Social media, microtrends, ad campaigns and the rise of secondhand shopping are all factors that can test a brand’s strength. At the same time, consumers are becoming increasingly price-conscious as they feel the effects of inflation, tariffs and rising production costs.
Still, brand-conscious consumers remain a valuable audience for retailers.
While just 24 percent of U.S. consumers say brand matters when deciding where to buy clothing, a new YouGov report points out their willingness to spend. Brand-conscious consumers are twice as likely as price-conscious consumers to have spent more than $200 on clothing in the past three months. By comparison, the survey found that price-conscious shoppers were more likely to have bought nothing during the same period.
The report makes several comparisons between the two demographics.
The brand-conscious audience tends to be younger and male. Men account for 53 percent of brand-conscious clothing shoppers, compared to 46 percent of price-conscious clothing shoppers. Additionally, Baby Boomers make up a larger share of price-conscious consumers (21 percent) than brand-conscious consumers (17 percent).
Millennials make up 32 percent of brand-conscious clothes shoppers, compared with 29 percent of price-conscious shoppers. Gen Z represents a further 28 percent of the brand-conscious group, against 26 percent of the comparison audience, the report stated.
Naturally, higher earners make up a large share of brand-conscious consumers—respondents in the higher income bracket account for 13 percent of brand-conscious shoppers.
However, YouGov said the clearest difference between the two groups lies in what drives their choice of retailer.
The survey found that more than a quarter of brand-conscious clothes shoppers say the best-quality products were their main motivation, compared with 17 percent of price-conscious shoppers. The pattern reverses for the lowest overall prices, cited by 26 percent of price-conscious shoppers and 15 percent of brand-conscious shoppers.
Brand-conscious shoppers also value brands they trust and brands that offer the widest range of products.
Established sportswear brands, heritage basics brands and denim brands resonate strongly with brand-conscious shoppers.
When asked which brands they would consider purchasing their next clothing, shoes, accessories or luggage from, the survey found that Nike is the highest consideration among brand-conscious clothing shoppers, at 57 percent, followed by Adidas at 47 percent. Levi’s ranks third with 43 percent and Old Navy fourth with 43 percent. New Balance, Under Armour, Skechers and The North Face rank in fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth place.
Calvin Klein, Hanes, American Eagle, Puma, Columbia, Fruit of the Loom and Gap rounded out the top 15.
