Retail report: fashion e-commerce sales grew by +30% in 2022 worldwide

Insightful Q1 2023 data lets us forecast how the market will move in the months to come.

The turbulent year 2022 was, surprisingly, a good year for fashion and retail – customers returned to active shopping. Partner network Admitad, a Mitgo company estimates the increase of online orders in the fashion segment during the year 2022 by more than +30% worldwide and by more than +20% in Europe. The company came to such conclusions as part of a study based on an analysis of more than 37 million orders worldwide.

According to partner network Admitad, 2022 saw the number of worldwide online fashion purchases grow by more than 30% and GMV by 35% year-on-year. 

However, the first quarter of 2023 has shown more moderate growth –  the number of global fashion orders made between January-February 2023 grew by 15% YoY. 

Before making too many takeaways from these early figures, it’s important to factor in that the fashion industry’s boom seasons generally occur in the spring and autumn months, when many large sales take place. Still, these figures might set the tone for the coming year.

Corona helped solidify fashion’s e-commerce position

Between 2021-2022, the market moved into a rapid recovery phase which saw a gradual return in growth for online sales.

A main driver of this growth was the growth of the e-commerce segment as a whole. Corona played a significant role in the further popularising of online shopping, although the financial doom and gloom of the first year of the pandemic negated any positive sales trends that occurred during this time. 

Online fashion retail’s success is based around convenience, online sizing and fitting tools, simple delivery and return methods and access to a large number of special offers and discounts. These benefits detract from online shopping’s main downside – the risk that the item does not suit the customer.

We estimate that clothing, footwear and fashion accessories make up more than 20% of all global e-commerce sales, and this market share is expected to grow.

The rise of second-hand clothes e-commerce

This period also saw dramatic growth in the online second-hand fashion market. 

According to experts, resale sales in the fashion segment jumped by 24% globally in 2022, and will continue to grow at a rate of around three times faster than regular sales. Among many other factors, the success of the second-hand shopping trend has been attributed to the topics of environmental concern and conscious consumption. 

The second-hand fashion market value is expected to reach $228 billion in 2026.

Inflation-led GMV increases

While the overall increase in GMV is generally seen as a positive for the fashion industry, one main contributor to it casts some doubt: inflation. 

Inflation made a significant impact on fashion’s e-commerce average order value. According to Admitad, average basket prices increased from $45 to $74 as the year progressed. 

The USA boasted the highest global AOV for 2022, followed by the UAE:

Economic uncertainty fuels partner marketing boom

Throughout 2022, the fashion industry experienced a period of great economic turbulence, with rising costs for manufacturers across the globe. Under these conditions, brands and marketplaces were forced to become even more cautious with their marketing spending.

Looking for ways to secure their revenues and acquire new customers, the fashion industry rushed towards performance marketing. According to Admitad, in 2022, the number of MENA brands and marketplaces using their channel to attract sales increased by 23% worldwide. 

The number of internet audience owners and traffic specialists ready to work with brands on partnership terms (for rewards from orders placed) grew to coincide with this.

Sales from a wide range of sources

In 2022, some traffic sources were particularly effective at generating sales for the fashion industry:

The share of orders made with the help of cashback services and coupon sites turned out to be high; contextual and targeted advertising was more effective for many brands, and advertising through mobile applications varies – from less than 1% of all orders in the MENA region to over 7 % in Germany – summing up to the worldwide average of 5.8%. We expect this number to grow in the coming months. 

Affiliate stores became the record holders in terms of fuelling growth, counting order flows at 25%. Cashback services and coupon sites also performed well, with orders by 15.5% and 5.9% of total orders respectively.

Looking at AOV instead of order numbers tells a very different story. Here are Admitad’s worldwide top 5 sales sources for 2022 based on AOV:

Affiliate marketing is recognized by the fashion industry for transparency and predictability

The active development of fashion e-commerce in 2022 coincided with a period of great economic turmoil and rising costs for manufacturers. Under these conditions, brands and marketplaces have become even more cautious about marketing spend, and many have even reduced it altogether.

In a time of uncertainty, the fashion industry rushed towards more predictable and transparent tools, including performance marketing. According to Admitad, in 2022 the number of brands and marketplaces using this channel to attract sales increased by 23% worldwide.

The number of site owners and traffic specialists who are willing to cooperate with brands on partnership terms, i.e. for a fee from placed orders, is also growing – their number increased by 14% in one year and their profit by 33%.

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