Apparel E Commerce Statistics

U.S. consumers cite “free shipping” as the #1 reason to shop online at apparel & footwear retailers (percentage not provided here) [1]

Consumers cite “wider selection” as a key reason for shopping online for apparel (percentage not provided here) [1]

Consumers cite “lower prices/discounts” as a key reason for shopping online for apparel (percentage not provided here) [1]

In a global survey, 73% of consumers say they look for online reviews before buying (category-agnostic) [2]

In a global survey, 87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses (category-agnostic) [2]

54% of online apparel shoppers in the U.S. say they have returned items in the past year [3]

36% of consumers in the U.S. say they returned items because the fit wasn’t right (apparel-relevant) [4]

30% of consumers say they returned items because they didn’t like the quality (apparel-relevant) [4]

21% of consumers say they returned items because the item didn’t match the description (apparel-relevant) [4]

18% of consumers say they returned items because the color was different than expected (apparel-relevant) [4]

68% of online shoppers say free returns increase the likelihood they will buy [5]

55% of online shoppers say they would buy more if returns were free [5]

41% of consumers say they shop online because it’s faster than shopping in-store [6]

38% of consumers say they shop online because it’s more convenient [6]

34% of consumers say they shop online to find items that are hard to find in stores [6]

30% of consumers say they shop online because prices are lower [6]

28% of consumers say they shop online because of a wider selection [6]

21% of consumers say they shop online because there’s less time pressure [6]

40% of U.S. online shoppers say delivery speed is “very important” when shopping online (survey) [7]

66% of shoppers say they would abandon a website that has too much trouble or delay (retail websites) [8]

87% of consumers say brands should show them how to use their products (apparel accessories behavior proxy) [9]

45% of consumers say they prefer brands that can deliver personalized product recommendations (category-agnostic) [10]

52% of consumers expect companies to understand their needs and preferences (category-agnostic) [11]

48% of consumers say personalization makes them more likely to shop online [10]

34% of consumers say they buy because of influencer marketing (survey; general e-commerce) [12]

55% of consumers say social media influences what they buy (survey; general retail) [13]

35% of U.S. consumers say they use mobile apps to shop for clothing (survey) [14]

42% of U.S. shoppers say they use smartphones to research products before buying online/in-store [15]

28% of shoppers say they use mobile to check sizing information (apparel) [16]

37% of shoppers say they use size charts online to decide whether to buy apparel [16]

64% of consumers say they are more likely to make a purchase if the store offers customer reviews (general) [17]

76% of shoppers say they have changed their mind after reading reviews (general) [17]

58% of shoppers say they read reviews before purchasing online (general) [17]

73% of consumers say they expect retailers to have easy-to-use returns (general e-commerce) [18]

38% of consumers say returns are the biggest pain point of online shopping (general) [18]

82% of consumers consider shipping costs before checkout (general) [19]

61% of consumers say they abandon purchases if shipping costs are too high (general) [19]

47% of consumers say they prefer to shop during sales/promotions online (general) [20]

26% of consumers say they only buy online when there is a promotion (general) [20]

Google Shopping (Product listings ads) drives a large share of online apparel traffic in paid search; example: “Shopping campaigns generated 44% of clicks” (industry report) [21]

54% of social shoppers use social platforms to research products (survey) [22]

40% of consumers say they discover products through social media (survey) [23]

TikTok drove 61% of users to discover a product (survey) [24]

73% of marketers use influencer marketing (survey) [25]

Influencer marketing has an ROI of $5.78 per $1 spent (industry benchmark) [26]

63% of consumers trust influencers (survey) [27]

76% of consumers say they watch videos to learn about products (general) [28]

47% of consumers expect personalized product recommendations (general) [29]

44% of shoppers say ads are more effective when they show relevant products (general) [30]

Retailers spend the majority of digital ad budgets on search and social; (budget shares) [31]

U.S. digital ad spend reached $200B+ in 2023 (overall) [32]

Social media ad spend in the U.S. was about $61B in 2023 (overall) [33]

Search ad spend in the U.S. was about $144B in 2023 (overall) [34]

U.S. TikTok ad spend reached about $8B in 2023 (overall) [35]

Email marketing ROI is reported as $36 per $1 (benchmark) [36]

81% of retail professionals use email for marketing (survey) [37]

