- The document discusses shopper perspectives on engagement, loyalty, and personalization in apparel retail. It analyzes results from a survey conducted by Fits Me, a company that helps retailers understand customer fit preferences. - The survey finds that most shoppers find it annoying to search through many clothing options and would prefer retailers to show them items more tailored to their fit needs. It also shows that while many shoppers think of themselves as loyal, their definitions of loyalty are inconsistent and many will shop widely for the best prices.

1. KNOWING THEM,
KNOWING YOU
SHOPPER PERSPECTIVES
ON ENGAGEMENT, LOYALTY
AND PERSONALISATION IN
APPAREL RETAIL
AUGUST 2016

2. www.fits.me 2
Chief Executive, Fits Me
a Rakuten company
FOREWORD FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Stuart Simms
Barely five years ago, it was thought
impossible to sell clothing online successfully.
How wrong that has proved. In that time, not
only have we seen that the overwhelming
majority of consumers will buy clothes online,
we’ve had time to see substantial changes
in their shopping habits, thanks to online
shopping advancements, internationalisation,
and the effects on disposable incomes
of the recent global recession.
One of the most obvious effects has been the
rapid evolution of the worldwide web into
an enormous, virtual discount warehouse.
At the top-end, fashion still prides itself
as a means for people to express their
individuality through their choices. But, for
most people, price has become the primary
consideration behind most purchases. This
has inevitably resulted in a near-collapse
in the traditional notion of brand loyalty
in many parts of the apparel sector as
consumers shop around while expending
no more effort than touching a screen.
While notionally good for consumers
in the immediate term, the long-term
effects of addiction to price are likely to
be unwelcome: a ‘race to the bottom’
favours neither business sustainability
nor product quality – both of which will
surely come back to haunt consumers
just as they haunt retailers and brands.
Naturally, retailers and brands have
responded: new themes and strategies
have emerged as they try to combat their
shoppers’ addiction to price – customer
engagement, customer experience, loyalty
programmes and personalisation to name
a few. All are aimed at increasing customer
loyalty in order to grow (or even, perhaps, to
restore the idea of) customer lifetime value.
As a business that enables apparel
retailers and brands to understand their
customers through each individual’s unique
combination of measurements and fit
preferences, Fits Me has fingers in each
and every one of these pies. We think we
understand the relationship between them
pretty well and, maybe, you do too. But
customer-centricity applies to us all: what we
think doesn’t matter, it’s what the shopper
thinks that matters. We commissioned
this survey, the key results of which are
summarised below, the better to know
what your customers understand and
expect of these themes and the relationship
between them – all through their eyes.
Have we asked every question, answered
every question? No. But I hope you’ll find
nuggets of gold here, some quantification or
knowledge you didn’t have before, that will
help you to formulate your 2016 strategy for
building a sustainable, profitable, customer-
centric business model that can succeed in
the current, long-term, shopping reality.

3. www.fits.me 3
Retail Week’s July 2014 report Fashion Retail: selling
fashion in a digital age suggested that 60% of consumers
want retailers to present fashion that is relevant to
them. This survey shows a significant increase, to 78%.
The same Retail Week report suggested that 69% of
consumers find it annoying to have to search through
lots of clothes to find the right thing. This survey
indicates that 46% of shoppers always or often find it
annoying, with a further 35% responding ‘sometimes’.
The June 2013 Cisco® Customer Experience Report
documented that 58% of consumers polled were
willing to share their personal measurements
and sizes with their retailer in exchange for more
personalized recommendations on future purchases.
This survey indicates a comparable figure of 57%.
Overall, 92% of respondents in this survey confirmed
that they shop online for clothes – exactly the same as in
our survey of February 2014, How fit is online fashion?
COMPARISONS WITH PREVIOUS SURVEYS
SEVERAL QUESTIONS IN OUR SURVEY ARE DIRECTLY COMPARABLE
WITH SIMILAR SURVEYS CONDUCTED BY OTHER ORGANISATIONS,
ENABLING BROAD CONCLUSIONS OVER TRENDS.

4. www.fits.me 4
SEARCH AND DISCOVERY
Do you find it annoying or irritating to have to search
through a lot of clothes to find the items you want?
ALWAYS OFTEN SOMETIMES OCCASIONALLY NEVER
Total - 2005 Male - 940 Female - 1065
14%
32%
35%
14%
4%
11%
32%
34%
15%
7%
16%
32%
36%
13%
2%
Six percent of respondents stated that
they ‘always’ find it difficult to find what
they’re looking for, with an additional 24%
replying ‘often’ – together comprising
three in ten shoppers. A further five-in-ten
More significantly, experiencing such
difficulty generates strongly negative
emotions. Asked whether they found it
annoying or irritating to have to search
through a lot of clothes to find the items
they want, 14% of respondents replied
WITH SO MANY ITEMS AVAILABLE ONLINE, THERE IS CLEARLY A RISK
THAT SHOPPERS WILL FIND IT HARD TO FIND THE GARMENT FOR
WHICH THEY ARE LOOKING. HOW PREVALENT IS THE ISSUE?
responded ‘sometimes’, making a total of
over 80% of shoppers stating ‘sometimes’
or worse – not the endorsement of the
shopping experience that retailers would
like. For women this total rises to 86%.
‘always’, and 32% replied ‘often’ – suggesting
retailers routinely inconvenience nearly half
their shoppers, despite the emergence of
effective search/filter functionality. Up to age
34, more than half of respondents claim they
are ‘always’ or ‘often’ annoyed or irritated.
6%
24%
52%
15%
3%
5%
21%
50%
18%
5%6%
26%
54%
12%
2%
ALWAYS OFTEN SOMETIMES OCCASIONALLY NEVER
Total - 2005 Male - 940 Female - 1065
When shopping for clothes, is it difficult to find what you are looking for?
Male - 940Total - 2005 Female - 1065
Male - 940Total - 2005 Female - 1065

