efforts on attracting those who have a need for your product and will form the basis of your marketing strategy.
Another critical trend in the fashion and apparel industry is that today's consumers want to buy from brands with a mission. They expect brands to care about employees, fight for social and environmental issues, and be transparent about what they've done to protect the planet.
Quality. Products that offer quality consistently meet or exceed customer expectations and offer good value for money. That's precisely why quality is the most important factor among fashion shoppers. As the Harvard researchers found, “perceived quality affects customer advocacy more than any other element.”
SHEIN's alarming 'real time fashion' model
“SHEIN represents the worst of the worst for large fashion brands on almost every front,” says Kristian Hardiman, Good On You's head of ratings. Largely because of its total lack of transparency.
The Code of Conduct lays out the required minimum standards we expect each supplier factory or facility to meet in producing NIKE products and includes strict requirements around forced and child labor, excessive overtime, compensation, and freedom of association amongst other requirements.
In the company's report today, Apple says it found no evidence of forced labor or underage child labor.
A few years ago it seemed like consumers might turning against brands like H&M and Zara, as their sales waned and stock prices went down. But the truth is that fast fashion is far from dying. In fact, new giants are rising.
Compared to the prestigious fashion brands that have just few fashion collections in the course of the year, fast fashion businesses offer their customers a lot more fashion collections during the year at more affordable prices. Consumers can buy more for less, but they keep up with the latest fashion trends.
Greenhouse Gasses
According to The Ethical Consumer and Greenpeace's Journal, 'Unearthed', if the demand for fast fashion continues to grow at its current rate, we could see the total carbon footprint of our clothing reach 26% by 2050!
What are the alternatives to fast fashion?
- Ocelot Market.
- Reformation.
- Pact.
- Amour Vert.
- Organic Basics.
- WVN.
- Beckons.
- Ecovibe Apparel.
In fact, Zara is known as the original fast fashion brand. The term “fast fashion” was coined by the New York Times in the 1990s to describe the way Zara could take a garment from design to stores in under 15 days.
These reactive purchases have become known as the Diderot Effect. The Diderot Effect states that obtaining a new possession often creates a spiral of consumption which leads you to acquire more new things. As a result, we end up buying things that our previous selves never needed to feel happy or fulfilled.
An Untapped Market
The rise of Y2K and 70s-inspired silhouettes has helped grow demand for vintage yet accessibly priced finds. But fast fashion brands still remain a go-to source of current trends, even among Gen-Z consumers engaged in ostensibly more sustainable shopping habits like resale.
ASOS. ASOS is a British online fashion and cosmetic retailer, selling over 850 brands on its website as well as its clothing range and accessories. ASOS uses child labor in Turkish factories and implements sweatshop-like production lines in their warehouses.
Spaghetti straps, crop tops, claw clips, and the straight-legged and low-rise jeans: Y2K has been back since we emerged from quarantine. It was the first fashion trend of the aughts that Gen Z revived on TikTok as they digitally connected with one another during lockdown.
The 16-24 age-group had the highest proportions of e-shoppers purchasing clothes (including sport clothing), shoes or accessories (73 %), deliveries from restaurants, fast-food chains, catering services (38 %), computers, tablets, mobile phones or accessories (26 %), cosmetics, beauty or wellness products (25 %) and ...
Demographic segmentation divides consumers into groups based on variables such as age, gender, income, occupation, stage in lifecycle, generation, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, and social class.
According to Dunn, you should spend 5% of your monthly income on clothing. To find the exact dollar amount you should be spending per month, multiply your take-home pay by 0.05. For example, if your monthly take-home pay is $3000, you should spend around $150 per month on clothing.
According to median estimates, annually, they buy clothes for $524. That's almost $100 more than baby boomers — the next age group in the chart.
