How To Conduct Merchandise Analysis In A Specific Market Segment Using Woven Insights
Midi length dresses are gaining popularity, accounting for over 20% of dress features. Cotton is a dominant material across all categories, especially in tops and girls' clothes. "Other" features account for a significant portion in most categories.
In the fast-paced world of fashion retail, understanding product assortment is crucial for staying ahead of the competition. Fashion retailers, merchandisers, and apparel manufacturers need to analyze merchandise distribution across different market segments to optimize their offerings. This article explores how to carry out a merchandise analysis in a specific market segment using Woven Insights, focusing on UK retail stores.
Step 1: Selecting the Market and Stores
To begin merchandise analysis, the first step is to define the market segment of interest. Using Woven Insights, you can specify the geographical region, in this case, the UK. Once the location is set, the next step is to select the retail stores relevant to the analysis. For this demonstration, stores such as Blue Vanilla, Boden and Dorothy Perkins were chosen to get the top features from each brand in the assortment analysis section
Step 2: Analyzing Assortment Distribution
After selecting the stores, navigating to the Assortment Analysis tab in Woven Insights provides an in-depth view of product distribution. This section highlights the most prominent features of the merchandise from the selected retailers, including:
- Material Composition: Cotton is the most frequently stocked materials.
- Sleeve Length: Long sleeves dominate the inventory, with short sleeves also present.
- Neckline Styles: V-neck is observed majorly across different retailers.
- Dress Features: The analysis reveals the percentage distribution of features such as dress length
Step 3: Analyzing the Category Assortment Depth
Locate the category assortment depth to gain insight into the distribution of materials in the selected market. In this instance, the data shows that "dress" has the highest number of feature and color combinations, indicating a wide variety of options for customers.
Step 4: Comparing Top Featured Categories
Woven Insights allows users to delve deeper into category-specific analysis. For instance, within the dress category:
- Floral prints dominate the market, suggesting a strong consumer preference for feminine and nature-inspired designs. To capitalize on this trend, consider expanding your offerings in this category. Additionally, high waistlines are overwhelmingly popular, indicating a shift towards more flattering and comfortable silhouettes.
Similarly, insights into tops, girls' clothing, and other categories are available. Beyond categories, the tool also enables a top feature category breakdown. For example: Midi length dresses are gaining popularity, accounting for over 20% of dress features. Cotton is a dominant material across all categories, especially in tops and girls' clothes. "Other" features account for a significant portion in most categories.
Step 5: Gaining Actionable Insights
By leveraging Woven Insights, businesses can make data-driven decisions, such as:
- Identifying trends in material preferences across different retailers.
- Optimizing stock based on customer preferences for sleeve length and neck styles.
- Understanding how competitors structure their product assortment.
- Enhancing merchandising strategies to align with market demand.
Conclusion
Merchandise analysis is an essential process for fashion retailers and manufacturers aiming to refine their product offerings. Using Woven Insights, businesses can efficiently assess product distribution, compare retailer strategies, and gain a competitive edge in the market. This powerful tool enables data-driven decision-making, ensuring that fashion brands remain relevant and well-positioned in their chosen market segment.
About Woven Insights
Woven Insights is a comprehensive market analytics solution that provides fashion brands with real-time access to retail market and consumer insights, sourced from over 70 million real shoppers and 20 million analyzed fashion products. Our platform helps brands track market trends, assess competitor performance, and refine product strategies with precision.
Woven Insights provides you with all the actionable data you need to create fashion products that are truly market-ready and consumer-aligned.
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