5. www.fits.me 5
With 88% of respondents having been
annoyed at some point by the lack of sizing
consistency across retailers, there is strong
support for the use of fit to filter the choice
available to customers. When asked whether
FIT-BASED CURATION FINDS FAVOUR
If a clothing retailer or brand showed you only items that it knew
would fit you the way you like, would that help you to choose?
78% 79% 78%
4% 5%
3%
18%
16%
19%
TOTAL - 2005 MALE - 940 FEMALE - 1065
Yes No Unsure
78% 79% 78%
4% 5%
3%
18%
16%
19%
TOTAL - 2005 MALE - 940 FEMALE - 1065
Yes No Unsure
being shown only items that the retailer
knew would fit them would help them to
choose, almost four-in-five respondents
replied ‘yes’, with only 4% replying negatively.

6. www.fits.me 6
LOYALTY
SHOPPER LOYALTY HAS BECOME A MAJOR ISSUE FOR APPAREL
RETAILERS AND BRANDS. BUT DO SHOPPERS CONSIDER
THEMSELVES LOYAL – AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN BY THAT?
Which of the following statements most closely
describes your clothes shopping habits?
For all the evidence of declining customer
loyalty, 56% of all respondents consider
themselves to be loyal to a handful or
fewer of apparel retailers or brands which
meet all their clothing requirements.
There is nonetheless a substantial
minority (40%) of respondents which is
explicitly not loyal, happy to shop either
in many places (30%) or anywhere with
the right clothes (10%).
Older shoppers become less likely to be
loyal to a small handful of retailers. This
cannot be explained by, for example, an
increasing preference to shop from local
stores; genuine brand-indifference appears
responsible, meaning older age groups will
shop wherever they find the clothes they like.
However, the survey also contains evidence
of muddled consumer perceptions of loyalty.
AGE
2005 940 1065
18-24
183
25-34
375
35-44
383
45-54
402
55-64
379
65+
283
I always buy from a handful
of favourite retailers / brands
that, together, meet all my
clothing requirements.
50% 47% 52% 62% 50% 49% 51% 46% 46%
I buy clothes from lots of
different retailers/brands.
30% 31% 30% 24% 33% 34% 32% 29% 26%
I shop with any brand/retailer
that has clothes I like.
10% 10% 11% 7% 6% 8% 11% 14% 16%
I always buy from one favourite
retailer / brand that meets all
my clothing requirements
6% 8% 5% 5% 10% 7% 4% 6% 6%
I try to buy from local stores. 2% 2% 1% 2% 1% 1% 1% 2% 4%
I try to buy from
UK retailers / brands.
2% 2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 2% 3%
TOTAL

7. www.fits.me 7
71% of respondents replied that they were
loyal to either one, two or three, meaning
that only 29% of responses were loyal to four
or above (including, ultimately, 16% loyal to
no retailer) – inconsistent with the significant
40% minority mentioned above. The fall-off
above three retailers is pronounced.
This particular inconsistency is positive for
retailers: in the purposely ‘general’ previous
question, 40% of respondents gave a
response suggesting a lack of loyalty, while
in this more specific question only 30%
of respondents gave a similarly indicative
response. Even allowing the inconsistency,
consumers seem to consider themselves
more loyal than retailers believe.
On the basis of your answer to the previous
question, to how many clothing retailers or
brands would you say you were “loyal”?
2005 940 1065
0 16% 19% 13%
1 10% 11% 9%
2 29% 31% 28%
3 32% 29% 34%
4 3% 2% 5%
5 6% 5% 7%
6 2% 2% 3%
7 1% 1% 1%
8 0% 0% 0%
9 0% – 0%
10 0% 0% 1%
TOTAL

8. www.fits.me 8
21.7%
12.0%
9.6%
5.9%
5.1%
4.7%
3.9%
3.7%
2.9%
2.7%
2.3%
2.0%
1.9%
1.9%
1.6%
1.4%
1.3%
1.3%
1.3%
1.1%
1.0%
0.9%
0.9%
0.9%
0.8%
0.8%
0.7%
0.7%
0.7%
0.7%
0.7%
0.6%
0.6%
0.6%
0.5%
0.5%
OTHER
M&S
NEXT
PRIMARK
DEBENHAMS
NEW LOOK
H&M
ASDA (GEORGE)
TESCO (F&F)
MATALAN
ASOS
AMAZON
BHS
DOROTHY PERKINS
RIVER ISLAND
ZARA
TOPMAN
JOHN LEWIS
SAINSBURY'S (TU)
TOPSHOP
BURTON
BONMARCHÉ
COTTON TRADERS
ADIDAS
TK MAXX
NIKE
GAP
EBAY
EVANS
PEACOCKS
FAT FACE
LEVI'S
SPORTS DIRECT
WHITE STUFF
JD WILLIAMS
WALLIS
WHO’S GETTING THE LOYALTY?
A LARGE MAJORITY OF SHOPPERS SAY THEY ARE LOYAL,
BUT TO WHICH RETAILERS ARE THEY ACCORDING THAT LOYALTY?
84% of the 2005 respondents – all 1,686 of
those who, in the preceding question, said
they were loyal to one or more apparel
retailers or brands – were asked to name
those to which they would describe
themselves as most loyal. Respondents
who said they were loyal to one, two, or
three apparel retailers or brands were
invited to name those one, two or three
respectively; respondents who said they
were loyal to four or more retailers or
brands were capped at three names. This
resulted in 3,340 meaningful brand/retailer
mentions, the distribution of the top 35
of which are shown in the chart below.
While there is no benchmark to indicate
whether the absolute numbers are positive
or negative for the retailers and brands
shown, there are relative comparisons to
make, for example between similar genres
of retailer/brand. There may also be high
street ‘names’ that might have expected
to be the top 35 of the ‘Loyalty Index’
by this measure, but which are not.
Percentage of mentions

