European online fashion sales are booming in 2021, with sports fashion being the most popular

As the epidemic in Europe further improves, fashion brands are taking advantage of both online and offline markets. In 2021, the European fashion market will rise from the bottom and further expand its share in fashion retail.

According to Kantar data, from January to November 2020, European fashion sales as a whole fell by 21%, with Portugal seeing the largest drop in fashion sales of 35%.

Among the five traditional European fashion markets, Spain was the most affected, with full-year sales falling by 25% in 2020. Meanwhile, Italy's sales fell by 24% from January to November 2020, while the UK's data was 20%, and France and Germany's data were both 19%.

Online and offline fashion sales are booming

During the epidemic, many European countries adopted strict lockdown measures and advocated social distancing. Offline physical stores were closed one after another, and traditional fashion brands' sales became extremely popular with the help of e-commerce platforms.

In 2020, European fashion brands’ sales share on e-commerce platforms accounted for 30% of the entire fashion market. In 2020, the online sales share of fashion products in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain were 48%, 33%, 23%, 22% and 19% respectively.

Leisure sports fashion is popular

Traditional fashion brands are increasingly viewing e-commerce platforms as a battlefield for turning defeat into victory. At the same time, European residents are spending more time at home, and people are generally seeking more comfortable home clothing. As a result, sports brands have emerged and the ranking of Europe's leading fashion brands has quietly changed.

Germany is the largest fashion market in Europe. Zalando Germany became the second largest clothing retailer in the country in 2020, second only to H&M, while C&A remained in third place, followed by Galeria Karstadt and Deichmann.

In France, the top five fashion retailers are all local retailers. Compared to other European countries, pure fashion brands cannot get a high ranking. On the contrary, sportswear giants can top the fashion brand list. Intersport is the largest fashion retail platform in France. As an integrated sports brand store, it has more than 2 million monthly visits and a loyal customer base. Other top French fashion e-commerce platforms include Leclerc, Decathlon, Kiabi and Galeries Lafayette.

The overall development of the European fashion market is optimistic. Based on the continuous maturity and improvement of e-commerce platforms, the online sales growth of the fashion market in 2021 is expected to usher in a new peak of development.

European Market

Cross-border e-commerce market

Fashion