Ecommerce Fashion Industry Statistics

Apparel ecommerce sales in the US were estimated at $165.1 billion in 2023. [1]

Apparel ecommerce sales in the US were forecast to reach $176.1 billion in 2024. [1]

Apparel ecommerce sales in the US were forecast to reach $195.0 billion in 2025. [1]

Footwear ecommerce sales in the US were estimated at $29.2 billion in 2023. [2]

Footwear ecommerce sales in the US were forecast to reach $30.9 billion in 2024. [2]

Lingerie ecommerce sales in the US were estimated at $5.8 billion in 2023. [3]

Fashion ecommerce penetration in the US (share of total fashion retail) was 10.7% in 2023. [4]

Fashion ecommerce penetration in the US is forecast to reach 11.3% in 2024. [4]

Fashion ecommerce penetration in the UK (share of total fashion retail) was 23.8% in 2023. [5]

Fashion ecommerce penetration in the UK is forecast to reach 24.7% in 2024. [5]

In Germany, ecommerce penetration of fashion was 20.8% in 2023. [6]

In Germany, ecommerce penetration of fashion is forecast to reach 21.6% in 2024. [6]

In France, ecommerce penetration of fashion was 16.2% in 2023. [7]

In France, ecommerce penetration of fashion is forecast to reach 16.9% in 2024. [7]

In India, ecommerce penetration of apparel was 7.1% in 2023. [8]

In India, ecommerce penetration of apparel was forecast to be 7.9% in 2024. [8]

In China, ecommerce penetration of apparel was 24.1% in 2023. [9]

In China, ecommerce penetration of apparel was forecast to be 25.0% in 2024. [9]

Worldwide online shoppers who purchased apparel in the last 12 months were 35% in 2019. [10]

In 2022, “Fashion & apparel” was among the top online shopping categories by share of adults in the UK with 38% purchasing. [11]

In 2023, “Clothing and footwear” accounted for 23.4% of ecommerce retail sales in the EU-27 (est.). [12]

Apparel and accessories were 16% of total ecommerce category sales in the US in 2023 (est.). [13]

In the US, department store ecommerce as % of department store sales was 16.3% in 2023. [14]

In the US, online sales represented 20.6% of specialty retail sales in 2023. [15]

The 2024 global DTC market was estimated at $206.2 billion for apparel brands. [16]

In 2024, “women’s apparel” was the largest apparel segment in ecommerce with 52% of revenue share (est.). [17]

Men’s apparel online revenue share was 48% (est.) in 2024. [17]

In the US, average cart value for fashion ecommerce was $71. [18]

Global ecommerce fashion returns rates averaged 30% (industry estimate). [19]

Apparel is the product category with the highest return rates at 40% (industry estimate). [19]

In a survey, 67% of consumers say they are more likely to buy from a retailer with free returns. [20]

In a survey, 77% of consumers say they check the return policy before making an online purchase. [21]

32% of online shoppers abandon a purchase due to shipping costs, per Baymard Institute. [22]

26% of online shoppers abandon a purchase due to unclear delivery times, per Baymard Institute. [22]

18% of online shoppers abandon a purchase due to payment method issues, per Baymard Institute. [22]

23% of shoppers said they don’t know how to find product sizing information for online clothing. [23]

50% of consumers check reviews before purchasing apparel online. [24]

90% of consumers say product reviews influence their purchasing decisions. [25]

84% of shoppers are likely to take action after reading an online review. [26]

61% of consumers say they are more likely to buy when shipping is free. [27]

74% of consumers expect free shipping. [28]

58% of consumers will abandon a cart if delivery takes too long. [29]

45% of consumers cite “size” as the top reason for returning apparel. [30]

33% of apparel returns are due to “didn’t like it/changed mind” (industry estimate). [31]

22% of returns are due to “item was damaged/defective” (industry estimate). [31]

28% of returns are due to “wrong size” (industry estimate). [31]

In the UK, 57% of online shoppers returned items in the last year (survey). [32]

In Germany, 46% of online shoppers returned items in the last year (survey). [32]

In France, 52% of online shoppers returned items in the last year (survey). [32]

79% of shoppers want to see size charts and measurements before buying online. [33]

63% of consumers say they consider fit information a “must-have” for apparel ecommerce. [34]

49% of consumers are more likely to purchase if a site provides accurate product imagery (survey). [35]

In the United States, ecommerce sales were projected to reach $1.1 trillion in 2024. [36]

In the United States, ecommerce sales are forecast to reach $1.3 trillion in 2025. [36]

In the United States, ecommerce sales are forecast to reach $1.7 trillion in 2029. [36]

