Understanding how consumers are searching for men's apparel online

Struggling to attract customers to your store front in the ever-changing men’s apparel landscape? Dive into this blog to learn how seasonal trends, targeted region insights, and profile optimization can supercharge your online visibility and ignite your leads on Google, Apple and Bing.

Men's apparel search trends

Men's apparel search terms 

By staying informed about popular search terms and keywords, men's apparel retailers can optimize their online presence and improve their search engine ranking, making it easier for potential customers to find them online. Below are a few popular search trends:

• Capsule Wardrobe: One of the biggest trends this year surrounding men's fashion is the "capsule wardrobe." A capsule wardrobe collection of clothing items that are versatile, timeless, and designed to mix and match seamlessly.
• Watches: Watches are a classic accessory in men's apparel, and today's search trends around men's fashion keep that statement accurate. With search terms like "men's watches near me" and "leather Apple watch band" on the rise, it's clear that watches aren't going out of style anytime soon. 
• Sweatpants: Sweatpants are comfortable, versatile, and easy to wear, making them a popular choice for men looking stylish while feeling comfortable. Moreover, with the growing trend of remote work and people spending more time at home, sweatpants have become a staple in many people's wardrobes.
• Sustainable Fashion: Men's fashion has shifted towards timeless and classic styles, which are inherently more sustainable as they are designed to last longer and are less likely to go out of fashion quickly. As sustainable fashion has been growing in popularity, it is clear that men are willing to invest in high-quality, long-lasting clothes that are made ethically.
• Skinny or baggy jeans: Over the past five years, jeans trends have seemingly been everywhere. These days, people online have been saying that skinny jeans for men are out and baggy '80s and '90s jeans are in. However, according to Google Trends, "skinny jeans men" still takes up 85% of search volume compared to "baggy jeans men." That being said, within the last month of 2023, baggy jeans for men are catching up!

The “baggy jeans men” search volume is on the rise.

Men's apparel search volume and seasonality

Search trends for Men's apparel also shift depending on the season. Using the sweatpants trend from earlier, we can see that the search term "men's sweatpants" has a big difference in volume based on the time of year. During the winter, "men's sweatpants" have a much higher search volume than in warmer summer.

Men’s sweatpants search volume has been consistent but is seasonal.

Men's apparel search regionality

It's not surprising that cities have the highest volume of searches with the term "men's clothing near me" since urban areas tend to have a higher population density, which leads to a greater demand for fashion. Moreover, cities tend to be fashion hubs, with many fashion retailers, designers, and influencers in urban areas.

Next steps 

Taking action on men's apparel search terms: local listings

Retailers and service providers for men's apparel can take advantage of these trends by using them to optimize their local listings. 

• Google Business Profiles: GBPs are a great place to incorporate the terms consumers seek. GBP attributes like owner descriptions, posts, reviews, Q&As, service descriptions, and more should be optimized with key terms.
• Apple Business Connect:  Apple Business Connect is the new player in town, but it brings a high income audience. Attract upscale customers with Apple Business Connect.
• Bing Places: While Bing Places isn't as well known as Google Business Profiles, it is still critical that Men's apparel retailers account for them.

Taking action on men's apparel search terms: local ads

Now that we know what men's apparel consumers are searching for, here are some options to take advantage of.

• Google Performance Max: Google's new multichannel ad campaigns can be optimized with the terms and seasonality reelected in this analysis. Reach men's apparel customers across Google Search, YouTube, Gmail and more.
• Google Local Inventory Ads: Google LIAs are mandatory for retailers.
• Microsoft Local Inventory Ads: Microsoft LIAs are often overlooked but provide the same LIA experience as Google, just to a different audience.

dbaPlatform has been helping men's apparel retailers and service providers win with local search and optmization for six years. Please reach out below to see how we can help.