Brand websites are driving online fashion retail growth with them reporting 66% order volume growth as compared to the previous financial year, says Fashion e-commerce Report: FY2021 vs FY2020, a new report from Unicommerce, a market leader in e-commerce enablement software for multi-channel, warehouse management and omnichannel services.
“The fashion industry in India is setting new benchmarks of innovation in the e-commerce industry. The rising adoption of DTC (direct to consumer) amongst fashion brands has helped them build a strong connect with the consumer leading to higher growth. The brand websites have reported 66% order volume growth and 77% GMV growth in FY-2021 as compared to the previous financial year,” the report states.
“The strong order volume growth supported with higher GMV growth has led to a 6% increase in average order value. As compared to websites, marketplaces have reported 45% order volume growth and 33% GMV growth, with an 8% decline in the average order value for FY-2021. This is testimony that fashion brands are investing aggressively to build a stronger DTC presence,” it adds.
Rising Demand from tier II, III cities
The trend of online shopping is gaining prominence in tier-II and -III cities, with 118% growth coming from Tier-II cities and over 192% order volume growth from Tier-III cities, while Tier-I cities have reported a muted order volume growth of 14%.
Omnichannel gains momentum
Last year, the majority of fashion brands embarked on their omnichannel journey by integrating their offline and online store. Concepts like “Ship from Store” and “ Dark Stores” are gaining traction amongst retail brands. Companies are now fulfilling 20-25% of their omnichannel orders from the store, indicating increased adoption of omnichannel across the majority of brand stores, the report states.
While the majority of omnichannel orders (55-60%) are still being generated from brand websites, marketplaces have grown omni presence significantly in the last 15-18 months from being a negligible contributor last year to now contributing 40-45% of overall omnichannel orders. Interestingly, the fashion-focused marketplaces are the first ones to embrace omnichannel solutions and the other prominent marketplaces are now following this strategy.
Womenswear dominates online fashion
Womenswear holds the majority share of the e-commerce fashion market with a 50% market share in FY-2021 and reported 30% order volume growth in FY-2021 as compared to the previous financial year, according to the report.
“The kidswear segment took the industry by surprise with over 200% order volume growth and the market share significantly increased from 3% in FY-2020 to 17% in FY-2021,” it adds.
The menswear segment maintained consistent growth with 37% order volume growth and 33% market share in FY-2021.
Western wear segment is growing at a rapid pace with 57% order volume growth in FY-2021 as compared to the previous financial year, and it accounted for 65% market share in FY-2021. Interestingly, the men’s apparel segment is the biggest contributor to the overall western wear segment and it accounted for 55% market share of overall western wear in FY-2021 and reported 40% order volume growth. The kid’s western wear segment reported a sharp order volume growth of over 300% and its market share increased from 3% in FY-2020 to 28% in FY-2021.
The ethnic wear segment reported an order volume growth of 41% in FY-2021 vs FY-2020 and accounted for 35% market share in FY-2021. The ethnic wear segment is majorly led by women’s apparel segment and it constitutes a 95% market share of overall ethnic wear in FY-2021 and reported 43% order volume growth.
Casualwear continues to be preferred choice
Casualwear enjoys the dominant position in the fashion apparel market and accounted for 84% market share in FY-21 and 49% YoY order volume growth in FY-2021 as compared to the previous financial year. However, the formal wear category is gaining momentum as the market share increased from 11% in FY-2020 to 16% market share in FY-2021 with over 100% order volume growth. The growth of the formal segment can be attributed to the increasing number of offline shoppers shifting towards online shopping platforms, the report says.