Abstract
Fashion retailers like Next, M&S and Topshop have been through a long period when they have been able to rely solely on declining prices to drive sales upwards. However, with the falling pound and rising overseas sourcing costs, competing on price is going to become increasingly difficult for them.
Customers who still have money to spend are going to be ever more demanding. Retailers will have to identify the needs of their core customer even more closely and make sure that they are met. Improving staff training, motivation and product knowledge, as well as recruitment and retention will be crucial in doing so.
The use of technology is likely to become an increasingly important aspect of providing improved service, especially among younger customers for whom it is a core part of their everyday lives.
Key report themes:
- What do consumers think of the service they receive?
- Who are the most demanding groups and which areas of service are most important to them?
- What are the potential improvements retailers could make to their service proposition?
- Which retailers are innovating in terms of customer service?
- What role is technology likely to play in improving the customer experience?
- How important is the role of customer relationship management?
Table of Contents
- Issues in the MarketMain themes
- Definition
- Abbreviations
- Market in Brief
- Customer service needs set to polarise
- Wages and recruitment key
- Technology offers new opportunities
- The bad news on customer service
- ...and the good news
- Strengths and Weaknesses in the Market
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Internal Market Environment
- Key points
- Clothing market downturn
- Figure 1: Clothing retail sales, non-seasonally adjusted, current and
constant 2000 prices, and price change, quarter against same quarter year
before, Q3 2006 to Q3 2008
- Pay levels and the National Minimum Wage
- Age structure of workforce
- The rise of value retailers and the supermarkets
- Figure 2: Value clothing specialists' and non-specialists' sales and
consumer clothing expenditure, 2003-08
- The impact of the internet and in-store technology
- Word of mouth is key
- Broader Market Environment
- Key points
- Consumer recession
- Figure 3: UK personal disposable income and consumer expenditure, % per
annum change, 2003 prices, 2003-13
- Age structure will shift
- Figure 4: UK population, by age, 2003-13
- Socio-economic changes
- Figure 5: UK adult population 15+, by socio-economic group, 2003-13
- Increasing unemployment
- Figure 6: UK unemployment, % of workforce, 2003-13
- Competitive Context
- Key points
- Fashion better than household, worse than food and drink
- Poor performance at bottom end
- Figure 7: Respondents saying retailer has excellent customer service,
fashion retail versus household and food and drink retail, 2007-08
- Best fashion retailers are very strong on service
- Figure 8: Respondents saying retailer has excellent customer service,
top ten specialist fashion retailers, 2007-08
- Figure 9: Respondents saying retailer has excellent customer service,
top ten specialist household retailers, 2007-08
- Figure 10: Respondents saying retailer has excellent customer service,
top ten specialist food and drink retailers, 2007-08
- The Consumer -- Where They Shop
- Key points
- Figure 11: Where they regularly buy clothing, November 2008
- High street still dominates
- Department stores ahead of supermarkets and value stores
- Value stores visited more by women
- Younger men prefer the internet
- Figure 12: Where they regularly buy clothing, by gender, age and
socio-economic group, November 2008
- Figure 13: Where they regularly buy clothing, by gender, age and
socio-economic group, November 2008
- Consumer Views by Where They Shop
- Key points
- Value stores falling behind on service
- Figure 20: Attitudes towards service, by where they regularly buy
clothing, November 2008
- Companies and Services
- Key points
- The methodology
- Figure 23: Top ten of all fashion retailers, 2007-08
- The case of John Lewis
- Marks & Spencer
- Figure 24: Respondents who agree M&S has great customer service, %,
2007-08
- Figure 25: Fashion customer services provided by Marks & Spencer,
January 2009
- Arcadia Group
- Figure 26: Respondents who agree different Arcadia fascias have great
customer service, %, 2007-08
- Topshop/Topman
- Figure 27: Fashion customer services provided by Topshop/Topman, January
2009
- Dorothy Perkins
- Figure 28: Fashion customer services provided by Dorothy Perkins,
January 2009
- Next
- Figure 29: Respondents who agree that Next has great customer service,
%, 2007-08
- Figure 30: Fashion customer services provided by Next, January 2009
- TK Maxx
- Figure 31: Respondents who agree that TK Maxx has great customer
service, %, 2007-08
- Figure 32: Fashion customer services provided by TK Maxx, January 2009
- New Look
- Figure 33: Respondents who agree that New Look has great customer
service, %, 2007-08
- Figure 34: Fashion customer services provided by New Look, January 2009
- Primark
- Figure 35: Respondents who agree that Primark has great customer
service, %, 2007-08
- Figure 36: Fashion customer services provided by Primark, January 2009
- Matalan
- Figure 37: Respondents who agree that Matalan has great customer
service, %, 2007-08
- Figure 38: Fashion customer services provided by Matalan, January 2009
- Tesco
- Figure 39: Respondents who agree that Tesco clothing has great customer
service, %, 2007-08
- Figure 40: Fashion customer services provided by Tesco, January 2009
- Asda
- Figure 41: Respondents who agree that George at Asda has great customer
service, %, 2007-08
- Figure 42: Fashion customer services provided by George at Asda, January
2009
- River Island
- Figure 43: Respondents who agree River Island has great customer
service, %, 2007-08
- Figure 44: Fashion customer services provided by River Island, January
2009
- Debenhams
- Figure 45: Respondents who agree that Debenhams has great customer
service, %, 2007-08
- Figure 46: Fashion customer services provided by Debenhams, January 2009
- Peacocks
- Figure 47: Respondents who agree that Peacocks has great customer
service, %, 2007-08
- Figure 48: Fashion customer services provided by Peacocks, January 2009
- Appendix -- Where They Shop
- Figure 49: Where they buy clothing, by special group, region, ACORN
group, technology users/TV received, daily web use, daily newspapers read
and supermarket used, November 2008
- Figure 50: Where they buy clothing, by special group, region, ACORN
group, technology users/TV received, daily web use, daily newspapers read
and supermarket used, November 2008
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