9. www.fits.me 9
HOW WIDE IS THE GAP BETWEEN RESPONDENTS’ LOYALTY
PERCEPTION AND THEIR ACTIONS? HOW EASILY ARE LOYAL
INTENTIONS SET ASIDE?
From the following list of reasons, select the statement you agree with most.
To clarify their reasons for the number they
gave to the preceding question, we asked
respondents to select from a list of
statements that could explain their
previous response. The statements fall
broadly into two categories: short term
‘self-interest’ triggers and longer term
‘loyalty’ drivers.
AGE
2005
18-24
183
25-34
375
35-44
383
45-54
402
55-64
379
65+
283
I like to shop around for the best price 29% 29% 33% 30% 29% 28% 26%
I shop for clothes I like without
thinking about the brand or retailer
20% 21% 16% 17% 17% 23% 24%
Online shopping means it’s easier
to shop around than to be loyal
16% 14% 19% 13% 17% 15% 13%
I am always a loyal customer
of my favourite retailers
14% 10% 12% 13% 13% 17% 18%
Retailers make little attempt to
turn me into a loyal customer
6% 6% 5% 7% 7% 7% 4%
Retailers don’t do enough
to deserve my loyalty
5% 5% 6% 6% 6% 3% 3%
Retailers don’t try to get to know
me or understand my needs
4% 5% 3% 5% 4% 4% 4%
Retailers do a good job of turning
me into a loyal customer
4% 8% 5% 5% 3% 2% 4%
I prefer to support local shops 3% 2% 2% 2% 4% 1% 5%
TOTAL
(DIS)LOYALTY DRIVERS

10. www.fits.me 10
INCREASING LOYALTY
IF LOYALTY IS AN ISSUE FOR RETAILERS AND BRANDS,
THEN WHAT DO CUSTOMERS EXPECT IN RETURN FOR GIVING IT?
HOW SOPHISTICATED DO BUSINESSES NEED TO GET?
No sooner is price introduced than it
tops the list of drivers – although whether
this is a driver of loyalty or disloyalty
is a question that would stand further
exploration: retailers of value clothing
(such as supermarkets) scored well when
respondents were asked to name the retailers
and brands to which they were most loyal.
The first, true long-term loyalty-related
statement comes in a lowly fourth,
suggesting that retailers working to
earn their customers’ loyalties does not
automatically register as a priority for them.
Also of interest: the age-group results for
the answer ‘I shop without thinking about
the brand or retailer’. It’s possible that,
in the youngest group, getting ‘the look’
is more important than the label; in the
25-34 age-group, personal identity may
have solidified (at the same time as factors
such as children increase price-sensitivity),
before brand loyalty seeps away with age, as
responses to previous questions also indicate.
Asked for a second-preference answer, the
response pattern is repeated with price still
the biggest single response by a distance.
From the following list, choose the
factor which would be most likely
to increase your loyalty to a clothing
retailer or brand.
2005 940 1065
It stocks clothes that fit my needs and preferences 29% 23% 35%
It has consistently better quality
products for the price than others
21% 26% 17%
It is consistently cheaper than others 18% 20% 16%
Items I like are rarely ‘out of stock’
in the size I want
11% 9% 12%
There is a high street store that’s local to me 7% 8% 6%
It makes me feel individual,
not the same as everyone else
6% 5% 7%
It knows what I like and remembers me when I
visit their website or walk through the door
4% 4% 3%
It learns about me and sends information about
the products in which I am most interested
3% 4% 3%
TOTAL

