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On the one hand, the consumerism boom of “buy and buy”, on the other hand, many consumers find that although fashion is more and more integrated into the modern lifestyle, people do not seem to love to buy clothes.

The downturn in the apparel industry has been going on for a while, and this sentiment is also reflected in the data. According to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the per capita consumption expenditure of Chinese residents in 2018 increased by 8.4% year-on-year to 19,583 yuan, of which per capita clothing consumption expenditure increased by 4.1% to 1,289 yuan, but accounted for6.5% of per capita consumption expenditure, lower than 6.8% in 2017.

According to the statistics of Tencent Data Lab, the growth rate of China’s apparel retail sales has slowed down to the number of units since 2016. In 2018, the retail sales of apparel products increased by 7% to 1.5 trillion yuan, and the increase in 2017 was 8. %, the per capita annual cost of clothing is the most expensive range of 1,000 to 3,000 yuan, only 13% of the total annual expenditure in this area is more than 8,000 yuan, the most expenditure on clothing is still the first-tier urban consumers.

According to Deloitte’s report last year, in 1987, ordinary consumers spent 5.9% of their spending on clothing, but by 2017, this proportion has plummeted to 3.1%. For low-income people, the average spending on women’s clothing is particularly low, and the rise in footwear spending is the only bright spot.

In fact, whether Zara, H&M and other fast fashions have slowed down recently, it is still the luxury brand’s high-end garments relying on handbags and shoes to subsidize profits, whether it is the downturn in shopping in Europe and the United States, or the rise of the second-hand market, no As one does not prove, huge changes in the apparel industry are taking place.

▌1. Dressing scene change

There is less and less clothing spending, first of all related to the changes in the scenes in which consumers wear clothing. In the past, consumers needed to purchase special commuter and professional wear for the workplace, purchase sports equipment for sports scenes, formal dresses for social occasions such as the annual meeting, and various other home clothes and casual wear. Nowadays, consumers who are deeply influenced by the Athleisure sports and leisure trend and the street fashion trend of Streetwear are increasingly pursuing their comfort. The dressing requirements in the workplace and formal occasions are also constantly loosening, experiencing the evolution of “de-dressing”. Many people are allowed to work in sportswear and sneakers, and this dress is also suitable for indoor homes, people can wear sportswear to go to work, or go to family gatherings and many other occasions.

Urban life needs to be freely transformed in different scenarios. As people pay more attention to the balance between work and life, consumers prefer clothing that suits multiple scenes. As a result, consumer demand for different types of apparel, especially traditional fashion, has correspondingly decreased.

▌2. The budget is diverted by other categories

Based on this, it is not difficult to understand that the consumer budget originally prepared for consumers is diverted by other categories. The high trend of sportswear brands in recent years is obvious to all, especially the Canadian yoga brand lululemon, which symbolizes the middle-income class. According to the fashion business news monitoring, thanks to strong performance growth, lululemon has accumulated up to 48% of its share price since this year.

At the same time, consumers have taken more budget to buy handbags and shoes. Buying fast-fashioned clothes and using luxury handbags and shoes with higher symbolic values ​​has become the consensus of many consumers. Handbags and shoes are not only a symbol of status,In the global economic instability, it is more valuable than clothing.

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Buy fast-fashioned clothes and use luxury handbags and shoes with higher symbolic values, which has become the consensus of many middle-class people

It is worth mentioning that with the warming of the trend market, the price of sports shoes has risen, not only luxury brands have launched a large number of luxury sports shoes, but also some shoes of Nike and Yeezy have been fired to five digits in the secondary market. . The sports giants have come up with more marketing budgets to create a sense of freshness, compete for consumers’ attention, and thus stimulate consumption, while the fashion retailers who are in the doldrums can’t get enough marketing budgets and fall into a vicious circle.

▌3. Only buy young people who are exploding

As consumers’ shopping decisions are increasingly influenced by social media, and the purpose of consumer shopping has turned to social media recognition, the explosion effect has profoundly subverted traditional apparel retail. The definition of an explosion is a product that is in short supply and has a high sales volume in the sale of goods. It is usually said that there are many products that are sold and are very popular. Unlike the previous generation of consumers with higher brand loyalty, today’s young people are accustomed to buying star explosions in different brands. As long as any brand has an explosion, they will turn to a new brand. It’s not hard to find that behind the luxury brands with outstanding performance are the explosions that are continuously manufactured.

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According to the second-quarter trend list released by Lyst, apparel items only account for one-third of the hottest items for men and women, and accessories account for half of the country

But it’s worth noting that the best-selling explosions are mainly accessories for handbags and shoes. According to the second-quarter trend list released by Lyst, apparel items only account for one-third of the hottest items for men and women, and the accessories category accounts for half of the total. Compared with the purchase of a large number of affordable clothing, price-sensitive young people are more willing to put their budgets on investment and identify more explosives. This also allows consumers to restrain impulse spending and allocate budget more cautiously. As mentioned above, explosion-proof handbags and shoes are more cost-effective and durable than explosion-proof clothing.

▌4. Full price purchaseMaterial reduction

In addition to this, the proportion of revenue contributed by apparel products is getting smaller and smaller, and it is related to less and less full-price shopping. According to the MakerSights report, Z-generation shoppers who like to shop say that they buy clothes at full price from 25% to 50% of the time, but those who don’t like shopping say they only have a quarter of the chance to buy clothes at full price.

