• Home
  • News
  • Fashion
  • 4 million UK consumers stop buying fashion accessories in 2017

4 million UK consumers stop buying fashion accessories in 2017

By Danielle Wightman-Stone

loading...

Scroll down to read more

In 2017, 4 million consumers stopped buying fashion accessories in the UK, according to the latest report from GlobalData, the data and analytics company.

Its research reveals that the share of UK shoppers that purchased accessories fell from 50.6 percent in 2016 to 40.9 percent in 2017, equating to four million fewer consumers and 390 million pounds in lost revenue.

The ‘UK Accessories Market 2017-2022’ report reveals that a UK consumer spends 98 pounds on average per year on accessories, which equals a volume decline of 0.8 percent in 2017 compared to a flat performance in 2016.

Honor Strachan, principal retail analyst for GlobalData said: “Replacement purchases are now the main trigger of purchasing accessories among domestic shoppers, compared to consumers spending to treat themselves. This puts huge pressure on retailers to encourage trading up, or to diversify to make up for absent sales.”

GlobalData states that consumers will extend replacement cycles during periods of restrained discretionary spending, which is a major blow for retailers, as ‘wants-driven purchases’ have become more challenging, particularly for specialists such as Accessorize and Claire’s, which are unable to stimulate footfall via other categories.

Strachan added: “While the premium and luxury segments of the UK fashion accessories market bask in the attention of high-spending overseas visitors, the mass market players are suffering from a major drop in domestic consumer willingness.”

GlobalData