11. www.fits.me 11
TOTAL - 2005 MALE - 940 FEMALE - 1065
Yes No Unsure
34% 34% 34%
29%
34%
23%
38%
32%
43%
GETTING PERSONAL WITH MARKETING
HOW DO SHOPPERS VIEW PERSONALISED MARKETING
COMMUNICATIONS? DO PEOPLE WANT THE ONE-TO-ONE
CONVERSATION, OR JUST TO HEAR THE SAME SHOUT-OUT
AS EVERYONE ELSE?
In view of the dominance of price in
responses to preceding questions, it would
be reasonable to expect ‘price’ to be at the
top of the list. It isn’t – evidence that even the
lowest price in the world can never inspire
loyalty as there will, after all, always be
somewhere cheaper, however temporarily.
Price is, however, the third-most popular
response (and is also a major factor in the
second-most popular response, value). As
seen above, short-term ‘self-interest’ factors
hugely outscore any concept that retailers
could be doing more or better for customers,
including ‘obvious’ personalisation.
Nonetheless, the most popular response
suggests that, most of all, retailers simply
need to avoid disappointing their customers
The number that stands out below is the
huge proportion of “don’t know” responses,
along with the remarkably even split between
“yes” and “no”. The disparity between the
welcome for personalised marketing
communications – the “yes” responses at
It is not the only set of responses in this
survey to demonstrate that shoppers
are, as yet, unaware that this degree of
personalisation is achievable. The disparity
may also be explained by consumers
34% – and the 78% of respondents who, right
at the top of the survey, said they would find
it easier to choose if a retailer only showed
them clothes it knew would fit. It is also
pronounced as unexpected, since they might
have inferred that this is what is on offer.
feeling torn between the benefits of such
communication and general resentment at
being the recipient of frequently unwanted
marketing communications – which may also
account for the level of “unsure” responses.
by selling clothes that fit
customer needs and preferences,
and ensuring they are stocked in
volumes and sizes to meet demand.
Since every retailer aims to do this
already, the collective message from
consumers appears to be a plea for
retailers to know their customers in far
greater detail than do most retailers
currently – in effect, to apply macro-insight
gained from micro-personalisation.
Asked for a second-preference answer,
the pattern of answers was repeated.
Asked to consider the same list in the
inverse way – ‘which factors would
be least likely to increase loyalty?’ –
respondents remained consistent.
If a retailer or a brand sent you a newsletter, email or catalogue showcasing
garments specific to your preferences, would that increase your likelihood of
buying from them?
Yes No Unsure

12. www.fits.me 12

13. www.fits.me 13
PERSONAL DATA
CONSUMERS ARE GENERALLY PERCEIVED TO BE INCREASINGLY
AWARE OF THE VALUE OF THEIR DATA, AS WELL AS THE ISSUES
AROUND ITS GIVING, RECEIPT, COLLECTION AND STORAGE.
WHAT ARE THEY PREPARED TO SHARE?
This survey is specific to apparel shopping,
so it is unsurprising to see personal
measurements ranking highly in the
responses to this question. The answers
Which of the following are you happy to share with a
retailer while shopping? Tick all that apply.
with the highest ranking all make sense
for a customer to consider sharing
when buying clothes, while sensitive-
but-not-relevant-to-clothes information
such as marital status rank lower.
2005 940 1065
Email address 57% 54% 60%
Personal measurements, e.g., chest, waist,
bust, hips, neck, inside leg, weight
45% 49% 41%
Age 43% 43% 43%
Style preferences 41% 34% 48%
Name / address 34% 33% 35%
Colour / print / fabric tastes 34% 25% 41%
Purchase history 30% 30% 30%
Brand preferences 28% 27% 29%
Date of birth 25% 24% 26%
Wish lists 24% 19% 27%
Marital status 23% 23% 22%
TOTAL

14. www.fits.me 14
However it is surprising to see continued
disparity between respondents’ desire
for a curated experience based on what
the retailer knows will fit them (78%),
and their willingness to share the basic
information necessary for that to be
possible (45%). Shoppers may not be
making the connection between the
experience they want and the data that
requires, or it may indicate that retailers
have work to do to gain consumer trust.
Nonetheless this survey’s number is some
way higher than other recent figures
for the same question, such as Drapers’
September 2015 Multichannel report (17%).
With this survey taking the respondent
through a particular thought process,
WE RETURN TO PERSONAL DATA AGAIN LATER, AFTER SUGGESTING
TO SHOPPERS THAT THEIR EXPERIENCE COULD BE IMPROVED IF THEY
SHARE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
our higher figure highlights both how
straightforward and how beneficial it is to
educate the customers on the link between
the quality of the experience and data.
The total figure masks interesting variations
across age-groups. The 18-24 age-group are
arch-sharers, ranking top in 13 of the 19 data
categories. At 60%, this youthful group is
more than twice as likely to share their name
and address than the 65+ age-group (28%).
This older age-group is also far less willing
to share even colour/print/fabric tastes: just
17% compared with 45% of 18-24 year olds.
Overall, 15% of respondents are unwilling
to share any data with retailers. Among
18-24 year olds this figure is just 4%.
2005 940 1065
Mobile phone number 14% 17% 13%
Family size / composition 12% 13% 12%
Home phone number 11% 14% 8%
Store my credit card details 7% 8% 6%
Permission to perform a credit check 6% 9% 5%
Social media details 6% 7% 5%
Bank details 5% 7% 4%
Income 4% 5% 3%
None of the above 15% 17% 14%
TOTAL

15. www.fits.me 15
IMPROVING THE EXPERIENCE
WHAT WOULD SHOPPERS MOST LIKE TO SEE THAT
IMPROVES THEIR SHOPPING EXPERIENCE, IN RETURN FOR
SHARING MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THEMSELVES?
An aggregate of 38% indicate an appreciation
of how personalisation of their experience
could improve it, specifically in the form of
curation of the garments shown to them or
suggestions of alternatives – search and
discovery again.
The single most popular response, however,
is still price-related – 41% of respondents
would most like to see individualised
offers and discounts; responses to earlier
questions suggest that the “specific to
me” element of the answer carried less
weight than “offers and discounts”.
Thinking about the experience of buying clothes, select from
the following list the thing that you would most like to see in
return for sharing information about yourself?
2005 940 1065
Offers and discounts specific to me 41% 42% 40%
Show me only clothes that I like and that will fit me. 19% 19% 19%
Automatically tell me whether the size
that fits me correctly is ‘in stock’
12% 14% 11%
Show me all garments but tell me if any given item
will fit me, based on my personal preferences
7% 5% 8%
Suggestions of new products that I might
like based on my personal preferences
6% 5% 7%
VIP access to clothes pre-launch / sale 6% 4% 7%
Suggestions of alternative, similar items
if an item I want is not available
6% 6% 5%
Individualised marketing, such as
emails and catalogues that are based
on my style and fit preferences
4% 4% 3%
TOTAL

