A snapshot of Russian buying behavior in fashion
Economic well-being is improving — and interest in spending on fashion is rising
First, let’s take a brief look at the economic indicators. Consumer financial anxiety is decreasing, and compared to previous years, there has been a 50% increase in people who casually splurge on clothes, shoes, and accessories, and a 70% increase in those who rate their financial satisfaction as “above average”.
Online is growing, even as overall sales decline
In 2023, overall fashion sales saw a slight decline in terms of spend and purchase volume year on year. However, this masked a striking acceleration in online sales, which were up almost 50%, and an even greater increase in purchase volume. Online purchases’ share reached 32% in 2023.
Fashion buyers shop around
The average Russian fashion shopper visits 5-6 websites before they make a purchase. And they are willing to buy from different sites — 43% of users do not have one main store for buying clothes and shoes. For brands, capturing intent in the first week of a buying journey is crucial. 81% of shoppers buy within seven days, with 30% of these buying in 2-3 days.
The search breakdown: Clothes, shoes, accessories, gender
As one may expect, shoppers predominantly search for clothes, at 59% of fashion search volume, followed by 24% shoes, and 17% for accessories.
How Turkish fashion brands can leverage these insights
A number of Turkish brands are already making an impact in Russian speaking markets. For example, all of the top-3 Turkish fashion brands are garnering a significant volume of Yandex Search queries.
With the data above in mind, there are a few ways Turkish fashion brands can build awareness, drive sales growth, and perhaps even become the next big thing in the Russian market.
First, as online shopping is accelerating much faster than offline or multichannel, you may think that it makes sense to put all your investment into online channels. However, there may be an intriguing opportunity in investing in multichannel experiences, since over half of customers take a multichannel approach to shopping — and for premium and luxury brands, where shopping is an experience rather than a task, this may be especially effective. A multichannel campaign might, for example, leverage Telegram ads to build awareness, search ads to capture generated demand, but then drive the traffic in-store for a special offer where there is also more opportunity for up-sell.
Second, many fashion buyers look at reviews, so asking happy customers to leave reviews for you will help drive incremental sales growth. Some ways to leave a review include:
- A review page on your website. Don’t forget to have existing reviews on the page. This shows shoppers how short their review can be, and gives them a starting point for what to say.
- Post-purchase trigger emails. You can easily create a virtual card to thank your shopper for their purchase, to go along with the prompt to review.
- And, of course, social media. You can make a post that asks your happy followers for a review, with an appreciation note for their support.
And third, connecting with your target customers does not stop at the first conversion. Since shoppers visit multiple websites and take up to a week to make a purchase, retargeting can help keep your brand top of mind and convert browsers into buyers. Pro tip: you can create a retargeting campaign in Yandex Direct. Our retargeting ads bring back those on the fence, nudging them to complete their booking. You can learn more about setting up retargeting campaigns in Yandex Direct here.
What your audience shopper profile looks like
Shoppers searching for Turkish fashion brands are overwhelmingly female, at 74%, versus 26% men. In terms of income, the vast majority (73%) are in the regular distribution of low, medium, and high income. However, a significant minority — 21% — are HNWI (High Net Worth Individuals). And the age range is fairly evenly distributed among the adult population.
Age range:
How fashion brands advertise
