Have you noticed how similar websites look these days? Cover up the logo and can you really tell one from the other? How effective and identifiable is their brand once you cover up the logo? Is their identity getting lost online? Read our research study to discover our findings.

1. Are brands losing their identity online?
A research investigation by Keep It Usable

2. Effective visual brand identity is achieved by the
consistent use of particular visual elements to
create distinction, such as specific fonts, colours,
and graphic elements.
Wikipedia

3. Have you noticed how similar websites look these days?
Particularly fashion sites. Cover up the logo and can you really tell one from the
other? How effective and identifiable is their brand once you cover up the logo?
Is their identity weak online?
We put 11 fashion brands to the test to see if their target consumers could
correctly identify their websites with the logos removed (provided separately).
Introduction

4. Hypothesis: Fashion e-commerce sites
look very similar and their brand isn’t
clearly identifiable without their logo
Aim: Understand if a sample of 11
fashion sites are identifiable without
their logos
Task: Match the brand with the correct
website
Participants: Females 15-38 years old
Research overview

5. 11 Brands

6. 20 Desktop
Home pages
20 Mobile
Home pages
4 variations, 80 responses
20 Desktop
Home pages
20 Mobile
Home pages

7. The Task: Match the website with the correct brand

8. *Logos were removed from each screenshot and
provided separately
?
The Task: Match the website with the correct brand

9. Research findings

10. On average each person correctly matched
just 3 of the 11 websites with their logos…

11. …and they found it really difficult!

12. “I should recognise it, I shop on this
website, but I don’t have a clue…
They all look the same.”
“I don’t know why I don’t
recognise Topshop, I’m
confused.”
“I’m confused. I recognise them,
but I can’t remember
what the brand is!”

13. “They all look the same!”
“I thought I’d recognise them,
but I can’t!”
“I have no idea..
it could be any of them…”
“Most of the logos have the
same squared letters.”
“They should be different,
because they
sell different things,
different styles.”
“It’s hard, I didn’t think it
would be this hard! I don’t
think I can do it.”
“They should be different, because they
sell different things, different styles.”
“I thought I’d recognise them but I can’t!”
“I have no idea… it could be any of them…”
“They all look the same!”
“It’s hard, I didn’t think it would be
this hard! I don’t think I can do it.”
“Most of the logos have the same
squared letters.”

14. Very
Asos
Zara
River Island
Boohoo
Topshop
Pretty Little Thing
Forever 21
Missguided
Miss Selfridge
Glamorous 8
13
14
15
20
21
23
34
45
48
50
Total Correct Matches [%]
Participants correctly matched the Very logo with the website 50% of the time
Results overview - Very scored the highest

15. In general brands were more recognisable on desktop than
on mobile

16. Desktop
29%
correctly matched
Mobile
23%
correctly
matched
Most brands performed better on desktop (vs mobile)

17. Very Asos Zara River Island Pretty Little Thing Topshop Boohoo Miss Selfridge Forever 21 Missguided Glamorous
10
18
20
10
20
13
8
33
45
43
40
5
1010
15
25
30
33
35
48
53
60
Tot. Correct Matches [%] Desktop Tot. Correct matches [%] Mobile
Most brands performed better on desktop vs mobile

18. Brands that scored the least correct matches
were more recognisable on mobile (vs desktop)

19. Glamorous was the least known brand to
consumers and their lack of brand
familiarity may have contributed to their
position in this research.

20. Research Summary

21. • Surprisingly, very few brands have websites that are recognisable at first sight.
• Brands that scored the most correct matches tend to have a stronger brand identity on
desktop rather than on mobile.
• Even when the brands presented in this research had a strong identity in the high
street, their online websites were confused with other brands. This implies that brands
are still stronger at what they know best, the high street, and they aren’t as strong at
adapting their identity for the online consumer.
What did we discover?

22. • Participants struggled to correctly match the logo with the correct screenshot, even if
they were familiar with the website.
• They self-reported finding the task surprisingly difficult. They expected it to be easy -
they expected brands to have strong online identities like they do on the high street.
• A different and unique layout was associated with higher quality. If a brand looks the
same as everyone else, they are perceived as selling lower quality items.
• Imagery was a differentiator. Websites were easier to recognise when their images had
a distinct and consistent style.
• Participants felt that most of the brands had very similar pictures and models, whereas
they expected them to be different to reflect their different styles.
What did we discover?

23. Our findings indicate that female fashion
brands have much potential to strengthen
their online brand identity and to
differentiate themselves from competitors.

24. Would you like to know more about this research or our generation z shopping research?
research@keepitusable.com