The trend of the second-hand resale market is proving. Clothing consumption is closely related to the global economic environment. When the global economy entered an oscillating period, luxury consumers began to tighten their belts and began to choose the next best. Compared with the gloom of the traditional luxury fashion retailers in the capital market, recent stocks of fashion Internet startups such as Revolve and Stitch Fix have been very popular, especially the luxury second-hand resale platform The RealReal.

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In addition to being cheap, sustainability is also a major point of promotion for second-hand luxury trading platforms, as shown in The RealReal’s physical store

Retail analysis company GlobalData data shows that US second-hand clothing sales totaled $24 billion last year and could double to $51 billion in five years. According to a report by Bain, the US high-end merchandise resale market is estimated at $6 billion in 2018, and is expected to reach $51 billion globally by 2023. Depop, ThredUp and Poshmark, which used to target the mid-market, have all started to enter the luxury goods industry.

▌5. Generation Z consumers also love to buy fakes

Not only that, the headache for luxury brands is that the Z generation does not reject fakes. The International Trademark Association INTA surveyed younger generations of Z generations in 10 different countries, including China, Japan, and the United States. The report found that 71% of American young people bought counterfeit goods in the past year, while 84% of Chinese youth The fact that people bought counterfeit products made the industry very surprised.

In principle, the Z generation is very respectful of the value of people’s creativity, which also leads them to have a strong brand awareness. But in practice, whether it is a street shop, a hypermarket and an e-commerce, Generation Z lives in a world where fakes are everywhere, so their ideals are severely tested by the surrounding realities. The high acceptance of the purchase of fakes will support the long-term existence of the fake market and damage the interests of luxury brands.

Shopping is moving from a very ceremonial activity to an ubiquitous behavior influenced by the Internet

▌6. The migration of shopping habits and the elimination of ritual feelings

The online retail platform represented by Taobao and Amazon diverts the crowds of traditional department stores and shopping centers. The bankruptcy of Henri Bendel, Lord & Taylor and the recent Barneys department store all indicate a huge change in consumer shopping habits. The lifestyle of traditional department stores, which emphasizes high-end experience and privacy, and regards shopping as a status status, has been replaced by a business circle with free and casual shopping atmosphere and more random online shopping. Shopping is moving from a very ceremonial activity to an ubiquitous behavior influenced by the Internet.

In the speech, Fan Wei, general manager of Tencent’s advertising major customer sales operation, pointed out that China has been in a period of rapid growth in the past 10 years, and the consumption path has been reconstructed. It is no longer the traditional “Awareness”-interest. (Interest)-Purchase-Loyalty. When they browse WeChat public account, WeChat group, and circle of friends, they will decide to purchase at any time because of a message.

The time cost of trying clothes in physical stores has made busy consumers less likely to buy, and instead invested in shoes and handbags with lower decision-making costs. At the same time, the e-commerce shopping experience is more and more user-friendly, giving consumers the time to make flexible, full and rational decisions. Amazon has launched the Prime Wardrobe service, which is tried and bought again. The Internet apparel rental platforms such as Stitch Fix and Rent the Runway are very popular.

In the face of changes in consumer shopping habits, many apparel retailers and even department stores have also launched rental services, such as Bloomingdale’s as the first department store in the United States to introduce rental services, consumers can choose at least $149 per month. 10 items you want to rent. Urban Outfitters recently launched its rental platform Nuuly to boost its slowdown. In the three months ended July 31, Urban Outfitters Group sales fell 3% year-on-year to $962 million, and net profit plummeted 35% to $60.3 million.

The US high-end fashion retailer Nordstrom recently released its first-quarter earnings report, with sales falling 3% year-on-year to $3.4 billion in the three months to May 4, and net profit plummeted 57.4% to 37 million US dollars, did not meet analyst expectations. Nordstrom President Erik Nordstrom admits that the company’s strategy has been a mistake in attracting consumers and is currently facing a dilemma in passenger traffic reduction.

▌7. The rise of sustainable fashion

The apparel industry needs to be wary of the ever-increasing quality standards and changes in consumer perceptions. As many markets enter the “post-materials era”, consumers are no longer willing to spend luxury goods such as handbags, watches and luxury cars 10 years ago to show their success, but are more willing to spend money on spiritual improvement, such as tourism. Education and health.

In this regard, Japan is a reference. In recent years, the Japanese have begun to advocate “simple life.” Japanese writer Yamashita Hideki called on consumers to throw away things that they haven’t touched for more than half a year in the book “Breakfast”, leaving only the things that must be used. MUJI is also the representative brand of this trend. Muji was founded in the 1980s, and the original meaning is “quality goods without trademarks.” Its birth and prosperity is a rebound after the proliferation of luxury goods in Japanese society. Such a claim is clearly applicable in China, which is impetuous. Similarly, the brand that is mainly simple and versatile, such as Uniqlo, has set off a basic revolution.

The popularity of sustainable fashion has a subtle influence on the consumer’s shopping philosophy. With the arrival of consumption upgrades, those fast-moving consumables that are of poor quality and can only wear one season are gradually abandoned by some consumers. “Buy less and buy better” has become a new shopping slogan. This concept has become more popular in the hearts of some middle class fashion KOLs.

All of these factors have become catalysts for consumer decision-making psychological changes. They are not suddenly not interested in buying clothes, but clothing retailers are not understanding them. What has never changed is that consumers will never hesitate to pay for “understanding” their products.