Amazon has outshone Walmart as the top apparel retailer in the United States, primarily due to the pandemic-induced e-commerce boom, according to recently released research by Wells Fargo, which estimates that Amazon's US apparel and footwear sales grew by nearly 15 per cent in 2020 to more than $41 billion, which was 20-25 per cent above rival Walmart.
"This represents highly impressive 11-12 per cent share of all apparel sold in the US and 34-35 per cent share of all apparel sold online," Wells Fargo analysts Ike Boruchow and Tom Nikic wrote in a note. "We now estimate Amazon will surpass $45 billion in apparel-footwear sales in 2021."Amazon has outshone Walmart as the top apparel retailer in the United States, primarily due to the pandemic-induced e-commerce boom, according to recently released research by Wells Fargo, which estimates that Amazon's US apparel and footwear sales grew by nearly 15 per cent in 2020 to more than $41 billion, which was 20-25 per cent above rival Walmart.#
"To put this in perspective, Amazon sold almost 7x as much apparel/footwear as the second largest player online (Macy's)," the analysts added.
Consumers also turned to Amazon for goods and services they might not have purchased from the company before the pandemic, like grocery delivery.
Wells Fargo, however, said the company could still make improvements to the shopping experience, like carrying more of the brands that consumers want. Amazon has turned off some brands in the past, and that could be hurting its ability to grow selection on the site, Wells Fargo was quoted as saying by US media reports.
"Until Amazon becomes a platform that works with companies to elevate brands, rather than viewing the relationship as transactional, companies who are fiercely protective of their brands (e.g. Nike), will not sell to Amazon," the analysts said.
In 2019, Nike grabbed headlines when it announced it would no longer sell its clothes and shoes directly to Amazon. Other brands—including Birkenstock and PopSockets—have also pulled out of Amazon in recent years, citing issues ranging from counterfeits to aggressive pricing tactics.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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