Abstract
Worldwide the internet is having a huge impact on consumers and business
alike, in terms of interaction, ease of use and increased profitability.
E-commerce is steadily growing along with consumer internet usage.
In 2007, online sales were estimated to be US$260bn and have a growth rate of
approximately 25%, with apparel accounting for US$24.2bn of those sales.
Besides offering significant advantages to consumers, online retailing has
commercial advantages as well. It allows much larger inventory breadth, offers
cost savings through a lack of physical infrastructure and overheads, and
potentially offers a global consumer base to almost any size of business.
This report includes:
- The main players in the US and Europe
- Advantages, difficulties and considerations of online selling
- Market trends 2005-2014
- Differentiation of approach for online business
- E-commerce vs traditional retailing
- Legislation and trade advantages
- Growth, expansion and the future
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Main players
- Selected US players
- Gap
- Victoria' s Secret
- Abercrombie & Fitch
- AE.com
- Guess
- UK and European players
- Next
- Dorothy Perkins
- Case studies
- Success Apparel
- Small business retail success online
- Realityplus Clothing: an online success story
Chapter 2 - How the retail market fits with an online strategy
Chapter 3 - Advantages of online selling
- Switched online approach
- Creating a virtual atmosphere
- Complimentary add-ons
- Privacy
- Minimal set-up costs
- Niche markets
Chapter 4 - The difficulties and considerations of online selling
- Personal information exchange
- Consumer loyalty
- Customer acquisition costs
- Small purchases
- Online returns policies
- Possible solutions to improving online difficulties
Chapter 5 - Market trends, 2006-2014
- Online apparel sales in the US
- Online apparel sales in Europe
- Online apparel sales in the UK
- Overall consumption trends
- Overall selling trends
- Women' s wear
- Women' s wear: accessories
- Women' s wear: jeans
- Women' s wear: general apparel
- Women' s wear: sub-segments
- Women' s wear: T-shirts
- Women' s wear: dresses
- Women' s wear: plus-size apparel
- Women' s wear: uniforms
- Women' s wear: the UK
- Women' s wear: niche markets
- Women' s wear: intimate apparel
- Women' s wear: specialty
- Men' s wear
- Men' s wear: market
- Men' s wear: formal wear
- Men' s wear: T-shirts
- Men' s wear: jeans and pants
- Men' s wear: underwear
- Children' s wear
- Children' s wear: infants and toddlers
- Children' s wear: teens
- Children' s wear: market
- Children' s wear: segments
- Children' s wear: luxury
- Children' s wear: the UK
Chapter 6 - Considerations for retailing apparel online
- Repeat buyer versus new buyer
- Consumer restrictions
- Shopping longevity
- Time of visit
Chapter 7 - Online apparel sales challenges
- Fulfilment returns
- The integration of systems
- Consumer control
- Diversifying operations
- Customer service
- Outsourcing
- Poor fulfilment costs
- E-fulfilment
- Sizing issues
- Technology
- Customer sizing - measurements
- Customer sizing - body scanning
- Customer sizing - the virtual consumer
- Large number of stock-keeping units (SKUs)
- Outsourcing inventory management
Chapter 8 - Legislation
Chapter 9 - The future
Chapter 10 - Conclusion
List of figures
- Figure 1: US internet usage profile 2007 (% reporting type of use)
- Figure 2: Barriers to online apparel shopping in 2007 (%)
List of tables
- Table 1: Top online apparel destinations, week ending 28 June 2008
- Table 2: Global conversion rate 2007 (% per sector)
- Table 3: US online apparel sales 2006-2014 (US$bn)
- Table 4: European Union apparel sales (online and total) 2006-2014 (US$bn
and %)
- Table 5: Global women' s apparel sales (online and total) 2006-2014 (US$bn
and %)
- Table 6: Global women' s apparel 2007 online sales by segment (US$bn and %
change)
- Table 7: Year-on-year change in dress sales by wearer size (%)
- Table 8: European Union men' s apparel sales (online and total) 2006-2014
(US$bn and %)
- Table 9: Hot global online apparel sales by category, year over year
change, 2005-2007 (%)
- Table 10: US online men' s jeans and pants sales 2006-2014 (US$m)
- Table 11: US online children' s apparel sales 2006-2014 (m' s units and %)
- Table 12: Global children' s apparel sales (online and total) 2006-2014
(US$bn)
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