16. www.fits.me 16

17. www.fits.me 17
The popularity of price seems diminished as
a second preference. 40% of respondents
did not identify it as either the first
or second choice, suggesting a fairly
broad understanding that the sharing
of data should positively impact the
brand experience, not just pricing.
PERSONAL DATA – REVISITED
WHAT EXTRA WILL SHOPPERS SHARE IN RETURN FOR AN IMPROVED
SHOPPING EXPERIENCE? DID THE PROSPECT OF PERSONALISATION
OPEN RESPONDENTS’ EYES TO THE POSSIBILITIES?
Thinking about the experience of buying clothes, select from
the following list the thing that you would second most like
to see in return for sharing information about yourself?
2005 940 1065
Show me only clothes that I like and that will fit me 19% 22% 17%
Offers and discounts specific to me 17% 16% 17%
Automatically tell me whether the size
that fits me correctly is ‘in stock’
16% 17% 16%
Suggestions of alternative, similar items
if an item I want is not available
11% 10% 12%
Suggestions of new products that I might
like based on my personal preferences
10% 10% 11%
Show me all garments but tell me if any given item
will fit me, based on my personal preferences
10% 9% 10%
VIP access to clothes pre-launch / sale 10% 8% 11%
Individualised marketing, such as
emails and catalogues that are based
on my style and fit preferences
7% 9% 6%
TOTAL

18. www.fits.me 18
Which additional information would you be happy to share with a retailer in
return for an individual, personalised shopping experience? Tick all that apply.
AGE
1698
18-24
183
25-34
375
35-44
383
45-54
402
55-64
379
65+
283
Style preferences 17% 29% 33% 30% 29% 28% 26%
Purchase history 20% 21% 16% 17% 17% 23% 24%
Colour / print / fabric tastes 16% 14% 19% 13% 17% 15% 13%
Brand preferences 14% 10% 12% 13% 13% 17% 18%
Wish lists 6% 6% 5% 7% 7% 7% 4%
Personal measurements, e.g., chest,
waist, bust, hips, neck, inside leg, weight
5% 5% 6% 6% 6% 3% 3%
Date of birth 4% 5% 3% 5% 4% 4% 4%
Age 4% 8% 5% 5% 3% 2% 4%
Name / address 3% 2% 2% 2% 4% 1% 5%
Mobile phone number 20% 21% 16% 17% 17% 23% 24%
Email address 16% 14% 19% 13% 17% 15% 13%
Family size / composition 20% 21% 16% 17% 17% 23% 24%
Marital status 16% 14% 19% 13% 17% 15% 13%
Home phone number 20% 21% 16% 17% 17% 23% 24%
Social media details 16% 14% 19% 13% 17% 15% 13%
TOTAL

19. www.fits.me 19
More than 71% of shoppers are prepared to
share more in return for the explicit offer
of an individual, personalised shopping
experience (highest in younger age groups,
decreasing with age). Perhaps through the
‘education’ inherent in the survey, they have
immediately identified valuable benefits
from sharing additional information over
and above their initial, instinctive response.
To fully understand what shoppers will share,
it’s necessary to aggregate the responses to
this question with the earlier question about
In view of the publicity received by any
form of public data breach, it would be
unsurprising to learn that data security is
the primary motivation for consumers to
dislike sharing their data. And the second-
to-fifth most frequently cited reasons
below are all privacy-related, rather than
relevance-related. Why not the top-rated
response? It’s possible that the selection of
one privacy-related reason over the other
three may have been a marginal decision
for many respondents, for reasons that
DATA RELEVANCE
would need to be explored in more detail.
Nonetheless, security is far from the only
concern: as these responses show, irrelevance
or unclear relevance certainly sets off alarm
bells and it is the single largest response.
One in six respondents agrees it is “creepy”
for retailers to want to know that much
about them – not an emotion with which
a retailer would want to be associated.
what they are happy to share. The aggregate
for “style preferences” rises to a total of 58%,
“personal measurements” rises from 45% to
57%, and “purchase history” rises to 45%.
These totals still raise questions in view of
respondents’ answers to questions at the
top of the survey. The early 78% response
rate for “show me only clothes it knows will
fit me” may reflect a desire for a utopian
shopping experience, while the need to
share information to achieve that experience
yields a more conservative response.
AGE
1698
18-24
183
25-34
375
35-44
383
45-54
402
55-64
379
65+
283
Income 17% 29% 33% 30% 29% 28% 26%
Store my credit card details 20% 21% 16% 17% 17% 23% 24%
Permission to perform a credit check 16% 14% 19% 13% 17% 15% 13%
Bank details 14% 10% 12% 13% 13% 17% 18%
I don’t want to share any more information 6% 6% 5% 7% 7% 7% 4%
TOTAL
WHEN CONSUMERS DON’T WANT TO SHARE DATA, WHAT ARE THEIR
REASONS FOR NOT DOING SO? IS IT SIMPLY A SECURITY ISSUE?

