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Clothing retailers benefit from increase in mobile searches

By Danielle Wightman-Stone

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Fashion retailers are benefiting from a surge in smartphone searches, according to new research from the British Retail Consortium and Google.

The data reveals that UK consumers are “making greater use than ever” of their smartphone to shop online, particularly when it comes to buying clothes the BRC said. Search for apparel is up 54 percent compared to a year ago, while tablet searches over the same period are up by 11 percent.

In addition, the figures also show that British shoppers are also increasingly looking abroad as well as at home to buy their clothes, with a 9 percent rise in consumers searching online for overseas clothes retailers. A trend that is also being reciprocated as the data revealed that overseas shoppers searching for UK clothing retailers was also up 10 percent.

Peter Fitzgerald, retail director at Google, said: “Mobile continues to drive growth in the UK and this remains the case with apparel in the first quarter of the year. Interestingly, emerging markets still see strong growth from tablets, however smartphones supercharge growth for overseas consumers of UK brands.

“Multichannel retailers had a strong Q1, growing at 42 percent year-on-year. This reflects the increasing trend we see in the UK toward click-and-collect services. Consumers value the convenience of in-store collection, and particularly for apparel, the ability to easily return goods to store.

Fitzgerald added: “Finally, the New Year saw an increase in sports and fitness apparel searches as Brits turn over a new leaf and focus on their health. Looking at the top queries we can see that wedding season is under way with engagement rings and wedding dresses trending on mobile devices.”

BRC
British Retail Consortium
Google