September 11th, 2014, Aisha Qureshi
Due to rising temperatures in the summer months in the Middle East, lawn is a popular and preferred clothing fabric worn by women. Produced on a large scale in mills in Pakistan, it is made from cotton threads, with a soft texture that many women (particularly from the subcontinent region) prefer to wear in the summer heat.
Designer lawn brands such as Gul Ahmed, Sana Safinaz, Khaadi, Crescent Lawn, Asim Jofa dominate the lawn market with the latest styles and trends in their seasonal collections, many of which are also endorsed by popular celebrities. We surveyed Pakistani women across our panel to reveal the shopping habits of this highly popular fabric.
Shopping Behaviour
Among the online respondents we surveyed, over three-quarters (78%) said they look forward to summer lawn collections every year, however two-fifths of online respondents said they are dissatisfied with the price of lawn clothing.
Among those who went shopping for lawn dresses, 63% said they have specific lawn brands from which they usually purchase. When asked which attributes were the most important to them when purchasing lawn material, 79% said the quality was the most important factor followed by 71% who said the design (style/look) was the most important. The price of lawn material (59%), the color (half) and the brand name (40%) were also important, but to a lesser extent.
Almost half of online respondents stated they purchase both readymade and unstitched lawn clothing (48%), followed by 45% who claimed to purchase unstitched lawn clothing only.
The most popular form of unstitched lawn material purchased by online respondents (72%) is a 3-piece unstitched lawn material consisting of a shirt, trouser and dupatta (stole), with over almost one-quarter of online respondents claiming to spend between PKR 1,751-PKR 2,500 on it.
Among those who purchase readymade lawn clothing, an identical proportion said they liked to purchase a readymade lawn shirt or a 3-piece stitched lawn dress (both 27%).
Lawn Brand Preferences
When questioned about lawn brands, the highest proportion of online respondents said they usually wear Gul Ahmed Lawn (63%), while Al Karam Lawn was worn by two-fifths of online respondents.
A similar proportion of online respondents said they wore Classic Lawn (35%), Khaadi Lawn (34%), Nisha by Nishat Linen and Junaid Jamshed (33%). When asked to choose a favourite lawn brand, the most preferred lawn designer brand was Gul Ahmed Lawn (30%), followed by Khaadi Lawn (14%) and Junaid Jamshed (12%).
This survey was conducted using the YouGov online panel from 3 – 16 June 2014, amongst 303 respondents currently living in Pakistan and the Middle East. The data is broadly representative of the online population in Pakistan.