20. www.fits.me 20
The super-sharers - the 18-24 group - are
more likely than any other group to suspect
that information may not contribute to an
improved, personalised shopping experience;
in fact, this age group’s combined response
to the ‘creepy’ or ‘not relevant’ options make
it by a distance the most suspicious group.
The small proportion of that age group
(5%) that worries about data being shared
with third parties – which might have
been thought likely to attract a significant
response – looks like a potential anomaly.
It may be a casualty of respondents’
selection of the ‘creepy’ or ‘not relevant’
options. However, there is evidence of
increasing fear as people get older.
Thinking about the personal information you’re unwilling to share:
from the following list, which reason most closely explains why?
page / 20
AGE
1698
18-24
183
25-34
375
35-44
383
45-54
402
55-64
379
65+
283
I don’t see how knowing it is relevant
to my clothes shopping experience
28% 31% 25% 23% 29% 29% 32%
A retailer might pass that
information to third parties
16% 5% 10% 13% 20% 22% 24%
It’s creepy for a business to want
to know that much about me
15% 24% 19% 18% 12% 13% 10%
It’s creepy for a business to want
to know that much about me
15% 12% 11% 14% 16% 19% 19%
It’s too private, even if it might help
provide a better experience
12% 18% 15% 16% 10% 7% 7%
A retailer might use the information
to increase their prices for me
5% 8% 11% 6% 3% 2% 2%
A retailer might use that information
to market / advertise to me more
5% 1% 5% 4% 5% 7% 4%
None of the above 4% 2% 5% 5% 5% 2% 2%
TOTAL

21. www.fits.me 21
Respondents were asked to think of their
favourite retailer and rate that favourite for
how well it does at giving the respondent
a personalised customer experience.
On the basis that most brands and retailers,
if they have embarked on personalisation
strategies, would agree that they are
generally still scratching the surface of what
is now possible, the 47% of respondents
that answered either Strong or Good is
surprisingly high. It may relate simply to the
fact that shopping online with any retailer
usually entails the creation of a profile,
whether or not the outcome from doing
WHO’S DOING IT RIGHT?
TO ENSURE RESPONDENTS CONTINUED TO GIVE DUE THOUGHT
TO THEIR RESPONSES, WE ASKED THEM TO THINK ABOUT REAL
APPAREL RETAILERS AND BRANDS WHILE ANSWERING, AND TO
IDENTIFY THEIR FAVOURITE RETAILER.
so is, actually, a personalised experience.
Considered in conjunction with other
answers, it’s possible to conclude that
shoppers are impressed by anything that
resembles personalisation, suggesting that
retailers and brands that take the plunge will
see rapid changes in customer perception.
With increasing age there is an interesting
decline in the proportion of respondents
AT THIS POINT WE ASKED RESPONDENTS TO IDENTIFY THEIR
FAVOURITE APPAREL BRAND OR RETAILER.
Thinking about your answers so far: how good is your favourite clothing
retailer/ brand at giving you an individualised, personal experience?
AGE
2005
18-24
183
25-34
375
35-44
383
45-54
402
55-64
379
65+
283
Strong 5% 10% 7% 6% 3% 2% 2%
Good 42% 39% 48% 45% 42% 39% 34%
Weak 23% 27% 22% 25% 21% 24% 18%
Very poor 7% 9% 5% 5% 7% 9% 11%
Unsure 23% 14% 18% 20% 27% 25% 35%
TOTAL

22. www.fits.me 22
Favourite retailer : Proportion of mentions
The question drew a meaningful response
from 1786 of the 2005 respondents, a rate
of 89%. This is 5% higher than the number
of respondents who agreed they were
loyal, implying that it is perfectly possible
to have a favourite retailer without feeling
any loyalty towards it, a situation that
applies to a minimum of 5% of shoppers.
There is considerable consistency between
the ‘Top 10’ of this ‘Favourite Index’ and the
same section of the earlier Loyalty Index.
Elsewhere there are retailers and brands
that, by this measure, are in the top 35 of the
Favourite Index but which are not in the Top
35 of the earlier Loyalty Index, and vice versa.
In both indices, the two top-ranked
retailers achieved responses significantly
ahead of even the third-ranked retailer.
21.8%
13.7%
11.8%
5.7%
5.2%
4.4%
3.5%
3.5%
2.8%
2.6%
2.4%
1.8%
1.5%
1.4%
1.2%
1.2%
1.1%
1.1%
1.0%
1.0%
1.0%
0.9%
0.8%
0.8%
0.8%
0.7%
0.7%
0.7%
0.7%
0.7%
0.7%
0.6%
0.6%
0.6%
0.6%
0.6%
OTHER
M&S
NEXT
PRIMARK
NEW LOOK
DEBENHAMS
H&M
ASDA (GEORGE)
ASOS
MATALAN
AMAZON
ZARA
TESCO (F&F)
TOPSHOP
DOROTHY PERKINS
JOHN LEWIS
COTTON TRADERS
RIVER ISLAND
TOPMAN
EBAY
SAINSBURY'S (TU)
NIKE
TK MAXX
BHS
BONMARCHÉ
BURTON
EVANS
ADIDAS
GAP
LEVI'S
SPORTS DIRECT
BODEN
FAT FACE
JD WILLIAMS
SUPERDRY
HOUSE OF FRASER
For clarity: respondents were asked to answer the preceding question in
the context of thinking about their favourite retailer; this chart shows the
distribution of answers when respondents were asked immediately afterwards
to identify the retailer they had in mind when answering that question.

