Only a quarter of female active wear market loyal to specific brands

Only a quarter of female active wear consumers are loyal to specific brands, with those under 35 years old more likely to be loyal than older women, according to new research commissioned by the Australian Sporting Goods Association (ASGA).

The national survey of over a thousand female active wear consumers shows that 32% of women aged 16-24 rate themselves as loyal to specific active wear brands, compared to women aged 25-34 at 37%; women aged between 35-49 at 25%; and only 13% women over 50 years old rating themselves as loyal to specific brands.

The survey is Stage 4 of the Active Wear: Forecasting future trends in female consumer behaviour research project, undertaken by Victoria University and market research company 10 THOUSAND FEET.

 It provides valuable quantitative research that will allow brands, marketers and retailers to understand, in-depth, the purchase decision-making habits of female consumers of active wear.

Commenting on the findings, ASGA Executive Director Shannon Walker stated “the research shows that factors other than brand loyalty are the primary drivers for active wear purchases for the majority of female consumers.”

The research identifies seven market segments, which cross over demographics but display a remarkable consistency when it comes to how they feel about exercise; what product features they are looking for in active wear; the importance of appearance when selecting products and how they prefer to be communicated with by brands and retailers.

While there was a very small correlation between the frequency of exercise and the number of active wear items purchased, by far the bigger determining factor was how a woman feels about exercise.

The ‘Sports Passionate’ segment (10% of the market) exercise because they love it, are more loyal to specific brands than the average consumer and purchase active wear more frequently each year than any other segments - 5.4 times a year. This is the relatively small group of women targeted by most active wear brands.

The ‘Instant Gratifiers’, on the other hand, are the largest segment at 24%. They don’t like exercise - they only do it because they feel they have to – and only purchase active wear 2.7 times a year. They have little loyalty to specific brands and tend to prefer generic brands over performance brands.

The other segments are:

• Healthy Maintainers (19%)
• Healthy Stylists (18%)
• Self Driven (18%)
• Socially Driven (7%)
• Inactive (4%)

In general, active wear is primarily used for exercise (74%) and playing sport (54%), wearing active wear around the home (20%) and for running errands (13%).

Female consumers prefer brands that focus on function and performance (40%), flatter their body shape (28%) and that take a healthy lifestyle approach (17%).

Almost half (49%) of all women don’t engage with active wear brands on social media at all. Of those that do, Facebook and Instagram are the most popular. Unsurprisingly, social media engagement is more prevalent with younger consumers than older consumers.

Women primarily purchase active wear exclusively in physical retail outlets (65%), or a combination of online and in retail stores (30%). Only 5% of female consumers purchase active wear exclusively online.

Lead researcher for the project, Associate Professor Clare Hanlon from Victoria University, commented “active wear brands and retailers must think about both function and fashion in their designs, and how they market to each of the seven segments.”

Walker added “this survey reveals a wealth of knowledge to active wear brands and retailers, who can use the findings to quantify the behaviour and purchasing decisions of their female customers.”

The final stage of the project, due in March, will integrate the previous four stages, including a literature review, consumer focus groups, an industry forecasting study and the national survey.

All stages are available for purchase by contacting ASGA on email shannon@asga.com.au 

Images: Active wear from Devotion (top), Lorna Jane (middle) and Nike (below).

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