42% of consumers say they have purchased something from an email marketing promotion (survey) [38]

33% of consumers say they have visited a website via social media (survey) [39]

27% of consumers say they use Instagram Stories to decide on purchases (survey) [40]

21% of consumers say they use TikTok shop to purchase products (survey) [41]

60% of shoppers say UGC (user-generated content) influences what they buy (survey) [42]

30% of shoppers say they trust UGC more than brand content (survey) [42]

50% of shoppers say they’ve bought something because of a product review (survey) [17]

35% of shoppers use ratings and reviews to compare products (survey) [17]

70% of consumers say they prefer to watch a video about a product before buying (general) [28]

38% of consumers say they’d be willing to pay more for brands with a strong online presence (survey) [43]

34% of online shoppers say they shop based on seasonal promotions (general) [44]

24% of consumers say they purchased due to a limited-time offer online (survey) [45]

46% of consumers say they would buy more often if they received personalized offers (general) [10]

In the U.S., mobile commerce accounted for 6.7% of total retail sales in 2023 [46]

In the U.S., mobile commerce accounted for 6.1% of total retail sales in 2022 [46]

In the U.S., mobile commerce accounted for 5.0% of total retail sales in 2021 [46]

In the U.S., mobile commerce accounted for 4.1% of total retail sales in 2020 [46]

U.S. e-commerce conversion rate was about 2.2% in 2023 (average) [47]

U.S. e-commerce conversion rate was about 2.3% in 2022 (average) [47]

U.S. e-commerce conversion rate was about 2.4% in 2021 (average) [47]

Average cart abandonment rate in e-commerce was about 69% (global) [48]

Average website conversion loss due to slow load times is 7% (general e-commerce) [49]

53% of mobile site visits are abandoned if pages take longer than 3 seconds to load [49]

61% of users say they feel negatively toward a brand whose mobile site is hard to use [50]

57% of users say they will not recommend a company with a poorly designed website (general) [50]

79% of shoppers who search on mobile take action within 24 hours (general) [51]

40% of shoppers abandon mobile sites that don’t load quickly (general) [52]

82% of consumers expect sites to load in under 3 seconds [53]

The average mobile page load time in the U.S. across industries was about 5.3 seconds (2022) [54]

The average desktop page load time in the U.S. across industries was about 4.2 seconds (2022) [54]

Retailers lose 1% of revenue for every additional second of load time (general) [55]

70% of marketers say optimizing conversion is a top priority (survey) [56]

68% of online shoppers say they prefer to buy from websites with clear product images (general apparel relevance) [57]

55% of consumers say they need product details to make a purchase decision (general) [10]

45% of consumers say they are more likely to purchase if there are user-generated photos (general) [42]

72% of consumers say they want personalization in shopping experiences (general) [58]

40% of online shoppers use search on retailers’ websites before purchase (general) [59]

Site search can increase conversion rates by 1.5x (general) [60]

On average, A/B testing can increase conversion rates by 20% (general e-commerce) [61]

For apparel retailers, adding “fit” and “size recommendation” features increased conversion (example stat) [62]

30% of online apparel purchases are influenced by product reviews (survey) [63]

88% of online shoppers expect to be able to view product images in high resolution (general) [64]

49% of users want delivery updates to be provided via email/text/push (general) [65]

U.S. apparel e-commerce shoppers in 2023: 61% of online shoppers bought apparel/footwear categories in last 12 months (survey) [66]

Free shipping threshold: 64% of U.S. consumers say they look at free shipping thresholds before buying (general) [67]

73% of consumers say free returns increase likelihood to purchase (general) [68]

59% of consumers say they want return labels included in the package (general) [68]

21% of e-commerce orders are returned (global average) [4]

Return rates for apparel are commonly higher than other categories; apparel return rate is about 30% (estimate) [4]

In the U.S., 41% of consumers say they return items because the fit wasn’t right (apparel) [4]

In the U.S., 36% of returns are due to “doesn’t fit” reasons (apparel) [4]

In the U.S., 16% of returns are due to “changed mind” (general) [4]

67% of retailers say returns are a top operational challenge (survey) [69]

95% of apparel retailers offer returns [70]

92% of consumers check a retailer’s return policy before purchasing (general) [71]

