China Attitudes towards Fashion Consumer Report 2024
£ 3,695 (Excl.Tax)
Report Summary
This report looks at the following areas:
- Consumers’ outfit preferences for different occasions, sources of outfit inspiration and style preferences: as consumers move between ever more diverse everyday occasions and the lines between these occasions become increasingly blurred, their demand for versatile outfits is growing, further fuelling the popularity of clothes designed for outdoor sports and leisure occasions
- Fashion categories purchased by consumers and consumers’ purchase channels: ecommerce websites and their live streaming ecommerce are the most popular shopping channels for fashion products
- Consumers’ satisfaction with different types of brands, including fast fashion brands, independent designer brands and luxury brands: niche designer brands need to maintain their superiority in design and quality to justify their high prices
- Consumers’ overall fashion attitudes and apparel consumption preferences: consumers are divided into different fashion personas based on their fashion attitudes
Chinese consumers are becoming increasingly pragmatic and sophisticated in their fashion choices. No longer simply following trends, they are using fashion as a form of self-expression and shifting their focus from pleasing others to pleasing themselves.
Blair Zhang, Senior Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
This Report is based on a survey of 3,000 internet users aged 18-59 designed to investigate attitudes towards fashion and purchase behaviours.
Fashion includes traditional fashion products and broader fashion trends. Traditional fashion mainly refers to product categories such as clothing, shoes and accessories. Broader fashion trends include the various aspects of a fashionable lifestyle. For example, drinking coffee while on a city walk is considered a cultural fashion.
This Report explores fashion trends in multiple categories, including:
- Tops (eg T-shirts, jumpers)
- Outerwear (eg trench coats, hoodies, jackets, down jackets)
- Trousers (eg jeans, casual trousers, excluding sports trousers)
- Sports trousers (eg yoga leggings, joggers)
- Footwear
- Skirts and dresses
- Clothing accessories (eg scarves, hats)
- Jewellery (eg earrings, necklaces)
- Suits (eg business suits, skirt suits, matching sets)
- Handbags
- Underwear and loungewear
Table of Contents
-
Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definition
- What you need to know
- The market
- Market factors
- Marketing activities
- New product trends
- The consumer
- Sports and leisure are being incorporated into everyday life
- Graph 1: outfit preferences in different scenarios, 2023
- Social media and online platforms boost consumer direction of fashion trends
- Graph 2: sources of outfit inspiration, 2023
- People are most interested in trying urbancore and gorpcore, followed by workwear and New Chinese Style
- Graph 3: interest in fashion styles, 2023
- Trousers are the most frequently purchased fashion product, while accessories have room for growth
- Graph 4: fashion categories purchased, 2023
- eCommerce websites and their live streams are the most popular purchase channels for fashion products
- Graph 5: purchase channels for fashion products, 2023
- Watchwords for clothing consumption in 2024: practicality and functionality
- Different fashion brands have their unique strengths
- Graph 6: satisfaction with different types of fashion brands, 2023
- Fashion is about individuality and what suits each person
- Graph 7: fashion attitudes, 2023
- Issues and insights
- What we think
-
The market
- Market factors
- Clothes and jewellery consumption lead the post-pandemic recovery in China
- Graph 8: total retail sales (hundred million RMB) and growth rate (%) of clothes, shoes, hats and textiles, 2013-23
- Consumer demand splits, unearthing new markets
- Policies encourage home-grown brands and promote sustainable practices
- Chinese consumers' fashion ideas are becoming more sophisticated and pragmatic
- The development of digital media and fashion news fuels industry growth
- Technological advancements drive innovation in the fashion industry
- Marketing activities
- Outfits are the simplest mode of expression
- Graph 9: mentions of fashion keywords 'dopamine (多巴胺)', 'Maillard (美拉德)' and 'New Chinese Style (新中式)' on Xiaohongshu, 2023-24
- Lifestyle is fashion
- 'Quality' will stay centre stage
- Graph 10: discussion mentions of 'old money (老钱)' on Xiaohongshu, 2023-24
- Pleasing oneself remains the main motif in fashion consumption
- Marketing activities centred around women have not gone out of style
- The boutique buyer era may be here
- New product trends
- New Chinese Style outfits will be the next big thing
- Functional outdoor products will remain popular
- Fashion consumption related to sports events will continue to set trends
- Continue to explore future trends in sustainable fashion
- Co-branding is still a potent method of reaching new audiences
-
The consumer
- Outfit preferences for different occasions
- The boundary between sports and everyday clothing is blurring
- Graph 11: outfit preferences in different scenarios, 2023
