The permanent Observatory on consumption trends prepared by Confimprese-EY highlights the decrease in consumption in the fashion sector, with -38.5% in January 2022 compared to January 2020. The total negative trend is anyway compared with share increasing resulting from online sales, thanks to the pandemic that forced most Italians to spend more time at home and to use digital channels more frequently for purchases.
Internet sales
Fashion ranks first sector among online sales, according to Eurostat survey. 68% of European online users purchased an item of clothing, footwear or accessories via Internet in 2021. In 2020, however, only 40% of European Internet users had purchased a fashion product through the digital channel. Netherlands ranks first in Europe: in 2021 90% of users bought on the Internet. Denmark and Switzerland follow. The countries with the lowest online shopping penetration were Romania and Bulgaria. According to eMarketer’s Global ecommerce forecast, e-commerce will exceed $ 5 trillion this year, about one fifth of total retail sales. Among the brands with the greatest increases we have Salvatore Ferragamo (+ 41.3%), Ralph Lauren (+ 32%) and Hugo Boss + 20%.
National Chamber of Italian fashion
One of main reasons for this trend is represented not only by the pandemic but also by the high costs of logistics with oil prices rising up to 300%. That’s why Carlo Capasa, president of National Chamber of Italian fashion, asked Italian Government to support made in Italy: “CNMI – he explains – asks to continue with the support for rents: even if the export flies, internal trade still suffers and must be helped “. Capasa also asked for promotion of reshoring and the return to Italy of numerous productions, and then underlined the damage suffered by the sector due to the exclusion of trademarks from the protections of the patent box for tax relief on income derived from use of works of genius: “In the global market, the competitiveness offashion is increasingly based on innovation and creativity, tools that must therefore be protected and supported” concluded Capasa.
