Ecommerce within the fashion industry is evolving

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Insight

Ecommerce in the fashion industry has seen some really turbulent times, much like many other online industries during the Coronavirus pandemic throughout 2020. However, the fashion industry - particularly for ecommerce brands, is set to recover and predicted to rise to $672.7 billion by 2023. There are notable drivers influencing the future of ecommerce and the increase for the fashion market: digital transformation and innovative technologies impact growth substantially and will do for 2022 and beyond.

Shopify have detailed exactly what drives the fashion industry online. Take a look into the fashion industry reports.

Econsultancy has pulled together a roundup on how ecommerce within the fashion industry is evolving & we've picked out the key points to share with you.

Read the full report here.

In 2020, UK clothes sales fell by a whopping 25%. However, even in a sector that already had a relatively high degree of ecommerce penetration, post-pandemic the shift to online has been notable.

UK online clothing sales expected to overtake in-store in 2022

Online clothes shopping could overtake in-store purchases in 2022.
Online sales of clothing rocketed by £2.7 billion over the course of the pandemic, however total sales fell by £9.6 billion.
Britain will likely become the first European nation whereby the majority of fashion purchases will be made online.
Clothing stores could lose "€8 billion in total sales per year thanks to new online shopping habits".

"The permanency of the shift to online clothes shopping is most potent among British consumers, with more than one-third (36%) stating they would stick with their changes in habits brought about by the pandemic. This is compared to an average 31% of consumers across the rest of Europe."

Pandemic ecommerce boost sees Shein’s valuation double to £21 billion as it becomes the world’s largest online-only fashion retailer

Has more than doubled its valuation year-on-year (an increase of £10 billion last year).
It has become the largest online-only fashion retailer in the world.
Present in 220 regional markets.
Has experience a surge of more than '81 million app downloads globally in the first half of 2021 alone'.

Apparel is the most sought-after cross-border ecommerce product

24% of shoppers (across 11 countries) purchase clothing from outside their home market in 2020 and this increases to 31% of GenZ/Millenials.
Footwear is second when it comes to online popularity closely followed by childrens clothing.

Top markets for cross-border online clothing purchases

Singapore 36%
Russia 32%
Chile 31%
France 29%
Mexico 28%

So far, total cross-border ecommerce is up 74% year-on-year from data reported in the first four months of 2021, implying that momentum amongst international shoppers is still very high.

Left over stock is affecting overall fashion retailer revenue

61% say they are planning to reduce the number of SKUs in their inventories.
60% hope to improve analytics for consumer insights so that they can better predict demand.
55% said they would implement a more agile supply chain.

China’s annual luxury online penetration increased from 13% in 2019 to 23% in 2020

Mainland China is likely to have the largest share in the luxury market sales by 2025.
Millennial and Gen Z cohorts are much more likely to purchase luxury goods online than their more mature counterparts.
Luxury beauty ecommerce sales grew by 60% as of Oct 2020

UK consumers are more likely to buy clothing online than any other product post-pandemic

UK consumers are more likely to buy clothing through online channels than any other product category post-pandemic.
51% of 18-25 year olds are more likely to buy clothing after the Covid crisis subsides

The high interest in shopping online for clothing post-pandemic indicates that brick-and-mortar high street retailers in this sector could continue to struggle, even once all restrictions are lifted in physical spaces. Now more than ever, multichannel fashion brands must ensure they create enticing offline experiences to capture footfall.

Boohoo reports record £976 million in sales in 6 months to August 2021

20% increase on its interim report the year before.
73% above pre-pandemic sales.
Doubled its market share in both the UK and the US in past 2 years.

‘Inditex’s H1 2021 online sales rebounded further to beat pre-pandemic levels by 137%

Inditex: owner of fashion retailers Zara, Pull&Bear and Bershka (among others)

Both online and offline sales have rebounded substantially to beat pre-pandemic levels.
Total revenue across all channels for the first half of 2021 reached €11.94 billion (+49% YoY).
Online sales during this period grew by 36% versus H1 2020.

"This comes as the Group continues to implement its two-year digital transformation plan, which sees €1 billion earmarked for digitisation and a further €1.7 billion dedicated to streamlining an integrated in-store and online platform across its brands."

Indian online fashion marketplace Myntra sees record 19 million visitors to its site on first day of its annual Big Fashion Festival 2021

Myntra: owned by Walmart

Around 20%(3.8 million shoppers) were first-time users of the platform.
600,000 products were sold in the first hour.
43% uplift in the number of customers who had wishlisted items.
Beauty and personal care was the most popular categories.
Accessories and sports apparel were the next biggest verticals for sales growth, recording 80% and 75% increases respectively.

"These figures from Myntra prove what big ecommerce brands have to gain in the region and emphasises the magnitude of the shift in consumer behaviour."

Next online sales up 36% year-on-year over Christmas period 2020

Online sales were up by 36% year-on-year over the nine weeks to 26th December 2020.
Childrenswear, loungewear, sportswear and home were the top performing online categories.

Original Article

Stats: How fashion ecommerce has changed post-Covid-19

A December 2020 report from Business of Fashion and McKinsey

October 2021 report from Retail Economics and Eversheds Sutherland

Lululemon Athletica (LULU) Q2 2021 Earnings Call Transcript

China’s Unstoppable 2020 Luxury Market

How has a year in lockdown changed global consumers? And will those changes last?

Boohoo Group has reported revenue of £976 million

Inditex Second-quarter revenue, profits and cash hit historic highs

The luxury experience moves online post-pandemic

Biggest opening day for Myntra's Big Fashion Festival with 19 mn visitors

Next PLC Trading Statement Jan 2021

Shoppers stuck at home shun new clothes in 2020

Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash

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4 December