Marketing In The Apparel Industry Statistics

Fashion brands spent $1.7B on YouTube ads in the U.S. in 2023 [1]

In 2022, global digital ad spend in retail/ecommerce was about $129B [2]

Influencer marketing spending is projected to reach $24.1B in 2024 [3]

30% of marketers say influencer marketing is effective for direct sales [4]

Email has an average ROI of $36 per $1 spent [5]

For apparel retailers, average conversion rates for email are around 2% [6]

SMS marketing can have conversion rates up to 6% [7]

Paid search is responsible for 50% of ecommerce traffic in the U.S. [8]

In 2023, TikTok ad revenue was estimated at $11.0B globally [9]

Pinterest ad revenue was estimated at $3.0B in 2023 [10]

Meta’s ad revenue was $134.9B in 2023 [11]

Google ad revenue was $224.47B in 2023 (Alphabet) [12]

Amazon retail media revenue was $37.1B in 2023 (Amazon ads) [13]

Retail media is projected to grow to $125B globally by 2025 [14]

Mobile ads accounted for 66% of total digital ad revenue in the U.S. in 2023 [15]

In a survey, 60% of marketers said they use paid social for apparel promotion [16]

41% of consumers discover brands via Instagram ads [17]

38% of consumers discover brands via TikTok ads [18]

Google Shopping ads drive higher ROAS for apparel in many markets; ROAS can be 30% higher than standard search [19]

For Instagram, average engagement rate across industries is about 1.22% (post) [20]

Influencer posts average engagement varies; micro-influencers have higher engagement rates (e.g., 7.0%) [21]

59% of consumers prefer email for promotions compared to SMS [22]

6.08% of email click-throughs occurred on Sundays in 2023 (email marketing click-through rate by day of week) [23]

6.08% of email click-throughs occurred on Sundays in 2021 (email marketing click-through rate by day of week) [23]

6.04% of email click-throughs occurred on Sundays in 2020 (email marketing click-through rate by day of week) [23]

5.71% of email click-throughs occurred on Sundays in 2019 (email marketing click-through rate by day of week) [23]

5.74% of email click-throughs occurred on Sundays in 2018 (email marketing click-through rate by day of week) [23]

5.61% of email click-throughs occurred on Sundays in 2017 (email marketing click-through rate by day of week) [23]

62% of marketers use marketing automation for lifecycle messages [24]

73% of consumers expect offers tailored to them [25]

61% of consumers say they have purchased items after seeing them on influencer social posts [26]

Retailers using recommendation engines report 10–30% revenue lift (industry benchmark) [27]

80% of shoppers say personalization influences decisions [28]

44% of consumers say they will not shop if the website is not personalized [29]

58% of shoppers want to receive personalized recommendations based on past purchases [30]

48% of shoppers are interested in style recommendations [31]

AR/virtual try-on can lift conversion rates by 20% in retail (reported industry benchmark) [32]

Abandoned cart emails have average open rates of ~45% and conversion rates of ~3% (benchmark) [33]

Apparel search advertising click-through rate averages around 1.5% (industry benchmark) [34]

Average ecommerce conversion rate in 2023 was about 2.3% [35]

Average ecommerce cart abandonment rate was about 70% in 2023 [36]

23% of online shoppers return items because they don’t fit [37]

44% of consumers say they want free returns to shop online [38]

Size-based recommendations can reduce returns by 10–20% (industry benchmark) [39]

Personalized product recommendations can increase conversion by 10%+ [40]

66% of consumers report making additional purchases from emails and SMS promotions [41]

35% of apparel marketers say they measure ROAS primarily with platform data [42]

38% of marketers use MMM for measurement (benchmark) [43]

In a survey of 18,000 shoppers, 49% said product reviews influence what they buy [44]

70% of shoppers say they use social media to help them decide what to buy [45]

80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences [46]

60% of consumers say they will not buy again after a bad experience [47]

67% of shoppers expect retailers to offer quick responses (customer service) across channels [48]

56% of customers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience [49]

58% of consumers say they’ve returned an online purchase due to incorrect sizing [50]

62% of consumers say size and fit information is important when buying apparel online [51]

41% of shoppers say they bought something after seeing it on TikTok [52]

40% of Gen Z shoppers say they trust influencer recommendations when buying apparel [53]

87% of shoppers say they read product reviews before making a purchase [54]

90% of consumers say authenticity in brand advertising is important [55]

73% of consumers say customer reviews influence their purchase decisions [56]

45% of consumers say they’re more likely to shop at a brand that has high ratings and reviews [57]

39% of shoppers say they buy from brands they follow on Instagram [58]

56% of people say they prefer to shop in mobile apps for convenience [59]

