High fashion always seemed to be for the thin. Plus-sized clothing and maternity wear seemed, in my eyes, always eternally ‘mumsy’. A ‘Telegraph’ reporter calls it ‘rather formal and mother-of-the-bride-ish’
A growing population is putting fashion designers and shops on the spot. Marc Jacobs is tweeting about a plus-sized range, US store, Saks Fifth Avenue, is adding bigger sizes to its designer third floor instead of hiding them away in a special department. UK retailer, Marks & Spencer, has launched plus-sized school uniforms.
What are the statistics and how can fashion stores appeal to the plus-sized market with their PPC campaigns?
The Figures
Last week Mintel reported that almost one in five British women are now a UK size 18 (a US size 16) or over, that equals 4.9 million women. They also predict that by 2011, 6.4 million women will be a UK size 18 or above, an increase of almost 40% compared to 2006. Currently the average size seems to be 14 (a US size 12). In 2005 they measured that £2.3 million was spent on plus-sized fashion. Just imagine how much this will be in 2011! This market is experiencing enormous growth.
Data from the Microsoft Advertising Intelligence Tool (download for free) also reflects growth. Compare searches for plus-size clothing YOY and you see a growth of 164%. Compare with 2008 and the growth in searches is 252%.
Why is This Market Growing?
According to Mintel, more young women find themselves gaining weight and it is these women that traditionally buy most fashion. Weight gain is partly associated with getting older and the population is aging, increasing the demand for clothing in larger sizes further.
This renewed plus-sized market does not put up with dowdy, shapeless clothes. The younger women like to look similar to their friends (or like curvy new role model Christina Hendricks from Mad Men). The older women (and men!) like to dress more modern than they may have done years ago, creating a demand to which the market starts to respond. Even if fashion designers do not want to cater for this market, they should do to please their accountants.
How Could This Trend Benefit Your PPC Campaign?
I am a Retail Search Media Analyst and found myself comparing ad copy of various advertisers to pinpoint elements of success in ads (in this case success being a high CTR). I found some advertisers highly successful due to mentioning numbers in ad titles... not prices, but sizes.
Many a store sells plus sizes but they don’t advertise it; this is a missed opportunity. Try mentioning the range of sizes you sell so that your consumers know you may be able to sell them something they fit and like.
Secondly you could create special ad group(s) which contains plus-size keywords. Find out which relevant plus-size keywords would drive most traffic for you by going into your adCenter account:
- Select the ‘Tools’ tab
- Follow the ‘Research Keywords’ link
- Type in ‘plus size’
- Add non-relevant keywords as negative matches
- Apply relevant, tailored ad copy (including the range of sizes you sell)
With cooler weather (and the holiday season!) coming up quickly on the horizon, many consumers will be looking to supplement their warm weather wardrobes, so now is the time to take advantage of this opportunity.
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