Clothes, shoes, accessories: online purchasing in Great Britain 2020, by demographic

Published by

Stephanie Chevalier,

Jan 7, 2022

In the United Kingdom, more women than men purchased clothing, shoes, and accessories over the internet in 2020. According to a survey, over 60 percent of women bought clothing items online within the previous 12 months. Moreover, this activity was more prevalent in the younger age groups across both genders.

UK shoppers' soft spot for e-fashion

Apparel and footwear was the most popular online shopping category in Great Britain in 2020, with more than half of individuals in British households reporting buying items in this category over the internet. Estimates suggest that in 2021, fashion retail e-commerce revenue in the UK amounted to nearly 41 billion U.S. dollars, a figure forecast to grow by more than 20 percent over the next five years.

Where do Britons buy fashion online?

Although consumers in the United Kingdom enjoy a wide range of sources for discovering and purchasing fashion items over the internet, a survey conducted in 2021 revealed that Amazon was by far the most popular online store for apparel shopping. Among homegrown players, the multinationals Mark & Spencer and Next stood out, occupying second and third place in the ranking.

Share of individuals who purchased clothes (including sports clothing), shoes and accessories online in Great Britain in 2020, by age and gender

Characteristic	Share of respondents
Men	49%
Women	62%
16-24	69%
25-34	68%
35-44	71%
45-54	66%
55-64	44%
65+	27%

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Release date

August 2020

More information

Region

United Kingdom (Great Britain)

Survey time period

2020

Number of respondents

1,800**

Age group

16 years and older

Special properties

bought within the last 3 months

Method of interview

Online interview

Supplementary notes

* The source indicates: "The source of this information is the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OLS). The OLS is a multi-purpose survey developed by ONS for use by government departments, other public bodies, charities, academics and the media. It provides a fast, cost effective and reliable way of obtaining information on topics too brief to warrant their own survey."

** The Opinions and Lifestyle Survey is carried out by interviewing a nationally representative sample of households in Great Britain. About 1,800 households are sampled each month and estimates are subject to sampling variability, as are those from all sample surveys.

***The source indicates: "Online purchases were measured in previous releases as taking place within the last 12 months, therefore estimates from previous years are not strictly comparable with 2020."

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