Don’t get me wrong. I love online shopping and I am constantly scrolling through thousands of products and forever adding things to my wishlist or cart. But rarely do I actually go through with the purchase because I find myself paralysed by too much choice!

It is little surprise then that a growing number of customers like myself are embracing the ‘subscription fashion’ trend, which simplifies online shopping by delivering relevant products to customers who pay a monthly subscription. One of the many retailers operating under the model is the Daily Jocks Monthly Underwear Club. Launched a year ago, the club has 5,000 subscribers who pay $21.95 a month for premium jocks or trunks from designers including Oskar Franks and Teamm8. Founder Nicholas Egonidis says bulk buying allows him to offer the smalls for up to 30 percent less than regular online prices.

Fellow entrepreneur Madeline Veenstra targets the female under-35s market with Popbasic; a monthly micro-collection that typically comprises a garment, handbag and jewellery combo for $75-$85. Equivalent quality items purchased separately retail for more than double this price. Popbasic has 14,000 sign-ups and will expand its repertoire to include men’s fashion in the future.

Men are the prime target market for the ‘subscription fashion’ model, with research released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealing that men are more likely than women to turn to the Internet for their shopping. When Mr Porter launched, Australian men accounted for three times the number of online purchases than those in any other country outside the UK, proving that Aussie men want to look fashionable and are turning to the internet to do so.

Taking advantage of this is a three-step personalised online shopping service called Kent & Lime. Shoppers firstly create a profile and chat online with a style adviser. The adviser then creates a kit of personalized clothes based on that profile, which is then posted to the customer for free. The customer has five days to try on the clothes, pay for what he likes and return what he doesn’t at no additional cost.

What does this mean for the high street and is it possible for the ‘mass market’ to offer such personalisation and differentiation or will it always be a niche market?  You would have to say that no one ‘big’ at the moment is doing online well so does the opportunity exist?  We know that the way men shop is vastly different to women – they dedicate less time to shopping, preferring to focus on the utilitarian aspects of the experience. With the previous research suggesting that men are the most likely – could this be a differentiating factor that gets Australian men shopping more? Our view of the online opportunity for the big retailers is to offer personalised and engaging experiences that leave customers eager to share with their friends. Is anyone brave enough?