Men prove an easy mark for online retailers

The propensity of men to spontaneously purchase expensive clothing items is making them a favourite target market for online fashion retailers.

According to the Wall Street Journal Online, new research paints a picture of male spending habits that makes retailers’ mouths water in anticipation; they spend more, make snap decisions and return less stuff.

On the spending front, a survey of 1300 luxury shoppers by US firm Unity Marketing found that men spend an average $2401 on fashion items over three months, almost $1000 more than women. Another survey by BIGresearch found that 90% of men regularly make purchases online, compared to 86% of women.

Men also return fewer items as unsuitable – a Forrester Research study found that while women return 20% of the clothes they purchase, men are half as likely to do so.

And, it seems, men’s reluctance to spend time trying on clothes in the brick and mortar world translates into a propensity for snap purchasing when online. Research conducted by Yoox, an Italian online clothing retailer, found men take a third of the time that women do to make a purchase.