- Men are more likely than women to favour colourful clothes for sports
- Graph 12: outfit preferences in different scenarios – fitness/outdoor, by gender, 2023
- Respondents in Tier 1 cities look to loosen up when partying/dating
- Graph 13: outfit preferences in different scenarios – party/date, by city tier, 2023
- Sources of outfit inspiration
- Fashion self-media bloggers are the most popular sources of outfit inspiration
- Graph 14: sources of outfit inspiration, 2023
- Social media and online platforms boost consumer direction of fashion trends
- Graph 15: sources of outfit inspiration – fashion self-media bloggers, by gender, 2023
- Respondents aged 25-29 love putting together fashionable fits
- Graph 16: sources of outfit inspiration, by age, 2023
- Interest in fashion styles
- People are most interested in trying urbancore and gorpcore, followed by workwear and New Chinese Style
- Graph 17: interest in fashion styles, 2023
- Men prefer urbancore and gorpcore, while women favour workwear and new Chinese styles
- Graph 18: interest in fashion styles, by gender, 2023
- Respondents of different ages prefer different styles
- Graph 19: interest in fashion styles, by age, 2023
- Fashion categories purchased
- Trousers have the highest purchase rate, followed by outerwear and suits
- Graph 20: fashion categories purchased, 2023
- Consumers aged 25-29 are the most active shoppers in almost all categories, while those aged 50-59 buy the least
- Graph 21: fashion categories purchased, by age, 2023
- Sports trousers are most popular in Tier 1 cities
- Graph 22: fashion categories purchased – sports trousers, by city tier, 2023
- Accessories may have more room for growth
- Graph 23: fashion categories purchased – accessories, by monthly personal income, 2023
- Purchase channels for fashion products
- eCommerce websites and their live streams are the most popular purchase channels for fashion products
- Graph 24: purchase channels for fashion products, 2023
- Different age groups prefer different channels
- Buyers of accessories prefer brands' official websites, fashion buyer platforms, outlets and duty-free shops
- Graph 25: purchase channels for fashion products, by fashion categories purchased, 2023
- Advertising spread across ecommerce websites and their live streams, department stores/shopping malls and social media/short video platforms can reach 90% of respondents
- Fashion consumption preferences
- Co-branding between high-end fashion brands and mass-market brands receives market validation
- Graph 26: fashion consumption preferences – attitude towards co-branding between high-end brands and popular brands, by gender, age and monthly household income, 2023
- Most people are trading up incrementally
- Graph 27: fashion consumption preferences – attitudes towards high-end product lines from ordinary brands, by gender, age and monthly household income, 2023
- Clothing brands need to provide versatile products
- Graph 28: fashion consumption preferences – brand selection attitude, by gender and age, 2023
- Watchwords for clothing consumption in 2024: practicality and functionality
- Graph 29: clothing consumption preferences – attitudes towards product and brand, by age, 2023
- Graph 30: clothing consumption preferences – attitudes towards function and fashion, by age, 2023
- Satisfaction with different types of fashion brands
- Different fashion brands have their unique strengths
- Graph 31: satisfaction with different types of fashion brands, 2023
- Independent designer brands must retain their strengths in design and quality
- Fashion attitudes and personas
- Self-expression lies at the heart of fashion
- Graph 32: fashion attitudes, 2023
- Fashion is not the sole preserve of Tier 1 cities
- Graph 33: fashion attitudes, by city tier, 2023
- Fashion insiders
- Lifestyle explorers
- Identity seekers
- Casual fashion followers
- Authority deniers
-
Issues and insights
- Evolving fashion concepts: consumers increasingly seek practicality and self-indulgence
- Current fashion sentiment puts function first amid a shift towards pragmatic consumption
- Meet the post-pandemic need for healing with self-indulgent fashion
- Brand opportunity: increase engagement in fashion through practical outfits and low-cost interactions
- Source of fashion inspiration: influence on fashion trends is diffused throughout the market
- Consumers have their own takes on fashion
- Trends are coming thicker and faster
- Challenges for brands: tap into shifts in mood and move from product marketing to culture marketing
- Developing attitudes towards fashion: cultural confidence drives the popularity of New Chinese Style outfits
- The New Chinese Style clothes and accessories market is rapidly growing
- Celebrity ecommerce live streams are bringing New Chinese Style into the mainstream
- A challenges for brands: creating New Chinese Style fashion designs that are beautiful, practical and meaningful…
- Graph 34: mentions of 'New Chinese Style outfits' (新中式穿搭) on social media*, 2023-2024
- …and also blend modern aesthetics with traditional elements
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Appendix – methodology
- Methodology
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