Clothing is the most purchased product category in B2C E-Commerce in Japan. The globally active apparel retailer Gap Inc opened an online shop in Japan last fall, joining other national and international players. In South Korea, clothing was the among the highest selling categories in 2012, growing at a one-digit percentage rate, which is slightly slower than the total B2C E-Commerce market, signaling high maturity.

In China, fashion and accessories had the highest reach of online shoppers, amounting to three quarters of female and a high double-digit share of male online shoppers. E-Commerce sales of apparel increased by over a half to several tens of EUR billion in 2012.

Although C2C remains the largest segment of the online market for clothing in China, the market share of independent B2C platforms grows, with large international players, such as Levi Strauss, Inditex, Macy’s and Asos launching or planning to launch local online shops.

In Australia, clothing was the second most purchased product category in B2C E-Commerce after electronics in 2012 and is expected to remain the fastest growing product category in the B2C E-Commerce through the next five years.

Growing investment in online clothing outlets in the Middle East and Africa

In the Middle East and Africa, local online fashion stores attract large investments from established capitalists, indicating a positive view of the market potential. The Middle Eastern online vendor of clothing, Namshi, a Rocket Internet’s project, raised several USD millions of investment in May 2013, while a South African online apparel store Zando received an even larger sum from investors such as JP Morgan.

Moreover, in South Africa, the discount sector started to emerge on the online market for clothing, with apparel discount online shopping clubs, such as Runway[Sale], launched in 2012, growing rapidly.

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