Increase in online fashion purchases

To say that e-commerce has experienced a veritable explosion during the Covid-19 pandemic is nothing new. This is not limited to North America, countries all over the world are experiencing huge increases in online markets. According to a 2021 Spain online fashion report, the e-commerce channel has gained 2.7 million customers in Spain and penetration now reaches 43.4% of the resident population.

Online fashion sales have risen from 9.3% in 2019 to 19.4% in 2020, while 13.6% of consumers have purchased online or plan to do so. This spectacular rise in a business segment, that had already been growing, does not mean that Spain will catch up with other more developed countries. On the contrary, all countries, even those that had advanced the most in e-commerce, have experienced spectacular growth. The case of the UK is a good example because it was already considered an advanced and mature market, nevertheless, it has experienced a boom during the pandemic. According to a recent survey conducted by McKinsey and Dynata, in the UK, fashion e-commerce is expected to represent 50% of the UK market by 2022, compared to the already very high 35% today. In the UK, online market penetration reached 75% in 2020 and is likely to rise to 85% next season.

It is not a narrowing of the gap that separated Spain from other fashion markets, but everything points to the fact that we are facing a real market transformation that affects all countries, regardless of their level before the pandemic. The new buying patterns of consumers, which were already apparent, have become a normalized preference in one year, and in some segments, even dominant.

71% of fashion executives worldwide expect their online business to grow by more than 20% this year. Industry players are therefore facing a decisive moment in which they will need to make important and relatively quick decisions if they want to stay on board a train shows no signs of stopping.

Invest in technology to respond to market demands

The online shopper has become accustomed to standards of excellence and values. Precisely those standards that make logistics management in the fashion sector more complex such as availability of sizes, safety and predictability of delivery, ease of return and omnichannel sales experience with stores. A whole range of requirements that are impossible to manage without the use of appropriate technological tools, both for warehouse management and for transport, integration with systems and logistics management in general.

Many retailers are already investing time and money to improve their digital platforms and develop their online strategies, such as the warehouse management system, or WMS, that even have specific packs to meet the needs of online commerce in which stock management, visibility, traceability, and real-time control are no longer very convenient options but unavoidable requirements.

As omnichannel driven demands become the norm, with resulting customer satisfaction harder to achieve, supply chain professionals need to leverage advanced WMS technology to keep their operations nimble, efficient, and scaling – especially in these volatile times. Given Generix Group’s completeness of vision and ability to execute, as recognized once again by the Gartner analyst community, their Solochain WMS is well-positioned to help companies needing a modern, flexible, and agile solution that can easily adapt to their changing needs. Contact us to learn more.

This article originally appeared here. Republished with permission.