Dive Brief:
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Smaller (though not small) markets like Washington, DC, and Orlando, FL, are driving growth in apparel sales and dollar volume both on and offline, according to a report released Monday by market research firm the NPD Group.
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Overall apparel sales rose 2% in the 12 months ending February 2015, while sales of apparel purchased in-store fell 2%, according to the report. That downward trend of in-store sales held true for most of the top 10 U.S. markets except for Washington, which saw in-store sales grow 14%. Online apparel sales account for 17% of the apparel industry, according to the report.
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Online shopping offers convenience except when it comes to impulse purchases, which account for 32% of in-store sales and just 22% of online sales, the report found.
Dive Insight:
These results showing such strength in smaller markets is something of a puzzle, considering that cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago are global shopping meccas. While New York and Los Angeles are still on top when it comes to the share of total industry dollar sales (8% and 5%, respectively), smaller markets like Orlando, Washington, DC, and Phoenix lead in apparel sales growth when compared to the year before (23%, 18%, and 16%, respectively). New York and Los Angeles didn't even make the list of the top 10 market areas driving apparel growth.
The size of larger shopping destinations may be part of their smaller growth, according to the Chicago Tribune. Some of the smaller markets now have brands previously found only in larger cities and offer a novel attraction, at least for the time being.
"Smaller metros are enjoying the growth because stores and the regions are maturing," NPD industry analyst Marshal Cohen told the Chicago Tribune. "The consumer has similar choices now.”
Plus, larger cities are still grappling with higher unemployment and other leftover headaches of an iffy economy, while many higher-priced apparel brands continue to face price competition from fast-fashion.
