If you hadn't heard already - where have you been?! - this week marks 5 years of me running Nearer The Moon full time. I'm half way through 5 days of celebrations across social media including an ongoing giveaway (see the end of this blog post for more details) and today's celebration is a look back over sales and size statistics for the past 5 years - a true gift for any data nerds among you! If graphs aren't you're thing scroll past them for some hilarious search terms I've found in the stats and pics of best sellers.
Knicker and Bodysuit Size Distribution
Kicking us off are the knicker and bodysuit sizes (XS-XL) covering UK dress sizes 8-18.
Size small has remained the most popular seller, however it has given up some of it's share to Medium as the years have progressed. The Large and Extra Large sections are disproportionately small compared to the increase in the average dress size over the years. I think this is most likely due to using small models in marketing images - something which I aim to change this year!
Band Size Distribution
Next up is band size, slightly skewed as I didn't offer 30 bands for the first year of trading.
It's a mix between 34 and 36 backs as the most popular here. Which is in line with popular thought. I'm surprised however to not see a shift to smaller band sizes as bra measuring eduction continues to show women they are most likely not a 32A but a 30 or even 28 back with much larger cup sizes. I think this may be due to the style of Nearer The Moon bras - many are bought for boudoir or special occasion wear and so customers may be less likely to be concerned with "perfect fit".
Cup Size Distribution
I've always been pleased to offer a wide range of cup sizes thanks to my being able to grade patterns myself and also having knowledge of asymmetric grading for DD+ cup sizes. I was offering F cups in the first year - something many indie brands take a few years to develop.
Last year saw a huge shift in DD cup sales, but nothing above that which...I can't account for! It could be due to some amazing DD+ ranges launching in fashion brands. Other than that B and C cups have remained the most popular sizes throughout trading.
Top 5 Search Terms 2013-2017
As an e-commerce retailer it's important to keep an eye on how customers are finding your store. Most of the search terms - literally 99.9% - are everything you would expect for an erotic lingerie store - cupless, lace, bra, sexy etc. however here are some absolute crackers that customers used to somehow find Nearer The Moon online.
1. sexy pigeon trying to seduce you
2. string of fish
3. a and b squishy
4. adult pacifier
5. sexy fluffy
Best Sellers
I was expecting to be able to do a bestseller picture for each year but for 4 out of the 5 years the Four Strap Basic Suspender Belt has been far and away the best seller. A special shout out goes to the Occult Bra which takes the prize for 2016 but rest assured the suspender belt wasn't far behind!
The ones that got away
As a designer I'm constantly churning ideas around in my head, some get made some don't, some sell well and become continuity designs and some don't and are discontinued. This section is dedicated to the designs I loved but that didn't get bought and were retired to make way for other designs...
2013
The link set - a black satin and 9ct gold chain bra brief and suspender set. Perhaps before it's time as I now see gold chain sets EVERYWHERE, but I didn't sell a single style from this range.
2014
Casanova had some great original shapes - again styles that I see in many places now with the high waist briefs and cut out sides. However, white lingerie is the most difficult colour to sell online unless you're peddling bridal pieces and again not a single piece was sold.
2015
The Chaos range was made from a bold print and what is now known as the Coven lace. It was incredibly bright and graphic and not at all popular! In fact I had so much fabric left over I made a top and skirt for myself.
2016
Another print that I adored but wasn't loved by many others was the Curio range. Despite being on the catwalk at The Great British Tattoo show and the range featuring some brand new shapes, no one was feeling the snake love, animal prints are neutrals didn't you know?!
2017
And finally, the last set of this humble line up is Hypnos - can you see a pattern in the prints here - clearly I need to stick to lace! It was the first full silk brief and thong launched with a sports luxe leaning but still I couldn't convince anyone to partake. This beauty is being retired at the end of the month and going straight into my own collection - I still love it!
So there you have it, 5 years condensed into 15 graphs and a couple of product pictures. I've learnt a lot - namely don't use prints and push those bigger cup sizes! There's still 2 more days of celebrations to go - tomorrow will feature 20% off three bestselling ranges and the final day I will be sending a free gift with every purchase made.
For now, make sure to enter the giveaway on facebook or Instagram by reposting the picture below and tagging @nearerthelingerie (insta) or @nearerthemoon (facebook) to be in with a chance of winning the Memento leather pasties and blindfold - perfect for Valentines!
