The Athlete’s Foot, Platypus Shoes, JD Sports and Foot Locker have all increased their paid search in October 2025, according to Jarden in a note to investors, with the investment bank analysing data from SimilarWeb.
According to the note, The Athlete’s Foot led the charge by boosting its paid search by 12.44 per cent. This is followed by Platypus (7.1 per cent), JD Sports (5.59 per cent) and Foot Locker (5.1 per cent).
Changes in paid search across fashion was soft, with Universal Store cutting paid search by 1.66 per cent and Just Jeans down 0.28 per cent. Glue Store, General Pants and Jay Jays lifted their paid search in October by 3.1 per cent, 2.86 per cent and 3.38 per cent respectively.
David Jones led the charge in paid search lifts across key department stores in October 2025, lifting its paid search investment by 5.77 per cent. Myer trailed behind, lifting its paid search by 1.25 per cent, followed by Big W (0.69 per cent) and Target (0.13 per cent), with Kmart reducing paid search by 1.26 per cent.
“In our 57th case study, we revisit paid search trends to see which companies use it to drive traffic and the change versus the past six months,” Jarden shared in the note. “We believe AU is lagging behind global comps on marketing spend to drive traffic, with those that spend able to see higher engagement, navigating the messy middle and share of the younger demo.”
Jarden pointed out that paid search had increased year-on-year in the four months to October 2025 in most categories, with the biggest increases in marketplaces, hardware, footwear and travel.
“Marketing spend accelerated from Aug and we believe this a function of higher competition for eyeballs and rising importance of Cyber events in Nov-Dec with brands engaging in advance.”
Jarden also revealed an online trends snapshot to October-end, which shows that the fashion brands and retailers seeing booms in traffic momentum include City Chic, Kathmandu, Baby Bunting, Big W and Target.
City Chic’s traffic momentum from September to October grew by 42 per cent according to SimilarWeb data compiled by Jarden. Big W and Target each recorded a 25 per cent lift month-on-month, while Baby Bunting was up 26 per cent and Kathmandu’s monthly lift was up 12 per cent.
In year-on-year terms, Baby Bunting and Big W lead the charge in lifestyle and fashion retailing, with traffic momentum up 23 per cent and 22 per cent respectively.
On the down-trend, traffic momentum at Universal Stores and Just Jeans between September and October has fallen by 23 per cent and 24 per cent respectively.
Despite the traffic momentum drop in Universal Store, Jarden is still feeling positive for the business as a whole.
In the footwear space, traffic momentum is bleak across the board, with double-digit drops in online traffic momentum month-on-month at Platypus, Hype DC, The Athlete’s Foot, Footlocker and JD Sports of between 14 per cent and 21 per cent.
The Athlete’s Foot was the only footwear business in the five to record a lift, up 2 per cent, with Platypus’ online traffic momentum flat at zero per cent.
Despite the snags for some, Jarden told investors that the consumer backdrop ahead of peak period appears to be most favourable in 2025 since the pandemic. This is supported by income growth far outstripping spending, a strong consumer balance sheet, rising confidence and upcoming rate cuts set to drive an upward swing in spending.
“We believe the pressure is now on retailers to deliver the right product, at the right time and at the right price, while engaging customers effectively,” Jarden shared. “In our recent report, we noted electronics, travel and homewares categories as best positioned to meet these demands.
“Our more positive consumer view is driven by: (i) Favourable macro factors: Rate cuts, income growth and sentiment suggest accelerated spending; (ii) Strong cash flow: Growth in the mid- to high single-digit range led by discretionary categories; and (iii) Upcoming Cyber period: Potentially surpassing Christmas as a sales driver, especially for online.”