Jul 04, 2016

Drapers, the high quality weekly magazine which is the voice of the UK’s fashion industry, has recently published an interesting article - ‘Going Down Under: How to crack the Australian market’ - which featured exclusive data collated during consumer research that we undertook in Australia at the end of last year.

The purpose of Drapers is to provide content that fashion businesses rely on to do their jobs better, delivering relevant insight that answers the sector’s complex questions. The article, written by Naomi Bikis, discusses the huge opportunity that Australia presents for UK brands and retailers, but also the fact that it is crucial for retailers to ‘crack’ their online offer before even considering a physical presence in the region.

With the second largest online population in the Asia-Pacific region and a stable economy, Australia has one of the fastest growing eCommerce sectors in the world with eCommerce sales expected to rise 21% by 2018, creating a market total of approximately $24 billion.

In November 2015, we surveyed 1000 consumers in Australia who have bought clothing / apparel online in order to gain an accurate understanding of the frequency with which Australians buy from national and international websites and also the key factors which can influence their purchasing decisions.

We gave Drapers exclusive access to our Australian consumer research report and the recent ‘Going Down Under: How to crack the Australian market’ article describes just some of our key findings including:

• Almost a quarter (23%) of respondents had shopped with an international brand or website within the four weeks before the survey
• 25-to-34-year-olds were the most likely demographic to buy from international brands, particularly from the US and UK
• Australian customers increasingly value immediacy and are less willing to pay expensive shipping costs. This is particularly important to women (70%, compared with 67% of men), and to those aged 16 to 24 (75%), while those aged over 55 are the least concerned (63%).

The value of local knowledge cannot be underestimated. Our thorough consumer research has provided us with invaluable insight to further expand our already vast knowledge about the regions in which we operate and therefore help our clients stay one step ahead with regards to their international growth plans.

Drapers subscribers can read the full ‘Going Down Under: How to crack the Australian market’ article here