• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, January 18, 2018

Men, typically, (not all) like to go to a store, find the items they need, buy it and exit. They usually know what they want. Few like to browse and shop. Woman are the opposite, especially when it comes to clothing. Most like to browse and take their time either online or in brick-and-mortar stores.

A study from CPC Strategy released Thursday shows that 53% of women reported they were more likely to buy clothing directly from a retailer’s website, while 56% of men were more likely to purchase clothing from Amazon.

There has been a lot of discussion about the possibility of Amazon acquiring a retailer like Target to enable consumers to purchase products from a brick-and-mortar store. Originally I thought the idea was farfetched, but not anymore. 

Data and analytics company Ugam ran the numbers to determine the impact of such a move for Amazon. The acquisition of Target would give Amazon 2,280 stores, cover 69% of the population and provide more than 20% access to U.S. household income. But it could be a daunting acquisition that might not make sense. 

Amazon had a difficult time getting well-known brands to sell items in its marketplace, but that effort paid off. With the company connecting with brick-and-mortar such as Whole Foods and Kohl's, marketers may soon see more participation from clothing retailers.

The CPC Strategy report U.S Apparel Shopping Trends Forecast: How Shoppers Will Browse and Buy Clothing in 2018, a survey of 1,500 U.S. shoppers ages 18 to 65 years of age, conducted between November 17 and 20, 2017, hints that Amazon may have finally hit its stride in a few key apparel sectors, confirming Cowen & Co.'s prediction that the marketplace will sell $28 billion worth of clothing in 2018.

The data from the survey shows where Amazon is excelling in apparel, where brick-and-mortar stores still have the upper hand, and shows how retailers and brands can compete.

Amazon.com earned the top spot, with 52.1% of shoppers claiming they purchased clothing through the marketplace in the last six months. Nearly 46% said they purchased clothing at retail or brand websites. Nearly 14% went to eBay to purchase clothing, and about 11% started on a search engine, such as Google Shopping.

It's clear that more consumers shop on Amazon from their desktop. Some 71% of respondents said they prefer to shop for clothing on their desktop or laptop, while 18.1% prefer to use their phone and 7.5% prefer to use their tablet. Voice search on Amazon Echo and other devices also continues to show promise, with 1.7% saying they prefer talking rather than typing. 

Age matters, and marketers need to make sure their mobile strategies match their desktop. The study shows that 40% of 18 -to-24-year-olds say they are most likely to report shopping for apparel from their phones. 

In addition to a secure customer checkout, 20.6% cite the ability to filter and search for items and 18.6% cite reading customer reviews as very important factors when making purchase decisions. Personalizing recommendations, custom size estimates, high-resolution images, product videos, and a mobile-friendly environment are all secondary to the experience. 

Of those who did purchase apparel on Amazon, 30.8% admit they did so because of fast and free shipping, and 16.8% cite low prices. Some 16% cite convenience, 8.9% like Amazon's wide selection, and 5.2% say the marketplace sells high-quality clothing.  

When asked about the types of apparel they purchased in the last six months, 54% of shoppers cite casual apparel such as jeans and sundresses. Athletic wear, outerwear, loungewear, and basics all came in between 25% and 29.3%. Formal wear such as suits and dresses fell to 13.6%.