UK Shopify sellers doubled their skincare sales, but the clothing industry is facing a cold winter

According to a report on the retailtimes website yesterday, statistics from Canadian website building platform Shopify show that since the outbreak of the epidemic, the shopping habits and preferences of British consumers have undergone tremendous changes, and the changes in people’s living conditions are naturally reflected in people’s consumption behavior.

In the past year, Shopify has also achieved rapid growth in the UK market, with the number of new stores opened on the platform increasing by 116% year-on-year in 2019. Some of the UK's fastest-growing brands have also chosen to use Shopify's all-in-one business platform for online sales, including high-growth companies such as Gymshark, All Birds and Lounge, as well as some small and medium-sized enterprises (SMBs).

After statistically analyzing the sales data of more than 100,000 Shopify merchants in the UK from March 2020 to February 2021, it can be seen that skin care products had the largest sales growth of 109.2%; alcoholic beverages were second, with an increase of 96.7%; coffee sales increased by 65%, and tea sales also increased by 38% ↓

(The 10 fastest growing product categories in the UK market )

In addition, sales of cooking and baking ingredients increased by 35% due to the popularity of banana bread in the UK ; people living alone at home sought the company of pets, and the increase in the number of pet owners also led to a 37.3% increase in sales of dog supplies .

However, not all product categories have such "good luck". On the contrary, some products have seen their sales plummet under the heavy blow of the epidemic crisis ↓

(The 10 categories with the largest sales decline in the UK market )

Due to the implementation of the home isolation policy, people's demand for going out to work and participating in social activities has decreased, so the sales of shirts and tops have been hit the hardest, plummeting by 373.9%.

It is worth noting that the categories with the most severe sales decline seem to be concentrated in the clothing industry . In addition to shirts and tops, the most significant sales decline was in dresses , which fell by 294.5%; the sales of swimsuits, sportswear, pants, skirts and jumpsuits fell by 76%, 67.8%, 38.4%, 33.3% and 28.8% respectively .

In addition to the clothing industry, the sales of mobile phone cases also fell by 103.9%. It seems that the sales of mobile phone cases are closely related to the frequency of people going out.

However, Shopify executive Shimona Mehta also pointed out that in addition to people’s product purchasing preferences, people’s consumption habits have also been permanently changed during the epidemic. In fact, 2030 has arrived early , consumers’ brand awareness has increased, and they have higher expectations for brands. Brands that recognize this will not only survive, but will also thrive!

U.K.