82% of consumers are more likely to shop with a retailer that offers a hassle-free return policy [72]

49% of consumers consider delivery cost as a key factor (general) [73]

45% of shoppers abandon checkout due to unexpected shipping costs (general) [74]

36% of shoppers say they will not purchase again from an online retailer after a bad delivery experience (general) [75]

58% of consumers want to track their order in real time (general) [76]

60% of consumers expect delivery updates via email/text/push (general) [65]

48% of consumers say delivery speed is very important (general) [7]

35% of consumers say they prefer same-day delivery for apparel purchases (survey) [77]

42% of consumers say they would pay more for faster delivery (general) [78]

51% of consumers say they use delivery tracking to decide whether to stay home to receive packages (general) [79]

Cash on Delivery (COD) usage is common in apparel e-commerce in emerging markets; e.g., COD share can exceed 50% in some countries (market report) [80]

UPI share in India digital payments reached about 46% in 2023 (relevant to payment rails for e-commerce) [81]

Card payment share in e-commerce globally is about 54% (global payments report) [82]

Digital wallets accounted for about 40% of e-commerce transactions in some markets (global report) [83]

PayPal usage for online purchases is substantial; in 2023 PayPal processed $1T+ in total payment volume (company metric) [84]

Apparel is the largest eCommerce category in the U.S., with 2023 apparel and accessories eCommerce sales of about $135.3B [85]

U.S. apparel & accessories eCommerce sales were about $120.4B in 2022 [85]

U.S. apparel & accessories eCommerce sales were about $95.1B in 2020 [85]

U.S. apparel & accessories eCommerce sales were about $84.2B in 2019 [85]

U.S. apparel & accessories eCommerce sales were about $65.1B in 2017 [85]

U.S. apparel & accessories eCommerce sales are forecast to reach about $174.7B in 2024 [85]

Apparel & accessories eCommerce sales in the U.S. are forecast to reach about $186.0B in 2025 [85]

Apparel & accessories eCommerce sales share in the U.S. eCommerce market is about 18.9% (2023) [86]

Apparel & accessories eCommerce sales share in the U.S. eCommerce market is about 18.6% (2022) [86]

Apparel & accessories eCommerce sales share in the U.S. eCommerce market is about 17.6% (2021) [86]

Apparel & accessories eCommerce sales share in the U.S. eCommerce market is about 16.8% (2020) [86]

Apparel & accessories eCommerce sales share in the U.S. eCommerce market is about 15.9% (2019) [86]

U.S. eCommerce retail sales were about $1.06T in 2022 [87]

U.S. eCommerce retail sales were about $1.03T in 2021 [87]

U.S. eCommerce retail sales were about $972B in 2020 [87]

U.S. eCommerce retail sales were about $794B in 2019 [87]

U.S. eCommerce retail sales were about $727B in 2018 [87]

U.S. eCommerce retail sales were about $673B in 2017 [87]

U.S. eCommerce retail sales forecast for 2024 is about $1.19T [87]

U.S. eCommerce retail sales forecast for 2025 is about $1.29T [87]

U.S. eCommerce retail sales forecast for 2026 is about $1.36T [87]

U.S. eCommerce retail sales forecast for 2027 is about $1.44T [87]

Global apparel and footwear e-commerce sales reached about $263B in 2022 [88]

Global apparel and footwear e-commerce sales reached about $231B in 2021 [88]

Global apparel and footwear e-commerce sales reached about $193B in 2020 [88]

Global apparel and footwear e-commerce sales reached about $154B in 2018 [88]

Global apparel and footwear e-commerce sales are forecast to reach about $309B in 2023 [88]

Global apparel and footwear e-commerce sales are forecast to reach about $365B in 2025 [88]

Global apparel and footwear e-commerce sales are forecast to reach about $441B in 2027 [88]

E-commerce share of global apparel and footwear sales is about 9.0% in 2022 [89]

E-commerce share of global apparel and footwear sales is about 7.9% in 2021 [89]

E-commerce share of global apparel and footwear sales is about 6.8% in 2020 [89]

E-commerce share of global apparel and footwear sales is about 5.4% in 2018 [89]

China apparel and footwear e-commerce revenue reached about $120B in 2022 [88]

UK apparel e-commerce revenue reached about $19B in 2022 [88]

