UK Summer 2024: Fashion Retail Shopping Trends

As the sun casts its golden rays over the UK, the summer of 2024 has brought more than just warmth—it's ushered in a season of shifting trends in the fashion retail sector. As a market that contributes billions to the overall UK economy, the UK’s fashion industry has long been a barometer of consumer confidence and style preferences.

However, this year tells a different story...

Despite the vibrant displays and trends gracing the storefronts and, retailers are grappling with a notable dip in performance. The steady rise in consumer confidence observed in the latter half of 2023 has levelled off in 2024. As at May 2024, 31% of consumers reported an improvement in their financial situation compared to the previous year, while 30% noted a decline. Most consumers felt their financial situation had remained relatively unchanged.

Compared to the highs of 2023, this summer’s sales figures have revealed a more cautious consumer base, navigating through economic uncertainty with tightened purse strings.

Join us as we unpack the season’s in-demand fashion categories and colours in this article, and get a comprehensive overview of the UK Summer Fashion retail landscape from a demand perspective, powered by Woven Insights.

Introducing Woven Insights

Woven Insights is the go-to business intelligence solution for fashion businesses looking to leverage accurate retail insights to enhance their research, design, production, inventory, pricing, merchandising, and marketing strategies.

By leveraging the Market Insights and Consumer Insights modules, fashion manufacturers, market researchers, designers, merchandisers and retailers can have a high-level understanding of retail market and consumer trends as they change in realtime.

The Most In-Demand Fashion Categories in the UK (Summer 2024)

Between May and July 2024, the most in-demand fashion categories in the UK were:

1. Tops (58,679 SKUs replenished)
2. Bottoms (29,362 SKUs replenished)
3. Dresses (26,084 SKUs replenished)

Using Woven Insights' Market Insights module, we can identify the most in-demand fashion categories using the Replenishment Analysis feature. This feature helps fashion businesses to identify in-demand brands, based on the rate at which their products are being replenished upon selling out.

The Most In-Demand Fashion Colours in the UK (Summer 2024)

Between May and July 2024, the most in-demand fashion categories in the UK were:

1. Black (51,539 SKUs replenished)
2. White (20,877 SKUs replenished)
3. Blue (16,737 SKUs replenished)

Using Woven Insights, we can identify the most in-demand colours using the Replenishment Analysis feature. This feature helps fashion businesses to identify in-demand colours, based on the rate at which products with those colours are being replenished upon selling out.

Conclusion

The winning fashion businesses are those who will continually monitor consumer behaviour, adapt to emerging trends, and leverage data-driven insights to refine their strategies.

Sachin Jangam, global practice leader at Infosys Consulting, emphasizes the importance of innovation for UK retailers to stay competitive. He suggests loyalty rewards and subscription models as key strategies to boost market share, alongside AI-driven assortment changes that align with consumer preferences.

AI-driven insights can empower retailers to proactively strengthen their customer-facing strategies for the upcoming holiday shopping season, regardless of the economic climate.

With Woven Insights, fashion businesses like yours are armed with the resources necessary to navigate the complexities of the market with confidence and precision. Sign up for a demo today.