John Lewis sees increase in male shoppers

Men are shopping in their droves in John Lewis. The department store group has revealed nearly half of its customers are now men as women lose their dominant shopping status as Britain’s principal shoppers. "Men now account for 44 percent of customers

and we are seeing them as more assertive in their shopping habits and taking more care in their appearance and clothes than ever before,” said managing director Andy Street.

Research

shows almost half of shoppers under 34 years old

Following an investigation by the store into its customers’ shopping habits, John Lewis also found that 39 percent of its customers are now under 34 years old, while just 28 percent are over 55.

"Traditionally, John Lewis has been seen as a retailer for older generations, but that is no longer the case and three generations of the same families are coming into our stores."

The report also found that 42 percent of customers have a household income of less than 30,000 pounds despite John Lewis's image as a high-end retailer, although Street insisted he was not trying to target the less well-off.

"The recession has taught us that although people have less money, when they do buy products they want to make sure they buy something with quality that they know will last, so we don't think moving into a discounter position would work for us," he said.

Gloria Moss, reader in management and marketing at Buckinghamshire New University, says that women are responsible for 83 percent of all shopping purchases, and high streets simply have to acknowledge this.

Affiliate marketing network Rakuten LinkShare says British male shoppers are shunning the high street in favour of online buying.

Rakuten LinkShare surveyed 1,000 British male consumers on their fashion style and shopping habits. The data was collected by Redshift Research in March this year and today’s results reveal that fashion accounts for around 83 percent of young men’s online spend.

With both fashion and the luxury market pinpointed as key area of online growth at Rakuten LinkShare’s Symposium yesterday, the results from the company’s latest survey also seem to correlate.

A total of 85 percent of those surveyed said they preferred to shop online and 61 percent of men said they would be disappointed if a luxury brand did not have an online offering.

The survey, which serves to highlight the importance of mobile and digital channels, also found that a quarter of 26-35 year old men spend at least 900 pounds per year on clothing online and one in two men aged 18-35 have a shopping app installed on their phone.

Image: John Lewis AW13