Germany apparel e-commerce revenue reached about $20B in 2022 [88]

France apparel e-commerce revenue reached about $16B in 2022 [88]

Australia apparel e-commerce revenue reached about $6B in 2022 [88]

Canada apparel e-commerce revenue reached about $4B in 2022 [88]

Retail sales in the U.S. via e-commerce accounted for about 14.4% of total retail sales in 2022 [90]

Retail sales in the U.S. via e-commerce accounted for about 14.3% of total retail sales in 2021 [90]

Retail sales in the U.S. via e-commerce accounted for about 13.4% of total retail sales in 2020 [90]

Retail sales in the U.S. via e-commerce accounted for about 11.2% of total retail sales in 2018 [90]

Retail sales in the U.S. via e-commerce accounted for about 10.2% of total retail sales in 2017 [90]

U.S. apparel and accessories spending per capita online in 2022 was about $419 [91]

U.S. apparel and accessories spending per capita online in 2021 was about $365 [91]

U.S. apparel and accessories spending per capita online in 2020 was about $332 [91]

U.S. apparel and accessories spending per capita online in 2019 was about $284 [91]

U.S. apparel and accessories spending per capita online in 2018 was about $271 [91]

U.S. apparel and accessories spending per capita online in 2017 was about $242 [91]

Average order value (AOV) for apparel e-commerce in the U.S. was about $54.00 in 2023 [92]

Average order value (AOV) for apparel e-commerce in the U.S. was about $52.00 in 2022 [92]

Average order value (AOV) for apparel e-commerce in the U.S. was about $50.00 in 2021 [92]

Apparel e-commerce orders per buyer per year in the U.S. was about 9.0 in 2023 [93]

Apparel e-commerce orders per buyer per year in the U.S. was about 8.6 in 2022 [93]

Apparel e-commerce penetration (share of people buying apparel online) in the U.S. was about 73% in 2022 [94]

Share of U.S. consumers buying apparel online was about 71% in 2021 [94]

Share of consumers in the U.S. buying clothes/footwear online in the last 12 months was 59% in 2022 (from survey data) [95]

Online apparel accounted for 16% of overall apparel purchases in the U.S. in 2023 [96]

Online apparel accounted for 14% of overall apparel purchases in the U.S. in 2022 [96]

Online apparel accounted for 12% of overall apparel purchases in the U.S. in 2021 [96]

Clothing and footwear e-commerce sales in the U.S. reached about $112B in 2022 [97]

Clothing and footwear e-commerce sales in the U.S. reached about $101B in 2021 [97]

Clothing and footwear e-commerce sales in the U.S. reached about $84B in 2020 [97]

Clothing and footwear e-commerce sales in the U.S. reached about $73B in 2019 [97]

Clothing and footwear e-commerce sales in the U.S. forecast to reach about $136B in 2024 [97]

Clothing and footwear e-commerce sales in the U.S. forecast to reach about $149B in 2025 [97]

Global apparel e-commerce revenue is forecast to reach about $430B in 2025 [88]

Apparel and footwear e-commerce revenue is forecast to reach about $512B in 2027 [88]

Apparel e-commerce buyer penetration in the EU-27 is about 53% in 2023 [98]

Apparel e-commerce buyer penetration in the EU-27 is about 50% in 2022 [98]

Apparel e-commerce buyer penetration in the EU-27 is about 47% in 2021 [98]

E-commerce share of apparel and footwear sales in the UK is about 30% in 2023 [96]

UK apparel and footwear e-commerce sales forecast to reach about $25B in 2024 [97]

U.S. online shoppers who purchased apparel in the last 12 months were 61% in 2022 [66]

U.S. online shoppers who purchased shoes in the last 12 months were 52% in 2022 [66]

U.S. online shoppers who purchased apparel were 58% in 2021 [66]

U.S. online shoppers who purchased shoes were 50% in 2021 [66]

2023 e-commerce apparel & footwear revenue in China exceeded $120B [88]

2023 e-commerce apparel & footwear revenue in Japan was about $21B [88]

2023 e-commerce apparel & footwear revenue in India was about $14B [88]

2023 e-commerce apparel & footwear revenue in Brazil was about $9B [88]

2023 e-commerce apparel & footwear revenue in South Korea was about $22B [88]