Online shopping is growing. Yes, we all hear and see that. But not across all sectors of retail.
We asked 6,500 members of our community about their Eid shopping. Last year, 25% said they shopped online. This year, only 23% said they shopped online whereas 43% shopped in-store. While the coronavirus lockdowns contributed towards large number of consumers not buying Eid clothes in 2020, physical stores saw the return of consumers in large numbers this year.
During Jan-Feb’21, we conducted a study of 2,000 Middle Eastern women consumers for a large regional clothing brand which is contemplating online bespoke tailoring and home delivery. Two-third of the respondents said they would like to explore the service provided as long as they:
Not everything that’s possible in the physical world today can be accomplished online due to technological limitations. However, that doesn’t mean that brands put their digital transformation plans on hold. Online retailing does not mean 100% digital (as yet). We recommended a hybrid strategy to them, incorporating consumers’ views into customer journey map. Each step of a tailormade clothing buyer’s journey was broken down into a combination of online and physical activities.
They loved it and are on the way to launch the service.