23. www.fits.me 23
PERSONALISATION:
HOW TO GET IT WRONG
SURVEY RESPONDENTS ARE THINKING ABOUT PERSONALISATION AND
THE DATA NEEDED, NOW, UNLIKE WHEN THEY BEGAN THE SURVEY.
WHAT ARE THE OBVIOUS PITFALLS FOR RETAILERS?
There is no overwhelmingly popular
response to this question, but it’s notable
that the top three responses relate to
data privacy concerns rather than the
prospect of an unwanted individualised
experience. Together these three
comprise 56% of all responses, so these
concerns cannot easily be dismissed.
The 16% of respondents that cited concern
about seeing a computer-generated image
of themselves may reflect suspicions over
the potential of webcams to be activated
unexpectedly, something which has been
the subject of privacy scares in the past.
Fewer than one in sixteen respondents
indicate that the prospect of individualised
shopping experiences is “creepy”. The
survey explores their actual reaction to
well-/poorly-executed personalisation
in more detail in a later section.
The messages for retailers and brands from
the ‘data’ section of the survey are obvious:
be clear, be transparent and be honest.
Which of the following would
you find most creepy about a
personalised (individualised)
shopping experience?
2005 940 1065
If I couldn’t understand from where
the information had been acquired
22% 21% 23%
If I thought the retailer has no right to
know that information about me.
17% 18% 16%
If a retailer I had never bought from
sent me something personalised
17% 16% 17%
If I saw a computer-generated picture
of myself in an outfit
16% 13% 18%
If the personalised experience or recommendations
were so wrong it was irrelevant to me
9% 10% 8%
None of the above 7% 8% 7%
I can’t imagine finding it creepy 6% 7% 6%
If I couldn’t understand why I was
getting that experience
5% 6% 4%
TOTAL

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PERSONALISATION: IS THERE RISK?
YOU’VE COLLECTED THE DATA CORRECTLY, COMMUNICATED WITH
YOUR SHOPPERS, AND START PERSONALISING. WHAT ARE THE
REMAINING RISKS IN TERMS OF CUSTOMER RESPONSE?
Get it right and the overwhelming majority
of shoppers are pleased to get a personalised
experience based on their fit preferences,
measurements and purchase history: only
one in six is not happy. Of course, in the
real world, this is handled simply via an
opt-in/opt-out mechanism; meanwhile
85% of shoppers are happy to enjoy or
accept a better shopping experience.
The younger the age-group, the happier
they are to get the personalised experience.
Are older shoppers really less happy to get
a personalised experience? The research
cannot really tell us; some of the indifference
or negativity may be attributable to a lack
of understanding of what is possible, the
previously examined unwillingness to share
data, or even just to resistance to change.
Scenario: a favourite clothing retailer or brand alerts you to some
items that it thinks would be perfect for you based on your fit
preferences, measurements and previous purchase history.
Which of the following phrases best describes how you feel?
AGE
2005
18-24
183
25-34
375
35-44
383
45-54
402
55-64
379
65+
283
Happy about that / I welcome it 14% 19% 23% 17% 11% 8% 6%
OK with that / pleased 41% 51% 44% 46% 46% 34% 28%
Unbothered either way / indifferent 30% 21% 23% 26% 30% 36% 43%
Not OK with that / displeased 6% 5% 4% 5% 4% 7% 9%
Unhappy about that /
I feel intruded upon
9% 3% 6% 5% 8% 15% 14%
TOTAL

25. www.fits.me 25
This question provided some of the most
polarised results of the survey. At first
sight the message seems to be: Don’t
mess up, poorly executed personalisation
can alienate 61% of shoppers, while
39% are unbothered or better.
But this average is misleading: the figures
for “disappointed” and “unhappy” are
skewed upwards by a precision-demanding
73% of the 55+ age group and 74% of the
55-64 age group, while less than half of the
18-24 age group is bothered by it. Again,
in the real world, risk is easily mitigated
through an opt-in/opt-out mechanism.
These are, nonetheless, indications that
personalisation needs to be “done right”.
While acknowledging that the degree
of disappointment will be relative to the
effort that went into providing the data,
and which data were provided, delivering
incorrect (for example) recommendations
means the customer is deprived of
the correct recommendations.
In the same scenario, you feel the suggestions made for you are
generally wrong.Which of the following best describes how you feel?
AGE
2005
18-24
183
25-34
375
35-44
383
45-54
402
55-64
379
65+
283
Happy about that / I like receiving
information on products anyway
4% 3% 10% 5% 2% 1% 1%
OK with that / pleased 8% 7% 12% 13% 7% 4% 2%
Unbothered either way /
indifferent /no hard feelings
27% 42% 27% 31% 25% 21% 24%
Not ok with that / disappointed that the
technology seems not to have worked.
33% 30% 34% 31% 37% 34% 32%
Unhappy about that/I appear to have
shared my data for no good reason.
28% 18% 16% 21% 28% 40% 41%
TOTAL

