Contemporary men’s fashion contributor Hypebeast and PwC’s global strategy consulting firm, Strategy&, came together to release the 2019 Streetwear Impact Report, presenting analytics and survey results speaking to the future of the sector.
The report compiled results from over 40,000 surveys, which included 80 percent male respondents from across the world. Asian cotenants hosted 59 percent of respondents while Europe hosted 20 percent and North America 14 percent.
The collaborators bought together a comprehensive report, and highlights from the analysis can be broken down into the following categories: Retail, Spending, Influence and Products. Key features from each category were as follows:
Retail
50 percent of customers shared that they were willing to wait in line for a product release
Single-brand stores, both online and traditional retail, were customers first choice in shopping channels.
60 percent of industry respondents cited flagship locations as an important part of their brand's strategy.
Customers cited StockX, Instagram and Facebook as their most used platforms to resell or buy second-hand stock.
70 percent of customers said they bought no more than a quarter of their items through resale.
Spending
Consumers reported spending up to five times more per month on streetwear than non-streetwear
Non-Binary consumers reported spending significantly more in the sector than male or female consumers
70 percent of consumer reported having an income of 40,000 or under.
56 percent of consumers reported spending an average of between 100 and 300 per item
Industry
80 percent of industry respondents believe streetwear still has significant growth potential for the next five years.
The most popular streetwear brands, according to respondents, were Supreme, Nike and Off White.
Musicians, industry insiders and contemporary artists were cited as the most credible streetwear influencers, by consumers.
Influence
70 percent of consumers placed high importance on brand activism
50 percent of respondents said they were likely to abandon a brand due to poor social behaviour. This statistic was severely underestimated by industry respondents.
96 percent of consumer cited Instagram as an online platform used to gather information on streetwear, followed by YouTube.
Products
Customers cited availability and diversity as their most influential shopping factors.
62 percent of consumers said that sneakers were their most common streetwear purchase
However, industry respondents cited t-shirts and hoodies as their top selling items (67 percent) with footwear falling just behind at 66 percent.
69 percent of consumers cited ‘coolness’ as their primary reason for likely streetwear, followed by exclusivity and comfort.
62 percent of respondents said that they believe streetwear products never go out of style
Product design/quality and brand legacy were cited as the most important factors for consumers when choosing a brand.
