Poor performance: Fashion brands lag behind in digital UX

Fashion brands may dominate the cultural zeitgeist and social media feeds, but they are falling short where it increasingly matters: online performance. According to new data from brand communications agency Warbox, the fashion sector has the lowest average website performance score of any UK industry—underscoring a critical gap between brand image and digital delivery.

Using Google’s PageSpeed Insights and Core Web Vitals, Warbox analysed 1,000 of the UK’s most-visited websites across 14 sectors. Despite fashion accounting for nearly 30bn poundsin UK online retail sales last year, it ranked lowest in terms of digital experience, with an average performance score of just 55. Google considers any score below 90 in need of improvement; anything below 50 is deemed poor.

The research found that fashion websites are among the slowest to respond to user interactions, averaging 321 milliseconds—far above the recommended threshold of 200ms. The largest visual content on these sites takes 3.1 seconds to load, further contributing to user frustration and abandoned browsing sessions.

“Speed matters and not just for brands trying to outpace competitors,” said Mark Fensom, director at Warbox. “Slow sites, which I’m sure everyone has experienced, are frustrating—especially when you’re in the middle of an action.”

Speed matters

While charities and educational institutions followed fashion at the bottom of the rankings, their average performance scores were notably higher—78 and 70, respectively. Notably, charity websites were fastest in responding to user inputs, suggesting that technical execution does not always correlate with budget or brand scale.

By contrast, broader retail websites fared better, with an average performance score of 66. The public sector took second place, with sites showing strong results in both speed and stability. Healthcare and manufacturing sectors also scored high on average performance, suggesting that more functional, service-driven platforms may be better attuned to Google's performance benchmarks.

The implications for fashion brands are significant. As consumer expectations for seamless digital experiences rise—and as Google increasingly penalises poor-performing sites in search rankings—site speed and UX are no longer merely technical issues, but core brand and commercial concerns.

Consumers, the report notes, are now willing to pay up to 80 per cent more for a better online experience. As such, digital underperformance could directly erode both brand equity and margins.

The report also offered clear recommendations for improvement: compress oversized files, streamline scripts, ensure mobile-first design, and rigorously test AI or interactive features before launch. Accessibility remains another overlooked aspect, with the report highlighting the importance of colour contrast and clear navigation.

For fashion, a sector that has led on aesthetic innovation and marketing flair, the findings are a reminder that visual polish alone no longer suffices.

To view the full research and rankings, visit www.warboxcreative.co.uk.