Sector Overview

SECTOR SECTOR

The business to consumer e-commerce retail market sector is defined as the selling of goods through online services (Zande, 2022), and is currently the most popular form of e-commerce retailing, valued at 3.67 trillion USD in 2020 (Grand View Research, 2021). In 2022, coping with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic has been vital to the fashion industry as it tries to rebuild its financial losses, and according to IBM’s 2020 Retail Index report, the pandemic had accelerated the shift from physical to online retail by as much as 5 years (WGSN, 2021). Undoubtedly, the driving force behind this shift was the necessity and convenience of online shopping whilst consumers were in lockdown, and the brick-and-mortar stores were closed under government restrictions. However, since the easing of lockdowns, fashion consumers are moving their business into the physical space once more, as they attempt to regain the shopping experience that enriched their lives before the pandemic. The independent retailer is characterised by the fact that they are typically run by a sole owner, or a very small management team, and there may only be a single store, or they operate solely online (Bailey, 2011). At the start of 2019, there was an estimated 5.9 million UK private sector businesses, 4.5 million of which did not have employees (GOV.co.uk, 2022). Whilst the pandemic had a devastating impact on the fashion industry, many benefits that can be recorded. As consumers begin to move away from online shopping, it is now more important than ever for independent businesses to create awareness for their brand and push their products into the physical sector. McKinsey & Company reports that they have a rising chance to establish themselves amongst the larger companies that have suffered the worse fallout in the last two years (McKinsey & Company, 2021), and so establishing new collections, collaborations and campaigns could drive their brand image and provide a huge advantage amongst competitors.