Dominating the North American e-commerce market! Will fashion still be the hottest track in 2022?

It is learned that the growth of e-commerce sales in the United States is slowing down amid inflation and the fading of the epidemic. However, according to eMarketer, US retail e-commerce sales are expected to exceed $1 trillion for the first time in 2022, and the fashion industry is leading this market.

According to the first e-commerce industry trend report released by e-commerce platform BigCommerce, the fashion and apparel industry has been the leading industry in the North American e-commerce market so far in 2022.

BigCommerce surveyed thousands of e-commerce merchants on its platform to find out which industries will see the most online sales in the first quarter of 2022. It found that the fashion and apparel industry significantly outperformed overall e-commerce sales in North America, and that fashion online sales will continue to grow for the rest of the year.

Fashion e-commerce statistics

The report first looked at the global e-commerce market and found that fashion and apparel remain strong. So far in the first quarter, global gross merchandise value (GMV) has increased by 3% year-on-year, with fashion and apparel growing by 19%.

During the same year, the average order volume for overall e-commerce grew by 3%, but fashion and apparel orders grew by 13%. In the quarterly results, the total number of e-commerce orders remained flat, but fashion and apparel stores saw a 5% increase in orders.

In North America, the difference was even more pronounced. E-commerce GMV in the first quarter of 2022 was up 2% compared to the previous quarter, while average order value increased by 3% and total orders decreased by 1%. However, for fashion and apparel, e-commerce GMV increased by 24% compared to the first quarter of 2021, while average order value and total order value increased by 13% on a quarterly basis.

Online sales revenue for fashion and apparel in the U.S. grew 25% between the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021. Overall U.S. e-commerce revenue grew 19% during the same period.

E-commerce platform sales

Fashion and apparel brands are moving into e-commerce sales. BigCommerce found that fashion and apparel GMV on Amazon grew 321% in the first quarter, and orders grew 276%.

Meanwhile, fashion and apparel sellers on eBay saw GMV increase 29% quarter-over-quarter, with average order size up 44%. These merchants saw declines of 12% and 14%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2021.

Social e-commerce sales

Social commerce is another trend that’s already emerging. According to BigCommerce’s report, nearly half (48%) of all respondents cite social media as the shopping or technology trend that will have the greatest impact on their overall business in 2021.

In fact, BigCommerce found that fashion merchants selling through Instagram saw a 741% increase in orders in the first quarter. Then there’s the more recent phenomenon of livestream shopping.

According to the report, approximately 44% of fashion and apparel respondents said they are prioritizing creating a seamless user experience. Merchants mentioned building an omnichannel presence, improving customer service and streamlining shipping as ways to strengthen their e-commerce sites. The survey indicated that fashion and apparel merchants are interested in exploring a better return experience, checkout optimization, SEO, SMS and personalized services.

Editor✎ Ashley/

Disclaimer: This article is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without permission.