The fashion and beauty industry is worth $1.84 trillion globally, with the cosmetics segment (including skincare, make-up, and personal care products) worth a significant $420 billion in 2024. Major multinational fast fashion retailers such as Shein, H&M and Zara continue to dominate the apparel sector, with the entire segment valued at $148 billion in 2024 and continuing to grow year-on-year. Over 50% of apparel sales are now within e-commerce, where the US is the largest market and China is the largest exporter globally. The resale market is also fast gaining popularity worldwide, with sites such Depop, Vinted, eBay and Poshmark experiencing rapid growth in this area. Resale figures are projected to hit 10% of global apparel sales in 2025.
In the UK, the fashion sector contributes over £60 billion to GDP and supports approximately 1 million jobs across retail, manufacturing and distribution. It is the UK’s largest creative employer. Luxury fashion and accessories are leading growth, particularly exports of luxury goods, which are said to total almost £20 billion a year, despite a fall in export to the EU due to complications arising from Brexit. Key markets for the UK include the USA, Netherlands, France, Italy and China.
FieldworkHub has facilitated ethnographic research for apparel and accessories within key audience segments for both fast fashion and high end brands, and focus groups within the top five European markets to assess new product launches.
Focus groups bring together a small number of participants for a moderated discussion, either in person or online. They are particularly useful for exploring consumer attitudes, evaluating new concepts and understanding how people react to and build on one another’s ideas.
In-depth interviews (IDIs) involve a one-to-one conversation between a researcher and a participant. They are well suited to exploring complex decisions, personal experiences and sensitive subjects, particularly in B2B research or when specialist knowledge is required.
Ethnographic research involves observing people in their everyday environments, such as their homes, workplaces or shops. It is useful when researchers want to understand how products and services are used in practice, rather than relying solely on what participants say.
Online bulletin boards (OBBs) allow participants to complete research tasks and respond to questions over several days, at times that suit them. They are useful for diary-style research, gathering detailed reflections and exploring topics that benefit from considered rather than immediate responses.
Market research online communities (MROCs) bring participants together on a digital platform for ongoing research. Unlike shorter OBB studies, MROCs can cover multiple topics over weeks or months, making them useful for user engagement, innovation and tracking changing attitudes.
UX testing involves observing people as they use a website, app or digital product, often while completing specific tasks. It helps identify usability problems, understand why users encounter difficulties and evaluate prototypes or existing digital experiences.
Customer experience research examines how people interact with a brand, product or service across touchpoints. It can combine interviews, surveys, focus groups and other methods to understand satisfaction, identify frustrations and explore opportunities to improve the customer journey.
Video surveys ask participants to record short responses to research questions, usually using their smartphones. They can involve selfie videos, product demonstrations or narrated activities, making them useful when researchers want to capture reactions and experiences in participants’ own words.
Vox pops involve short video interviews that capture people’s immediate opinions and reactions, usually in public locations or remotely. They are particularly useful for gathering spontaneous feedback on familiar topics, products or brands and illustrating research findings with real voices.
Online surveys allow respondents to complete structured questionnaires on their computers or mobile devices. They are often the most efficient option for reaching larger samples, testing preferences and measuring attitudes when respondents can be recruited and surveyed remotely.
Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) uses interviewers who follow a digital questionnaire and record responses during a telephone call. It is useful for reaching business professionals or other audiences who may be difficult to engage online, and for surveys with lots of open-ended questions.
Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) involves an interviewer recording responses on a tablet or similar device during an in-person survey. It is useful for street intercepts, location-specific research and research where participants need to see or try a product before answering questions.
Our client asked us to recruit young adults in the UK, France, Germany and Italy who regularly shop at a leading streetwear retailer to take part in an online focus group, follow up in-depth interviews and virtual shop alongs. We recruited against specific criteria including location, age, gender and attitudes towards fashion trends.
A leading US sportswear retailer with a presence in several European markets wanted to hold a series of discussions with small groups of style-conscious teenagers. We recruited participants in a very tight timeline, which included groups of teenagers in Barcelona, Milan and Paris.
Our client wanted to conduct 90-minute online focus groups with 32 women living from different parts of Mexico who shop at a popular fashion store. We successfully recruited all the respondents in just over one week.
A global mining group wanted to understand more about consumers’ attitudes towards diamond jewellery containing lab-grown rather than natural diamonds. FieldworkHub was asked to recruit four consumers in each of Germany, France, Italy and the UK who buy luxury goods. Respondents took part in remote IDIs.
A leading management consultancy asked us to recruit senior hair stylists in the UK, Germany and the USA. The aim was to speak to those who decided on hair care products purchased and used in their salon. FieldworkHub screened in and booked 16 respondents to take part in a 30-minute phone interview.
FieldworkHub partnered with a global luxury skincare brand to pull fresh brand perspectives and opinions from female users of high-end skincare products in China, steering our respondents through a 14-day online bulletin board with engaging tasks and frequent touchpoints.
