The market at a glance

• Highest market presence: Calvin Klein holds the top position in aided awareness (85%), consideration (64%), past-6-month purchase (50%), and preferred brand status (25%).
• Brand stickiness: Calvin Klein is the most loved; half of those who shop there name it their favourite brand. Zara is close behind, winning over 46% of its shoppers. Fashion Nova punches above its weight, turning 40% of its shoppers into devoted fans despite fewer people knowing the brand.
• Trust and perception leaders: Calvin Klein leads on brand trust (97%), durability (93%), and uniqueness (91%). Charming Charlie tops price value (93%), Fashion Nova leads on trendiness (90%), and Uniqlo leads on status (90%).

Initial Findings from the US High Street Fashion Market

The US high street fashion landscape is currently led by Calvin Klein, which maintains the highest market presence across all tracking metrics: 85% aided awareness, 64% consideration, 50% past-6-month purchase, and 25% preferred brand. It is followed by Forever 21 (67% awareness), Zara (66%), and Tommy Hilfiger (61%), with all three exceeding 60% awareness.

Calvin Klein’s dominance extends to conversion efficiency, where it turns 50% of its purchasers into loyal advocates. Among other high-awareness brands, Zara follows with 46%. Among brands with more modest awareness, Fashion Nova tells a striking story: with just 33% aided awareness, it converts 40% of its purchasers into their preferred brand.

Beyond the funnel, consumer perception data reveals different brand strengths across the sector. In the battle of durability, Calvin Klein (93%) and J.Crew (93%) are in a dead heat. Brand trust tells a similar story at the top of the market: Calvin Klein leads at 97%, closely followed by J.Crew (96%). Calvin Klein pulls ahead as the ‘uniqueness’ leader (91%), followed by Diesel (88%). Fashion Nova leads on trendiness (90%), Charming Charlie performs notably on price value (93%), while Uniqlo stands out on status perception (90%).

“The US high street fashion market is competitive, with strong national leaders coexisting alongside a wave of challenger brands,” says Nik Samoylov, Founder of Conjointly. “Calvin Klein’s position as leader across all primary market metrics, from awareness through to preferred brand, is clear. At the same time, the data shows Zara and Fashion Nova achieving outstanding brand stickiness, showing their specific value propositions are clearly recognized by their shoppers who choose them as their top choice.”

The findings are based on a syndicated study of 1,427 US adult consumers, with 249 qualifying respondents confirming they have bought any clothes or items from major fashion brands in the past 6 months. Participants were recruited via Conjointly’s panel network and compensated for their time, with the sample weighted to national demographics to ensure findings are market-representative.

Explore the US high street fashion data at https://brandtracker.conjointly.com/united-states/high-street-fashion/.

About Brand Tracker by Conjointly

Brand Tracker delivers automated brand performance reporting with rigorous, market-representative insights. Businesses across industries can now access statistically weighted brand funnel data, including awareness, consideration, purchase intent, and preference.

“We built Brand Tracker because we want to make insights about brand tracking to be accessible to everyone: big and small businesses alike,” said Nik Samoylov, Founder of Conjointly. “Brand Tracker has easy-to-use and easy-to-digest analytics about brand positioning, brand awareness, and more, without requiring a six-figure commitment.”

Brand Tracker currently offers US businesses free access to detailed public brand data across five industries. For monitoring of your own brand with advanced analytics and real-time dashboards, Priority Access starts from the industry-breaking price of $4,000 per year, a fraction of traditional agency costs. Custom tracking solutions are also available for businesses with specific needs.

About Conjointly

Conjointly started as a simple online tool for conjoint analysis in 2016 and has since evolved into an industry-leading market research platform. Conjointly holds ISO 20252:2019 (Sampling), ISO 27001:2022, ISO 27701:2019, and SOC 2 Type II certifications, and is a member of the Insights Association and the British Healthcare Business Intelligence Association.

Conjointly’s tools address the most common pricing and product research problems and are supplemented with expert support and guidance from experienced researchers. With thousands of projects completed on the platform, Conjointly is the go-to research destination for hundreds of clients.