Last year, US e-retail sales hit $263 billion, according to Forrester Research Inc., representing 8% of total retail sales. The company predicts that by 2018, e-retail will reach $414 billion. While it’s a staggering number, it will still only account for about 11% of total retail sales. So why is online shopping still such a small piece of the retail pie? According to research from Cotton Incorporated, there’s room for improvement online. Browse Before Buying Though the majority of purchases still occur in-store, online is quickly becoming …
How Equinox Could Save Your Mall
The Great Recession turned most US consumers into necessity-based shoppers, eliminating their need to spend a day or even an afternoon impulse shopping at the mall. But these changing demographics and shopping habits across the country have real estate developers getting creative – in some cases, by filling now-empty anchor stores with non-retail properties like fitness centers. Ironically, this emphasis on non-retail may be what woos consumers away from the convenience of online shopping and back to the mall. Seventy-two percent of …
Is Athletic Wear Poised to Usurp Denim?
In the US, the NPD Group reported US shoppers spent about $17 billion on denim in 2013, and the global jeans market is projected to reach $56 billion by 2018, according to research firm Global Industry Analysts, Inc. But some in the industry see athletic apparel as the one to beat. While denim remained almost flat, declining just 1% for the 12 months ending December 2013, activewear soared 9%. And the total apparel market was only up 2% over the same period. What’s happening here? While some point to athletic apparel’s ubiquity – 92% of …
Fabric Substitution Needles Home Textile Shoppers
Preference for Cotton Remains Paramount Housing starts and existing home sales are not only good economic indicators, but they are also strong predicators of future growth in other areas like home textiles. As the turnaround in the housing market gains steam, the home textiles market benefits – but consumers are increasingly paying higher prices for lower quality and less cotton-rich items, and they are not satisfied. Textile World recently reported that housing starts could increase by as much as 15 to 20% over the course of 2014, …
Seeking Transparency
How Sustainability Can Enhance Your Supply Chain Has sustainability truly become part of our lexicon, or is it still just a buzzword? Today, most consumers expect products and their manufacturing processes to be sustainable; indeed, it’s part of the legacy of the original Earth Day, held more than 40 years ago. And while Millennials demand it, they’re not always willing to pay more for it. So how can the retail industry adapt? “Research reveals price and style still top consumers’ lists of purchase drivers when shopping for apparel, though …
Reaching the Chinese Consumer
China continues to top the AT Kearney Retail Apparel Index, which shows the top 10 emerging countries viable for the retail sector. Strong growths in population and in income make it an increasingly attractive market for western brands looking to expand. Yet reaching the Chinese consumer poses unique challenges. According to Euromonitor International, Chinese clothing expenditures are projected to nearly double within the next 10 years, from 1.2 trillion in 2012 to 2.2 trillion in 2020. Even in 2011, a year of slower than predicted growth, …
Consumers Are Talking…Are Brands Listening?
Consumer Facts from Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle Monitor™ Once consumers became comfortable purchasing apparel online, brands and retailers sought to enhance the experience through social media sharing options, crowdsourcing — and online customer comments sections. What may have begun as a means of increasing sales via search engine optimization has grown to be a barometer of what’s in and what’s out of favor with the buying public. Customer Comments Project Reveals Key Apparel Complaints Cotton Incorporated set out to quantitatively …
The Red, White & Blue – and Green
The Cotton Incorporated 2013 Environmental Survey reveals that more than 50% of U.S. consumers identify themselves to be “green”. And, although participation in basic household environmentalism has shown only incremental growth, higher income consumers constitute a markedly greater level of engagement. Survey data indicate that personal income and larger economic concerns are changing the ways in which consumers perceive and participate in environmental activities. Several factors, including a significant increase in consumers’ pursuing apparel …