Young shoppers drive the apparel market in Italy and three-fourths of the consumers there prefer shopping at non-specialist outlets while women shoppers prefer shopping at specialist retail outlets, according to a new report that studies the behaviour of Italian consumers towards spending on clothes and footwear. OVS and H&M are the most favoured brands.

The report by New York-based Market Research Hub (MRH) indicates that Italian shoppers are concerned about physically trying out clothing and footwear before making a purchase decision.

The economic situation in the country is edging towards growth and an increased pattern of spending on apparel and footwear is visible, a press release from the company said citing the report.

Delivery costs in online apparel shopping and size and fit issues are constraints, especially for women. People over 55 are more inspired with displays of clothing in stores.

More than half of the Italian consumers are inclined towards researching about a particular apparel brand before a buying decision. The report urges retailers to augment their traditional store formats with a strong online presence, which as a lucrative distribution channel has not achieved much success in this sector there.

Industry leaders are performing well in terms of revenue growth, while a few established firms are still struggling to meet their growth targets, says the report which has studied some of Italy's top apparel retailers, such as OVS, Grupo Inditex, Zalando, C&A and H&M.