courtesy: retail4growth.com, businessstandard.com
In the financial year 2020-2021, the W-commerce giant, Amazon reported 40 per cent year-on-year growth in its fashion category. The firm had stated that the fashion industry had re-strategized amid the COVID-19 curfews and lockdowns that pushed the customers to order products via online. Amazon also added that the 65 per cent of overall demand emerged from tier 2,3 and 4 regions.
Saurabh Srivastava, director and head of Amazon Fashion India, said that fashion and beauty have been among the largest categories for Amazon in India and also the fastest growing category in the terms of acquiring new customers for Amazon India, as one out of three new customers started her shopping journey with Amazon Fashion.
Saurabh Srivastava also explained that the fashion sector had to be re-strategized amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and that the future of fashion has been expected to be more flexible. Consumers have not restricted themselves to specific seasons to preferring comfort along with the style and showing an inclination towards sustainable and eco-friendly fashion, consumers have also been making conscious changes to their shopping habits.
The apparel sector suffered significantly as the stores had been shut due to the lockdown induced due COVID-19. Most if the resellers moved online in order to sell their stock. Consumer demand also shifted as people bought casual wear online which resulted in the online sales to increase greatly. The overall order volumes in the fashion category increased over 45 per cent in the financial year of 2021. It included the orders across marketplaces as well as the brand websites.
Online shopping was gaining prominence even in the country’s smaller cities. Amazon reported the same trends for the fashion category. Saurabh Srivastava mentioned that the top cities included Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad Gurgaon, Chennai, Kolkata, Lucknow, etc.