13 woman this month | August 2012 | Say It Isn’t So! When we first saw this float across our desk, we thought April 1 must have come around again. Seriously, it offends our natural instincts to believe men buy more shoes than us women. When online fashion and lifestyle destination, Namshi.com, decided to look into buying trends at their website they spotted some surprising trends emerging among GCC shoppers. Not the least of these was the fact that men buy more shoes online than women! “We have been surprised to see a number of preconceptions overturned as Namshi has expanded its operations across the GCC and Egypt,” said co-founder Louis Lebbos. “Men are buying more shoes than women and at the same time women on average spend double what men do on other items of clothing.” A blow for those who think coating anything in pink will make it more attractive to women is the fact that only 20 per cent of women prefer blue, with black and red being the other top colours this season. At the same time, men have plumped for blue, white and grey. “We’re starting to see regional trends emerging, too,” said Lebbos. “Swimwear is a very popular line in Egypt, while party dresses are popular in the United Arab Emirates. While Saudi and Kuwaiti buyers are focused on dresses and tops, Qatari shoppers are opting for much more traditional Arabian styles.” Namshi holds over 400 brands and stocks over 10,000 lines of shoes and apparel, offering free delivery and free returns across the GCC and Egypt. There are over 100,000 visitors to the site every day, which supports both English and Arabic. “Web technologies mean we can track shoppers’ preferences to deliver a faster, smarter and more enjoyable online experience for them,” he adds. “That’s important to us as our site is all about having a great experience. What’s more, with the ability to track traffic and capture trends, it means that, for the first time, analysis of shopper behaviour can truly reflect entire markets.” Online Trends For Bahrain, Namshi.com has identified these trends about our buying habits online: l Colours: for clothing, the top choice for women is blue; for men it is black. Black, pink and red are ranked second, third and fourth for women respectively. l Apparel: The top seller for women is dresses, followed by tops; for men it is tops and then shirts. l Shoes: Sneakers are at the top of the list for men, while women go for pumps and then sandals. It seems when it comes to high heels, ladies prefer to visit the local shopping mall. Our favoured colour for shoes is black. l Apparel size: Medium is the most popular size for women, while small is the most requested option for the guys. l Shoe size: For women it’s 38; for men it’s 44.
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