The Bionic Consumer

According to the Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor™, women are spending less time and money shopping for clothing than they did a decade ago, and yet they are still deriving the same level of enjoyment from their beloved 'sport.' In 1998, the typical female consumer spent 53 minutes and $39.00 on her average shopping trip for apparel; in 2007, that same consumer spent only 46 minutes and $35.17 on a typical jaunt. What is behind today’s consumer’s super abilities and agilities? “Women are better educated today,” suggests Chad Jackson, Marketing and Public Relations Manager for Evisu, a premium denim label. “Before, you had to be in the industry to gain fashion insight, but these days, average women are exposed to the tools of fashion through [online] media and are empowered with knowledge, a modern fashion vocabulary, and industry insight. There is more research available allowing women to plan out their seasonal wardrobe ahead of time, which saves both time and money.” Knowledge is certainly power, but consumers appear to be getting a fair assist in their shopping-conquests from retailers themselves in the form of multiple retail-channels and outlets, couture-like styling at very desirable price points, as well as through frequent and aggressively-advertised sales, (to name just a few factors.) One of the most widely-used vehicles in today’s multi-channel shopping arena is online retailing. According to the Monitor, in 2007, 52% of female respondents said that they had browsed the Internet for clothing, up considerably from just 7% doing so in 1998. Today, when this consumer logs on, she spends approximately an hour and a half browsing for apparel in a given month. (A statistic that is rising parallel to the amount of online-apparel purchases, as well.) Additionally, a variety of stylish fashions at virtually every level of retail. “Luxury brands are flooding all price ranges with products today,” observes Chris Kensler, Editorial Director for Stylehive, a global social shopping community. “In the past, you would have to spend thousands of dollars to get a specific style, now you can get a very similar looking piece for perhaps fifty dollars, (though it may not last as long, or consist of the best fabrications.) “Women are savvy about interpreting the styles they see in stores and making them their own with a little attention to the details,” says Kathryn Conover, a dress designer with an eponymous label sold at Lord and Taylor, Nordstrom and Dillards. “It’s not about fast fashion for all women, but about personal style with polish and individuality.” A trained mind and an abundance of resources and incentives go a long way in assisting women with scoring the goal of getting more for their [shopping] time and money in style; thus, helping women earn the mantle of “super consumers”.
(-Cotton Incorporated, 2007)