The European online fashion market

Online fashion in Europe is a growing market, in 2021, fashion had a 18% share of the e-commerce market and this will grow up to 27% in 2025.

The total fashion market in 2021 reached €475bn and is expected to grow by 10% by 2025 to €525bn. The online part was 25% in 2021 and will grow up to 50% by 2025 to €175bn.

By 2030, the online share of fashion is expected to be more than 45%, meaning that there will be a 30% market share shift from offline to online in 15 years. This section mainly focuses on the European market, and in particular looks at Amazon’s representation in online fashion.

Worth noting is online fashion sales on Amazon US, including third-party retailer sales, were estimated to be 34.5% as of March 20212 According to a survey by Statista, the three most popular reasons US Amazon customers purchase clothing and footwear from this marketplace are:

However, Amazon is not necessarily the first-place people choose to shop for online fashion in Europe, particularly with the entry of competitors such as the French retailer La Redoute and German-based BonPrix, who are perceived to be more specialist fashion retailers.

Another interesting point is that several marketplaces are non-specialist and offer other items. For example, La Redoute and Spartoo sell homeware and decor items. This is an additional sales opportunity for marketplaces; however, businesses must be careful not to dilute their offer.

Amazon was a leading market player in online fashion sales in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Amazon’s ability for home delivery during lockdowns. However, since then Amazon has seen a drop in popularity for fashion purchasing as other marketplaces launch and grow.