Online Apparel Category Surges With Back-to-School ShoppersMasha Geller, in her
Just an Online Minute... for MediaPost last week, featured the importance of the Teen shopper on
retail apparel. Here's more of the supporting documentation on brands and sites for those serving this market.
Week on the Web, by comScore Media Metrix, released data this week in their special
feature on kids clothing driving the online apparel category showing that in July, more than 34 million Americans visited a site in the Apparel category, up 12 percent from June. The report continues:
Unlike other Retail categories such as Books and Computer Hardware, visitation to the Apparel category is distributed among a relatively large number of properties. In fact, 28 properties were
visited by more than 500,000 Internet users in July.
Retail-Apparel Category Unique Visitors July 2003
(Excludes Mass Merchandise retailers that may also sell apparel)
| All Locations (000) | Home (000) | Work (000) | University (000) |
| Total Internet Users | 147,455 | 127,803 | 48,993 | 10,319 |
| Apparel Category | 34,176 | 23,276 | 10,782 | 2,318 |
| Otto Gruppe | 4,260 | 2,794 | 1,535 | 169 |
| Limited Brands | 3,684 | 2,355 | 1,185 | 341 |
| OLDNAVY.COM | 3,666 | 2,210 | 1,267 | 207 |
| Alloy | 2,602 | 1,787
| 798 | 151 |
| Gap Online | 2,419 | 1,602 | 718 | 221 |
| Foot Locker Sites | 2,327 | 1,613 | 582 | 243 |
| Nike | 1,998 | 1,270 | 676 | 156 |
| LLBEAN.COM | 1,626 | 1,058 | 574 | 79
|
| AE.COM | 1,604 | 1,047 | 451 | 185 |
| FREDERICKS.COM | 1,595 | 1,080 | 442 | 111 |
| NORDSTROM.COM
| 1,542 | 1,032 | 465 | 121 |
| CHADWICKS.COM | 1,430 | 885 | 569 | 53 |
| ABERCROMBIEANDFITCH.COM | 1,399 | 931 | 348 | 185 |
| ZAPPOS.COM | 1,332
| 846 | 463 | 92 |
| Lands End | 1,242 | 980 | 265 | 52 |
Source: comScore Media Metrix
Online spending on apparel and accessories was up
43 percent in June and 44 percent in July versus year-ago levels. This growth rate outpaced not only total non-travel spending, but also the year-over-year growth rate for the Apparel category in the
previous six months (36 percent).
Online Consumer Spending Apparel and Accessories Category
June & July 2003 ($ in millions)
Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate
Purchases
| June 2003 | % Change vs.
Year-Ago | July 2003 | % Change vs. Year-Ago |
| Total Non-Travel | $3,590
| 17% | $4,087 | 32% |
| Apparel Category | $596 | 43% | $509 | 44% |
Source: comScore Networks
While the total number of Internet users grew just one
percent from June to July, back-to-school shoppers drove visitation to the Apparel category up by more than 12 percent.
Top Gainers Among Top 25 Apparel Sites Unique Visitors (000)
U.S. Home, Work and University Users
| June 2003 (000) | July 2003 (000) | % Change |
| Total Internet Users | 146,476 | 147,455 | 1% |
| Apparel Category | 30,420 | 34,176 | 12% |
| Alloy | 1,572 | 2,602 | 66% |
| FREDERICKS.COM | 1,082 | 1,595 | 47% |
| FINISHLINE.COM | 480 | 665 | 39% |
| DELIAS.COM | 679 | 909 | 34% |
| ZAPPOS.COM | 996 | 1,332 | 34% |
| PACSUN.COM | 858 | 1,135 | 32% |
| AE.COM | 1,219 | 1,604 | 32% |
| LLBEAN.COM | 1,251 | 1,626 | 30% |
| HOTTOPIC.COM | 843 | 1,093 | 30% |
| CHADWICKS.COM | 1,106 | 1,430 | 29% |
Source: comScore Media Metrix
Teenagers are
among the most sought-after age segments for apparel manufacturers and retailers. 8 of the top 10 apparel sites experienced a significantly higher increase in visitation among users age 13 to 17,
compared to the previous month, than the total category.
Retail-Apparel Category July 2003
An index of 100 shows parity
| Unique Visitors (000) | % Change vs. June-03 | Composition Index |
| Total
Net Users Age 13-17 | 11,667 | -2% | 100 |
| Apparel Visitors Age 13-17 | 2,430 | 5% | 90 |
| Alloy | 365 | 40% | 177 |
| Limited Brands | 334 | 110% | 115 |
| Foot Locker Sites | 327 | 22% | 177 |
| HOTTOPIC.COM | 244 | 36% | 283
|
| OLDNAVY.COM | 216 | -10% | 75 |
| Nike | 211 | 4% | 133 |
| AE.COM | 205 | 7% | 161 |
| PACSUN.COM | 200 | 123% | 222 |
| DELIAS.COM | 193 | 62% | 268 |
| Gap Online | 138 | 191% | 72 |
Source: comScore Media Metrix