63% of consumers say they’re interested in learning about brands through social media [60]

75% of consumers say product videos help them decide [61]

18% of shoppers abandon carts due to delivery time [62]

52% of shoppers say they have “price” as their main consideration when choosing clothing [63]

North America accounted for 39.2% of the global apparel market revenue in 2023 [64]

China’s apparel retail sales were forecast to be CNY 2,497 billion in 2024 [65]

India’s apparel retail sales were forecast to be USD 52.6 billion in 2024 [66]

U.S. apparel and footwear retail sales in 2023 were $433.0 billion [67]

The global apparel market revenue was estimated at USD 1.81 trillion in 2023 [68]

The global sportswear market revenue was estimated at USD 231.0 billion in 2023 [69]

The global fast fashion market revenue was estimated at USD 190.0 billion in 2023 [70]

The global sustainable apparel market size was estimated at USD 8.25 billion in 2022 [71]

In 2022, the U.S. was the leading apparel exporter worldwide with an export value of $32.2 billion [72]

In 2022, Bangladesh ranked as a leading apparel exporter with export value of $40.1 billion [73]

In 2022, Vietnam’s apparel export value was $36.7 billion [74]

In 2022, China’s apparel export value was $67.6 billion [75]

In 2022, Italy’s apparel export value was $21.4 billion [76]

In 2022, Germany’s apparel export value was $14.5 billion [77]

In 2022, Spain’s apparel export value was $7.6 billion [78]

The UK apparel market revenue was $43.1 billion in 2023 [79]

France’s apparel market revenue was $28.8 billion in 2023 [80]

Germany’s apparel market revenue was $26.3 billion in 2023 [81]

Brazil’s apparel retail sales were $47.8 billion in 2023 [82]

Mexico’s apparel retail sales were $9.7 billion in 2023 [83]

Indonesia’s apparel retail sales were forecast at USD 6.7 billion in 2024 [84]

Saudi Arabia’s apparel retail sales were forecast to reach USD 4.1 billion in 2024 [85]

UAE’s apparel retail sales were forecast to reach USD 2.8 billion in 2024 [86]

Turkey’s apparel retail sales were forecast to reach USD 14.4 billion in 2024 [87]

The global ecommerce apparel market is projected to reach USD 172.0 billion by 2027 [88]

In the U.S., e-commerce share of apparel and accessories retail sales was 10.8% in 2023 [89]

In the U.K., online apparel sales were $20.0 billion in 2023 [90]

In Germany, online apparel sales were $13.6 billion in 2023 [91]

In France, online apparel sales were $7.5 billion in 2023 [92]

In Spain, online apparel sales were $3.9 billion in 2023 [93]

46% of consumers say labels influence their purchasing decisions (sustainability-related) [94]

66% of consumers say they want brands to help them make more sustainable choices [95]

By 2030, the fashion industry is expected to be responsible for around 15–20% of global carbon emissions [96]

The fashion industry consumes about 79 trillion liters of water annually [97]

About 85% of textiles are not recycled and instead end up in landfills or are incinerated [98]

Proposed EU rules require separate collection of textiles by 2025 (for certain targets) [99]

The EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation will apply to textiles and footwear [100]

The U.S. FTC Green Guides provide that advertisers should substantiate environmental claims [101]

EU “Green Claims” Directive (proposed) would require substantiation and anti-greenwashing rules; current draft references penalties up to 4% of annual turnover [102]

In a consumer survey, 73% of global consumers say they would pay more for sustainable offerings [103]

55% of consumers say they’ve stopped buying from a brand due to ethical concerns [104]

Extended Producer Responsibility laws are increasing; France’s REP for textiles launched in 2022 [105]

In 2023, California’s SB 54 required labeling and transparency for forced labor-related imports [106]

The UK Modern Slavery Act requires certain companies to publish annual statements [107]

In 2019, the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) restricted imports with forced labor risk [108]

Bangladesh’s textile sector accounted for 83% of export earnings (ethical context for marketing claims) [109]

Cambodia’s garment industry accounts for about 80% of total exports [110]

The EU requires sustainability reporting under CSRD for covered companies (including those in the apparel supply chain) [111]

The SEC adopted climate-related disclosure rules (subject to court stays) affecting marketing/sustainability claims for some issuers [112]

Fashion brands with verified carbon footprints are increasing; average carbon footprint disclosure rates are improving (e.g., 15% reported targets) [113]

The Fashion Transparency Index reported that only 20% of brands disclose their factory list (2019) [114]

Fashion Revolution’s Transparency Index found average transparency score was 24% [115]

$17.4B in 2018—U.S. digital ad spend in apparel (retail apparel and accessories) measured as online ad revenue by industry vertical. [116]