Globally, retail ecommerce sales were $5.8 trillion in 2023. [37]

Globally, retail ecommerce sales were forecast to reach $6.3 trillion in 2024. [37]

Globally, retail ecommerce sales were forecast to reach $7.5 trillion in 2025. [37]

Ecommerce share of total retail sales (worldwide) was 19.5% in 2023. [38]

Ecommerce share of total retail sales (worldwide) was forecast to be 21.4% in 2024. [38]

Ecommerce share of total retail sales (worldwide) was forecast to reach 23.8% in 2026. [38]

U.S. ecommerce sales grew 7.3% in 2023. [39]

U.S. ecommerce sales in 2023 totaled $1.2 trillion. [39]

U.S. ecommerce sales for 2nd quarter 2023 totaled $269.4 billion. [39]

U.S. ecommerce sales for 3rd quarter 2023 totaled $308.5 billion. [39]

U.S. ecommerce sales for 4th quarter 2023 totaled $331.7 billion. [39]

China’s online retail sales were $2.1 trillion in 2023. [40]

China’s online retail sales are forecast to reach $2.7 trillion in 2025. [40]

China’s online retail sales are forecast to reach $3.6 trillion in 2027. [40]

UK online retail sales reached £124.5 billion in 2023. [41]

UK online retail sales were £130.3 billion in 2024. [42]

Germany’s ecommerce sales were forecast to reach €89.2 billion in 2024. [43]

Germany’s ecommerce sales were forecast to reach €102.8 billion in 2025. [43]

France’s ecommerce sales were forecast to reach €155.7 billion in 2024. [44]

France’s ecommerce sales were forecast to reach €170.6 billion in 2025. [45]

India’s ecommerce sales were forecast to reach $56.4 billion in 2024. [46]

India’s ecommerce sales were forecast to reach $87.1 billion in 2026. [46]

India’s ecommerce sales were forecast to reach $128.4 billion in 2028. [46]

South Korea’s ecommerce sales were forecast to reach $24.3 billion in 2024. [47]

South Korea’s ecommerce sales were forecast to reach $28.0 billion in 2025. [47]

Brazil’s ecommerce sales were forecast to reach $64.6 billion in 2024. [48]

Brazil’s ecommerce sales were forecast to reach $76.5 billion in 2025. [48]

Mexico’s ecommerce sales were forecast to reach $39.8 billion in 2024. [49]

Mexico’s ecommerce sales were forecast to reach $46.5 billion in 2025. [49]

Worldwide consumer ecommerce sales were projected to be $5,831.2 billion in 2023. [50]

Worldwide consumer ecommerce sales were projected to be $6,355.1 billion in 2024. [50]

Worldwide consumer ecommerce sales were projected to be $7,538.6 billion in 2025. [50]

In 2023, fashion retail was the leading category on ecommerce for social shopping (reported share by category). [51]

Instagram shopping reach for fashion was 1.2B monthly (reported). [51]

TikTok Shop accounted for 34% of ecommerce sales among Gen Z in 2023 (survey). [52]

60% of consumers use influencer content to research products (survey). [53]

89% of marketers say ROI from influencer marketing is comparable to other channels (survey). [53]

60% of shoppers say personalized recommendations influence purchases (survey). [54]

76% of consumers expect personalization when shopping online (survey). [54]

44% of shoppers will leave a site if product recommendations are irrelevant (survey). [55]

73% of people say that seeing brand content tailored to their interests makes them more likely to engage (survey). [56]

Email marketing has an average ROI of 36:1 (reported). [57]

For ecommerce, retargeting ad campaigns had a 2.7x higher conversion rate than prospecting (benchmark). [58]

65% of shoppers say they would buy if the retailer offered a loyalty program (survey). [59]

22% of consumers said discounts are the main reason they join loyalty programs (survey). [59]

45% of shoppers are more likely to purchase from brands with loyalty programs (survey). [59]

35% of ecommerce fashion customers use discount codes at checkout (survey). [60]

77% of consumers would wait for a discount to buy apparel online (survey). [61]

54% of shoppers say they are influenced by seasonal promotions when buying clothing online (survey). [62]

31% of ecommerce fashion shoppers purchase during flash sales (survey). [63]

In 2024, US apparel shoppers used “size filters” on ecommerce sites at least once (survey). [64]

72% of customers say they would shop online more if there were better product information (survey). [65]

41% of consumers say accurate product descriptions are “very important” for apparel purchases online (survey). [66]

24% of consumers say “not seeing enough product photos” prevents them from buying apparel online (survey). [67]

