UK Apparel Consumer Insights: 2026
Summary
The report includes data and analysis from the analyst's How Britain Shops 2026 survey.Apparel purchasing rose 0.9ppts in 2026, led by under-35s and over-65s, while shoppers in their late 30s to 60s pulled back slightly.
Scope
- More under 35s and over 65s purchased apparel in 2026, indicating improved economic conditions for all demographics
- The demographics and locations of UK apparel shoppers remained similar due to consistent economic conditions and an apparel market reaching maturity
- Younger generations were more likely to purchase accessories as an affordable way to access trends
Reasons to Buy
- Identify how economic uncertainty is influencing how and where UK consumers shop for apparel
- Understand where the demand lies within the UK apparel market across various price positionings, categories, and retailers, to allow you to maximise customer acquisition
- Understand consumer sentiment surrounding the UK apparel market and what this means for apparel brands' next steps
Table of Contents
- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- WHO SHOPS AND WHAT THEY PURCHASE
- Who Shops for Apparel
- Categories Purchased
- Clothing Styles Purchased
- Womenswear and Menswear Items Purchased
- Girlswear and Boyswear Items Purchased
- Women's and Men's Footwear Items Purchased
- ChiIdren's Footwear and Accessories Items Purchased
- HOW & WHERE PEOPLE SHOP
- Purchase Frequency
- Channel Preferences
- Location Preferences
- Online Fulfilment Preferences
- Top Clothing Retailers
- Top Footwear Retailers
- Top Accessories Retailers
- WHY PEOPLE SHOP
- Purchase Drivers
- Purchase Inspirations
- Fashion Preferences
- Experiences When Shopping for Apparel
- Sustainability and Ethics
- SECONDHAND APPAREL PURCHASES
- Secondhand Apparel Purchases
- Future Secondhand Apparel Purchases
- Secondhand Categories Purchased
- Secondhand Purchase Drivers
- Secondhand Channel Preferences
- Instore and Online Secondhand Retailers Used
- Secondhand Purchase Statements
- METHODOLOGY, DEFINITIONS AND CONTACTS
- Consumers who purchased clothing, footwear and accessories, by demographic
- Womenswear items purchased
- Menswear items purchased
- Girlswear items purchased
- Boyswear items purchased
- Women’s footwear items purchased
- Men’s footwear items purchased
- Children’s footwear items purchased
- Accessories items purchased
- Channels used to purchase apparel, by demographic
- Fulfilment methods used when purchasing apparel online, by demographic
- Top clothing retailers visited and purchased from, 2024 and 2025
- Top footwear retailers visited and purchased from, 2024 and 2025
- Top accessories retailers visited and purchased from, 2024 and 2024
- What was important to shoppers when purchasing apparel in 2025, by demographic
- What inspires consumers’ apparel purchases in 2025, by demographic
- Consumers who purchased secondhand apparel in the last 12 months, by demographic
- Consumers who would consider purchasing secondhand apparel in the future, by total and demographic
- Top instore retailers secondhand apparel shoppers have purchased from
- Top online retailers secondhand apparel shoppers have purchased from
- Consumers who shopped for apparel in the last 12 months, totally and by gender, age, social grade, and region
- Demographic profile of apparel shoppers, by gender, age, social grade and region
- Consumers who shopped for clothing, footwear and accessories
- Categories purchased by clothing and footwear shoppers
- Clothing styles purchased by apparel shoppers
- How frequently shoppers purchase apparel
- Channels used to purchase apparel
- Instore locations shopped at for apparel
- Fulfilment methods used when purchasing apparel online
- What is important to shoppers when purchasing apparel
- What inspires shoppers’ apparel purchases
- Agreement and disagreement with statements about fashion preferences
- Agreement and disagreement with statements about experiences when shopping for apparel
- Agreement and disagreement with statements about sustainability and ethics
- Consumers who purchased secondhand apparel in the last 12 months
- Consumers who would consider purchasing secondhand apparel in the future
- Categories purchased by secondhand apparel shoppers
- What is important to shoppers when purchasing secondhand apparel
- Channels used for secondhand apparel purchases
- Agreement and disagreement with statements about purchasing items secondhand
Companies Mentioned (Partial List)
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:
- Primark
- Marks & Spencer
- Tesco
- TK Maxx
- Next
- Sainsbury's
- ASDA
- Matalan
- JD Sports
- H&M
- Sports Direct
- Zara
- New Look
- Nike
- John Lewis & Partners
- SHEIN
- Amazon
- Temu
- eBay
- JD Sports
- ASDA
- ASOS
- Skechers
- Adidas
- Shoe Zone
- Clarks
- New Balance
- M&M Direct
- Aldi
- Argos
- British Heart Foundation
- Cancer Research UK
- Oxfam
- British Red Cross
- Barnardo's
- Salvation Army
- Vinted
- Facebook Marketplace
- Amazon Marketplace
- Depop
- Preloved.co.uk
- Gumtree
