High population density, increasing Internet penetration, economic growth and the increased spending ability of the consumers offer huge growth potential for menswear and womenswear sales in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. As a result, the APAC market is forecast to account for over 40% of the global sales by 2024, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
At the same time, the share of the Americas and Europe will continue to fall, on the back of market maturity.
Ankita Roy, Retail Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The APAC countries are catching on to the fashion trends with growing awareness of international brands through digital media platforms. Collective factors such as economic growth, fashion awareness and increasing propensity to consume offer significant growth opportunities in womenswear and menswear sales in the APAC countries, especially India and China. To capitalize on this, both domestic and international retailers must launch aggressive market strategies.”
COVID-19 has changed the shopping habits across demographics. Retailers are including knitwear in their new collections to match consumers’ preferences for comfort as the fabrics are soft, comfortable and give a formal silhouette to otherwise baggy clothes.
Against this backdrop, knitwear and sweatshirts will see a significant increase in value by 2024, registering a growth of US$14.3bn and US$8.8bn in womenswear and menswear markets, respectively from 2019 to 2024, with the APAC registering the largest increase of US$14.2bn and US$7.1bn in respective markets during the same period.
Roy continues: “Retailers must be pro-active in launching relevant and new products to engage with consumers and avoid the risk of losing out to competitors.”
There has been a boom in the apparel sales over e-commerce platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic and the trend has continued even when lockdowns are lifted as people are reluctant to shop at physical stores. This transition is permanent and will have a lasting impact on apparel retail.
Global womenswear and menswear sales through the online channel are forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.6% and 11.1% respectively during 2019-24; with the online share of menswear and womenswear sales in the APAC expected to remain heightened through 2024 accounting for 40.8% and 44.9% of the menswear and womenswear markets respectively.
Roy concludes: “Brands must continue to interact with customers through digital and social media platforms. To further increase their presence, brands can tie-up with popular social marketplaces like Instagram and Facebook to sell their products online. Initiatives such as live-streamed fashion shows and online displays of new launches will be instrumental in creating a market buzz in the post-COVID-19 era. Retailers must keep exploring new ways to directly engage with shoppers, as the pandemic highlighted the significance of e-commerce more than ever before.”
