Brandwave

Cotton On vs H&M:Which is searched more?

In September 2026, H&M had more branded searches than Cotton On among women's fashion retailers worldwide. H&M was estimated to have 16.6M branded searches compared to Cotton On’s 2.2M, and held a 29.2% Share of Search versus Cotton On’s 3.9%. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search among women's fashion retailers worldwide in September 2026Which is more popular in search, Cotton On or H&M?
Cotton On3.9%2.2M searches
vs
H&M29.2%16.6M searches

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Which is more popular in search, Cotton On or H&M?

Compare the women's fashion retailers people choose between. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

Cotton On and H&M among women's fashion retailers worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for H&M, Cotton On. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthZaraH&MCotton OnCountry RoadSeed HeritageMax
Oct 202561.7%33.8%3%1.1%0.3%0.03%
Nov 202564.5%28.9%4.8%1.4%0.31%0.03%
Dec 202565.1%29.2%3.9%1.4%0.31%0.03%
Jan 202665.9%29.4%3.2%1.2%0.26%0.03%
Feb 202665.1%29.1%3.9%1.4%0.31%0.03%
Mar 202665.2%29.1%3.9%1.4%0.31%0.03%
Apr 202665.2%29.1%3.9%1.4%0.31%0.04%
May 202661.1%33.5%3.7%1.4%0.29%0.04%
Jun 202661.5%33.7%3%1.4%0.29%0.03%
Jul 202665.7%29.3%3.2%1.5%0.26%0.03%
Aug 202665.4%29.2%3.9%1.2%0.31%0.03%
Sep 202665.4%29.2%3.9%1.2%0.31%0.03%

How has the Cotton On and H&M comparison changed over the last 12 months?

  • H&M was ahead of Cotton On in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026.
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Cotton On’s estimated Share of Search among women's fashion retailers worldwide moved from 3% to 3.9%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 1.8M to 2.2M.
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, H&M’s estimated Share of Search among women's fashion retailers worldwide moved from 33.8% to 29.2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 20.4M to 16.6M.

How did search popularity change for women's fashion retailers worldwide in September 2026?

  1. H&M’s estimated Share of Search among women's fashion retailers worldwide has lost ground for 3 months in a row, from 33.7% to 29.2% in September 2026.

  2. Estimated monthly branded searches for Cotton On worldwide rose 22.4% over 12 measured months, from 1.8M to 2.2M in September 2026.

Other head-to-heads among women's fashion retailers

How each brand is measured

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Cotton On’s and H&M’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

Cotton On

1 branded search term

  • cotton on

H&M

1 branded search term

  • h&m

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

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