Bite-Sized Insights: Kids Clothing

Each week we ask our trusted Insights panel of parents a key question. This week we were interested in finding out what parents look for when buying kids clothing. What factors are most important to them? Style? Quality? Fit? Take a quick read of this week’s bite-sized insights to find out what parents are saying about buying kids clothing.

Would you like business-transforming insights for your brand? Use our tailored panels of engaged parents and our dedicated private platform to gather critical insights to help your decision making and activate customers. Contact us now to find how we can help.

Recommended reading: What Parents Told Us About Shopping and Retail

We asked our Insights panel of parents to tell us how which of the following factors they look for when buying clothes for children. In order of preference, here’s how they answered:

• 1st: The number one most important factor for parents when buying kids clothing was that the items be hard wearing – 8 out of 10 parents agreed on this point.
• 2nd: After durability, 60% of parents listed the style of the clothing as an important factor.
• 3rd: Just behind style, 57% of parents told us that fabric type was key to their buying decision.
• 4th: Related to durability, almost half of parents marked ‘it can be passed down’ as something they’d consider when buying kids clothes.
• 5th: A stain resistant finish was important to 39% of parents.
• 6th: Finally, a fifth of parents indicated that clothes that were washable at low temperatures were something they’d look out for.

Any further thoughts on buying kids clothing?

Comments from our panel members included:

“I prefer to get a majority of our clothes secondhand and then spend on a few special pieces.”

“Not too expensive as they grow out of them so quickly. Cool prints or designs that child will like.”

“They must be hard wearing and last a while and of course style is important to my kids too.”

“Sizing… my daughter has a biggish build and I find it very hard to find sizes for her.”

“Ethically sourced clothes are a huge bonus.”

“The industry is totally over supplied, fast fashion needs to change worldwide.”

“It’s always a case of weighing up cost against how much use they’ll get out of the clothes. Have to be dryer-able for me.”

“Most importantly, something they themselves will agree to wear or it’ll be all a waste of money.”

“It is good to find clothes that are good quality, wash well and are long lasting, until they grow out of them and kids’ favourite characters are good too.”

“Must be 100% suitable for eczema prone skin. Harder to get as my son gets older.”

“Although something may be made well and is hard wearing, it might not be worth the money if it’s for a very small child who will grow out of it really quickly.”

“The range widely available in boy’s clothing is dreadful. I order almost everything online so they can have colourful clothes. There’s time enough when they’re old to dress in black, navy and grey.”

Actionable Insights for Kids Clothing Retailers

• Style is quite important for parents when choosing clothing for their kids. Why not give them a say in the types of styles/colours you stock? Run polls on social media to find out what’s in demand directly from the source.
• Parents want to buy clothes made from ethically sourced materials and avoid fast fashion where possible. Why not set up a clothing exchange scheme? Parents could bring in clothing items to exchange for store credit.
• It’s important for parents that their kids will like and consequently wear the clothes they buy for them. Make sure that your store returns policy is crystal clear and easy so that parents don’t need to worry if certain items need to go back if their kids don’t like them.

Would you like business-transforming insights from parents for your business? Use our tailored panels of engaged parents and our dedicated private platform to gather critical insights to help influence consumers to deliver long term profitability. Contact us now to find how we can help.