Online shopping is the ‘it’ thing for the fashion conscious

Online shopping is a growing trend and an aspect of it that has seen a remarkable growth recently is the fashion sector. People are increasingly shopping online to find good deals especially with the recent introduction of group buying. South Africa’s online marketplace, bidorbuy.co.za, reported a growth in its clothing, shoes and accessories section of 73% from early 2010 to the same period in 2011.

“Clothing is one of the large growth areas that we have seen on our site and we expect this growth to continue”, explains Jaco Jonker, CEO of bidorbuy.

Men’s clothing, shoes and accessories had a bumper year, with sales figures exceeding 130% year on year, indicating that men are increasingly preferring the convenience of online shopping when purchasing fashion accessories, outfits and shoes. Growth has also been reported in women’s clothing, but the most notable trend in women’s fashion habits online is a shift towards purchasing more shoes and accessories than in previous years.

Natalie Reffo, Fashion Category Manager at bidorbuy, says the fashion trends online mimic the seasonal trends of real-world retailers, with soaring sales of summer dresses, sunglasses, swimming costumes and sandals over the warmer months and increasing sales of boots and coats as we head toward the cooler months in South Africa.

Wedding apparel and accessories, including wedding dresses and bridesmaids’ dresses, has always been a busy section in the fashion category, and this year is no different, with the annual 20% growth in this area. There are around 5000 wedding dresses listed on bidorbuy at any one time, with the majority being brand new custom made dresses.

On one hand, the fashion conscious are increasingly turning to the world of online shopping to find trendy accessories, classic garments or unique vintage pieces. On the other, more and more young fashion designers are using bidorbuy as a platform to market themselves. The two trends indicate that the growth of online fashion shopping is set to continue, which is a distinctly positive trend for the South African fashion industry.