'Mobiles to influence 70% of fashion accessory buys by 2022'

Mobile phones are expected to influence around 70 per cent of both apparel and fashion accessory purchases in the country by 2022, amounting to USD 110 billion sales opportunity, according to a report.

Nearly half of this will be driven by Facebook, the report named 'Eliminating friction in fashion path to purchase' by Facebook in association with KPMG said today.

It said mobile could help apparel brands to tap into potential sales opportunity of around USD 5 billion by reducing media friction, while it could help fashion accessories brands to tap into potential sales opportunity of around USD 9 billion.

"The friction faced by consumers can be reduced with the higher use of mobile in the media mix, creating about USD 14 billion worth of potential revenue for fashion brands by 2022," it said.

The report found that friction accounts for 19 per cent of consumer dropouts in the apparel category, and more than two-third of this friction is caused by media.

In the accessories category, friction accounts for 22 per cent of consumer dropouts, and around two-third of this is caused by media.

Fashion spectrum in the country has evolved to the extent that the apparel and accessory market is projected to reach USD 102 billion and USD 155 billion individually, by 2022, according to Facebook India director Pulkit Trivedi.

"Today, mobile has become central to the way brands market and sell their products and engage with customers end-to-end," he said.

According to the report, top friction areas for different demographic units vary and hence marketers need to customise their marketing strategy accordingly.

KPMG India partner and head e-commerce and Internet Sreedhar Prasad said the fashion consumption story of the country is evolving and demand for quality fashion products is on the rise.

"Rising affluence of the middle income group is creating demand for aspirational brands. In order to capture a larger share of mind, time and wallet of their target customers, fashion and e-commerce brands should continuously evaluate their marketing mix to ensure presence where the customer is," he added.