The pandemic created an interesting playing field for clothing subscription kits like Stitch Fix and Trunk Club. While other online shopping in general increased during stay-at-home orders, these businesses, that have always offered a completely online experience, didn’t gain much traction, or many, if any at all, new customers.
Usage went from 12% in March to 7% throughout August, while disinterest shifted from 86% to 83% in the same time frame.
Clothing subscription kits strive to make shopping more fun and convenient, but they certainly cater to a niche market of fashion-forward consumers. So how does such a business model stay successful during unprecedented times like these?
CivicScience dug into the data to better understand who’s into curated clothing kits and what the future might hold for companies like these.
The Impact of the Pandemic
In April, usage and interest didn’t seem to hinge on concern over employment status. Yet data collected after August 1, 2020 show a major increase in usage and intent among people who reported being concerned about their employment situation.
In addition, those who report working as usual but remotely are far and away the most likely to have used a clothing subscription kit or intend to try one.
Lounge-wearers Appreciate Curated Fashion
Considering overall usage of and intent to use clothing subscription kits are fairly low – and have been for some time – CivicScience analyzed a series of data sets to see where growth might be possible for these types of businesses.
It’s no secret that lounge and leisurewear ballooned over the course of the pandemic. Hanging up their dress pants and blouses, people turned in to more comfortable joggers and knits. These same early pandemic loungewear purchasers are more likely to show interest in clothing subscription kits. Those who didn’t buy but planned to get some new sweats or yoga pants were more likely to already be users.
In addition, people who both like and wear leisurewear more also show signs of intent to use clothing subscription kits, more so than people whose opinion of leisurewear hasn’t changed much.
A quick check-in with fans of the popular leisurewear brand Lululemon shows a marked percentage of interest in giving clothing subscription kits a try compared with favorables of other fashion brands, both luxury and mid-tier.
And lastly, if companies like Trunk Club aren’t already aware, current clothing kit users spend a lot of money on fashion through everyone’s favorite one-stop-shop, Amazon.com.