38% of consumers say user-generated content increases trust in apparel brands (survey). [68]

55% of shoppers want to see styling ideas (fit/looks) on apparel sites (survey). [69]

In 2023, global greenhouse gas emissions attributed to textiles were 2.1 billion tonnes CO2e (reported). [70]

Textiles and clothing production accounted for 2–8% of global greenhouse gas emissions (reported range). [70]

Only 1% of used textiles are recycled into new textile products globally (reported). [71]

73% of textile waste is landfilled or incinerated (reported). [71]

The EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation applies to textile products from 2025 (timeline). [72]

The EU requires digital product passports for certain product categories including textiles under applicable implementing acts (reported). [73]

The EU Waste Framework Directive targets separate collection for textiles by 2025 (directive commitments). [74]

The EU EPR for textiles (adopted framework) requires extended producer responsibility for textile waste (framework). [75]

Fast fashion is associated with higher water stress; fashion accounts for 4% of global water use (reported). [70]

Fashion and textiles account for 20% of industrial water pollution globally (reported). [70]

Microfibers from synthetic textiles contribute to ocean plastic pollution; estimated 35% of microplastics from textiles (reported). [76]

Only 20% of clothing is recycled globally (reported). [77]

In 2019, 92 million tons of textiles were produced globally (reported). [77]

In 2019, 87% of textiles were not recycled (reported). [77]

The EU Green Deal’s targets include reducing GHG emissions by at least 55% by 2030 vs 1990 (climate target context). [78]

The EU Circular Economy Action Plan aims to make textiles more sustainable by 2030 (policy goals). [79]

The EU Regulation on packaging and packaging waste includes targets of recycling rates by 2025 (general circular targets). [80]

Higg Index by Sustainable Apparel Coalition is used by members; membership exceeded 250 brands (reported membership). [81]

Better Cotton supports 2.2 million farmers (reported). [82]

Better Cotton had 4.9 million hectares under cultivation (reported). [82]

Better Work covered 2.2 million workers (reported). [83]

The “Fashion Transparency Index” reported that the median overall transparency score for fashion brands was 25% (reported for 2023 edition). [84]

The median score for “publicly discloses supplier list” was 0% in 2023 (reported subset). [84]

Textile industry labor impacts include 152 million child labourers globally (context statistic). [85]

Child labour in textiles is reported in supplier countries; UNICEF notes prevalence in garment supply chains (context). [86]

Mobile commerce share of ecommerce was 60% in 2024 for global ecommerce (industry estimate). [87]

Share of ecommerce sales made on mobile devices in the US was 27.1% in 2023. [88]

Share of ecommerce sales made on mobile devices in the UK was 47.1% in 2023. [89]

In 2024, ecommerce conversion rate on desktop averaged 2.7% (global benchmark). [90]

In 2024, ecommerce conversion rate on mobile averaged 1.3% (global benchmark). [90]

Average ecommerce email open rate across industries was 21.3% (benchmark). [91]

Average ecommerce email click-through rate (CTR) across industries was 2.3% (benchmark). [91]

Average ecommerce SMS marketing click-through rate was 6.2% (benchmark). [92]

Average ecommerce SMS marketing conversion rate was 2.1% (benchmark). [92]

In 2023, pay-by-link accounted for 16% of global ecommerce card-not-present online transactions. [93]

In 2023, BNPL transactions accounted for 1.7% of global ecommerce transaction value (reported share). [93]

In 2023, digital wallets accounted for 53% of global ecommerce transactions. [93]

In 2023, 3D Secure adoption was 74% for card-not-present transactions (reported). [93]

In 2022, fraud attempts increased by 13% globally in ecommerce (reported). [94]

In 2023, average ecommerce chargeback rate was 0.38% (reported). [95]

43% of consumers expect a fast website (under 3 seconds) (survey). [96]

40% of shoppers abandon a site that takes more than 3 seconds to load. [97]

A 1-second improvement in page load time can increase conversions by 7% (industry study). [98]

53% of ecommerce traffic worldwide comes from search (reported). [99]

73% of shoppers use social media to research products. [100]

30% of shoppers purchase after seeing products on social media (survey). [101]

In 2024, US ecommerce brands using social commerce were 26% (benchmark). [54]

In 2024, 46% of ecommerce marketers planned to increase investment in AI. [102]

38% of marketers said they use AI to improve customer experience (survey). [102]

In 2023, shoppers spent an average of $128 per order in ecommerce. [103]

Average cart abandonment rate in ecommerce was 69.57% (benchmark). [104]

Retail cart abandonment rate was 70% in 2023 (reported). [105]