We came across this report from Flipkart sharing insights about what consumers are looking for this season and what online sellers should be stocking up on. Here’s a summary with the main take-aways.

Men’s clothing

The following styles are expected to be in demand for men this season:

• Black and white Monochrome (geometric shapes, stripes, houndstooth)
• Digi-art (psycadellic, abstract floral, folkroric prints)
• Heritage checks (Houndstooth, Scottish tartan)
• Layering (bomber jackets, coats, shirts)
• Indigo (symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns)
• Matching (shirts and bottoms, formal suits with all over checks to shirt and pants)

Category gaps

• Biker jackets
• Runway ripped denim
• Street style ripped denim
• Ripped shorts
• Distressed denim

Bestsellers: Men’s clothing

• Zippered hoodies

• Leather varsity jacket

• Lightweight sweaters

• Backpack with standout print

Suggested ticket pricing 

Blazers, knit and woven Rs. 1,799 – Rs. 2,999

Jackets, denim and light weight bombers Rs.1,199 – Rs.1,799

High fashion Rs.1,499-1,899

Basic sweatshirts Rs.799 – Rs.1,099

High fashion sweatshirts Rs.1,099 – Rs.1,499

Sweaters Rs. 899 – Rs. 1,499

Men’s footwear – category gaps

Printed shoes

– Sailor inspired motif, stripes, geometric patterns, tribal prints, floral markings

Functional shoes

– Walking shoes with a cushioned footbed, diabetic and orthotic friendly footwear

“The online business is driven by consumer preference for price and product. Having said that, it is very important to offer consumers the best quality and the right price for it,” said Sanjay Dalmia, Prateek Apparels.

Women’s clothing

The following styles are expected to be in demand for women this season:

• Gold embroidery (saree’s, kurta’s, dupatta’s)
• Tribal prints (Aztec, Navajo)
• Geometric blocking (monochromatic clean lines, keliedoscopic patterns in psycadellic colours)
• Heritage plaid
• Winter florals

According to industry predictions, the key female styles this season are:

• Patterned shirt
• oversized tee
• overcoat
• skater dress
• asymmetrical poncho
• A-line skirt
• printed pencil skirt
• printed flared skirt

Category gaps

• shrugs (plaid/tweed, crochet/lace, printed, poncho style)
• straight pants with long kurtas

Bestsellers: Womens clothing

• casual printed t-shirts

• feminine blouses

• ethnic kurtis

• body fitting party dresses

• Medium sized handbags with delicate cutwork patterns

• footwear (multicoloured flats, ethnic Paduki)

Women’s clothing: Interesting insights

• Higher discounting rates are needed to sell tops and t-shirts.
• Lower discounting rates are needed to sell dresses and jeans.
• In terms of revenue and units the highest sale of hand bags are in the south region which includes Bengaluru, Hyderbad and Chennai.
• Hand held bag is highest in traffic and sales.
• The top four colour choices include brown, blue, black and beige.

Suggested price points for women’s clothing

• Basic fashion Rs. 599- 799

• Premium fashion Rs.1,699 – 2,499

• High fashion Rs. 2,500+

Accessories

Bags with details like:

• tassels
• quirky quotes
• exotic animal prints (Crocadile, lizard, snake, alligator)
• Embellished bags (embroidery sequins, beads, bling)
• Exotic bags (multi-coloured, animal prints)
• Luxe bags
• mini bags

Women’s footwear

“Key trends in women’s Footwear is Flatforms, this with white outsoles is huge globally at the moment. Going into Autumn/Winter they would be in several variations like the flat form shoe or boot,” Kapil Mahtani, owner Tresmode. 

Category gaps 

• casual shoes (chunky shoes, Espadrille, Brogues, Oxfords, low ankle boots)
• flats (Kolhapuris, Osho, gladiators)
• pointed footwear (heels and flats with embellished details)
• functional footwear (diabetic friendly, orthotic friendly, waterproof, all day walking shoes)

Women’s products: Interesting insights

• 40% of shoes sold on flipkart are Totes
• Medium sized bags sell most
• Zippers on bags sell more rather than magnets or buttons
• Plain bags do better than printed bags
• Daily/ office wear bags sell more than party wear bags.

So there you have it, Flipkart has given away clever clues to online sellers. How you interpret this information or plan for this season will determine how successful you will be.