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27. www.fits.me 27
SUMMARY
WE SET OUT TO DETERMINE SHOPPERS’ BROAD ATTITUDES
TOWARD CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, PERSONALISATION AND
LOYALTY. WHAT DID WE FIND?
SEARCH AND DISCOVERY
Comparison of responses to this survey with
surveys conducted by other organisations
suggests the issues around finding the
clothes have not receded but have, in fact,
grown. The widespread introduction of better
search functionality such as filters has not
improved the situation for clothes shoppers.
The research suggests that curation based on
an individual’s fit profile will be highly popular
with shoppers and improve their experience.
LOYALTY
There may be differences in the perceptions
of loyalty of retailers and shoppers. Received
wisdom from apparel retailers is that loyalty
is a major issue, while the perception of a
majority of shoppers is that they are loyal:
56% of respondents said they are loyal to a
handful of (or fewer) apparel retailers or brands
that meet all their clothing requirements.
Nonetheless, emphasising the challenge
facing retailers in this respect, only one in
seven respondents claimed always to be a
loyal customer of their favourite retailers.
Two-thirds of respondents admit to either
shopping around for the best price ( 29%),
shopping around because online makes it easy
to do so ( 20%), or shopping without thinking
about specific brands or retailers ( 16%).
And yet six out of ten respondents say they are
loyal to either two or three retailers, raising the
question: what is the optimum number of retailers
to which a shopper can, or should, be loyal?
Offering encouragement for retailers, when
respondents were asked to consider what
would make them more loyal, the single
best-scoring response related to stocking
clothes that fit each customer’s needs and
preferences. Since all retailers try to achieve
this already, this response suggests retailers
still need to do it significantly better, equating
to retailers knowing their customers better
than they currently do and putting that
knowledge to work across their organisation.
PERSONALISATION
Right at the top of the survey, respondents agreed
overwhelmingly that only being shown items that
would fit them, individually, the way they like
would improve their shopping experience and
help them to make better buying choices. This
comfortably falls into most retailers’ definition of
personalisation – so the conclusion is that fit-
centred personalisation is welcomed by shoppers.
While we asked questions with response options
that included the ‘personalisation of marketing
material’, inconsistencies in responses across
certain questions (and clearly stated uncertainty)
hint that it is being obviously ‘marketed-to’ of
which respondents are less than fond, rather
than personalisation – a warning to retailers to
carefully consider how they engage with 2016
shoppers from a marketing perspective.
Knowing the kind of individualised search-
and-discovery experience that shoppers want,
and considering the type of personal data that
shoppers are prepared to share in order to receive
a more personalised experience, it’s reasonable
to conclude that when personalisation delivers
an obvious or immediate benefit to the shopper
then such personalisation is welcome, but when
the shopper suspects that it’s more for the
benefit of the retailer it is far less welcome. Such
a conclusion supports the adage that unnoticed
personalisation is good personalisation.
This is also supported by the scenario questions
at the end of the survey: personalisation is
never more noticeable than when it’s wrong,
so there is an important precision aspect for
retailers to consider when deciding the factors
on which they will personalise. It is easier to be
more precise with fit than taste; since taste is
apt to change over a shorter period of time and
with little warning, while the measurements
aspect of ‘fit’ – that elusive combination of
measurements and personal preference – is
objectively measurable and changes more slowly,
and preferences can be routinely captured.

28. www.fits.me 28
ABOUT FITS ME
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Fits Me develops solutions that engage consumers during the apparel purchase
process, enabling retailers and brands to capture both body measurements and
fit preferences. Combined with Fits Me’s expertise in garment data, this consumer
data may be applied to improving the apparel retail experience for consumers
both individually and collectively, and to delivering new operational insights for
retailers. Marquee clients include HUGO BOSS, QVC UK and Thomas Pink.
All brand, product or service names mentioned herein may be trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
PERSONAL DATA
There is clear dissonance between shoppers’
recognition of shopping issues (search and
discovery, personalisation) and their willingness
to provide the data that enables retailers to
address these issues. Shoppers appear to be
aware of the potential of their data, alert to
its value, and suspicious when unnecessary
data is being collected. Interpreting several
questions together, shoppers (and younger age
groups in particular, despite being generally
more willing to share) may be savvy enough to
realise that ‘unnecessary’ data will later be put
to purposes unrelated to the task at hand – in
particular, for future marketing, which is less
enthusiastically received as previously concluded.
It’s impossible to conclude anything other than
that, behind this, there is a significant trust deficit
which retailers will need to work hard to overcome;
shoppers are regularly assailed with stories of
data ‘loss’, or misuse by all sorts of organisations,
with responsible data users paying the price.
Where data collection is concerned, the
messages seem clear: make sure your shoppers
know when you are collecting information,
the reasons for which you are collecting it, for
what it may be used and, most importantly,
with whom else you might share it.
Encouragingly, this survey – which to some
degree inevitably leads consumers through a
thought process – establishes that measurements
and fit data are not considered especially
sensitive, are willingly shared, and provide a
very strong and highly acceptable foundation
on which to personalise and otherwise
improve their shopping experience.
METHODOLOGY
The survey results are described, above, in
question order, in acknowledgement that
the questions inevitably take respondents
through something of a thought process
which may influence their later responses.
Data were collected by Redshift Research in
August 2015 from a nationally representative
sample of 2,005 UK adults aged 18+ who agreed
that they shop for new clothes. Interviews
were conducted online and answers were
coded to ensure that clearly inconsistent
responses were impossible to enter.
In this particular study, there is a 95% probability
that any survey result does not vary by more than
±2.2% from the result that would be obtained if
interviews had been conducted with the entire
UK population represented by the sample.

29. www.fits.me 29

30. www.fits.me
Contact
+44 8455 280570
info@fits.me