eMarketer: U.S. apparel retail e-commerce sales to reach $60 billion in 2015

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eMarketer predicts that U.S. apparel and accessories retail e-commerce sales will reach $60 billion in 2015, accounting for 17.2% of total U.S. retail e-commerce. Consumers have many retailers to choose from when shopping for apparel: discount stores, department stores, and specialty stores of all kinds, from fashion to luxury goods. According to a new eMarketer report, "Apparel Retailers and Online Commerce: Trends and Metrics," in general, specialty apparel retailers generate more revenue from e-commerce than discount stores or department stores.

When examining the role of e-commerce in the apparel and accessories retail sales process, one factor is clear: the correlation between catalogs and sales. According to eMarketer, nearly all of the leading e-commerce retailers in the apparel category have transitioned their mail-order business to the Internet.

Catalog retailing doesn't guarantee success, but multichannel retailers with a strong direct-mail base can get 30% of their sales online, like J.Crew or Urban Outfitters. For mid-tier retailers, like Ann Taylor Loft, New York & Company and Gap, 10% to 15% is common. Shoes, accessories and teen-focused retailers get an even smaller percentage of their sales from e-commerce. For example, e-commerce penetration among footwear retailers tracked by eMarketer from January 2014 to January 2015 was no more than 14.1%.

The apparel retailer with the highest e-commerce share in the 12 months to January 31, 2015 was Lands' End. With 236 of its 256 U.S. stores in Sears department stores, Lands' End's revenue grew 84.9% through online and catalog sales. During the 12-month period, the retailer's e-commerce sales grew 1.3% to $1.32 billion, while sales in retail stores shrank 9.4%.

Other retailers that performed strongly included Urban Outfitters, which generated 29% of its revenue from e-commerce sales across its three brands (Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Free People) during the measurement period.

While some retailers are growing e-commerce faster than others, every sector is going digital. The NPD Group, which tracks U.S. apparel revenues from December 2014 to December 2015, found that overall apparel sales grew 2%, but physical store sales contracted 2%, and e-commerce sales as a percentage of apparel revenues grew from 17% to 19%.

Compiled from: eMarketer Translator: Sun Ying