Smaller Markets Drive Clothing Sales in US

Total apparel industry dollar sales grew 2% in the retail calendar year ended February 2015. However, in-store sales of apparel fell 2%. While New York and Los Angeles are the biggest US markets selling clothing, smaller regions like Orlando and Washington, DC are now the top markets for dollar volume increase for the apparel industry. Washington, DC showed in-store sales up 14%.

Both Orlando and Washington, DC generated strong sales performance both in-store and online. Online sales in the industry grew 19% overall. The top markets such as Los Angeles did grow online sales by double digits. However, in most cases the markets that are outperforming in the industry as a whole are those with greater in-store sales growth than online gains.

“The big regions are no longer leading apparel industry sales growth,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for The NPD Group, in a statement. “When New York and Los Angeles don’t even make it into the top 10 list of DMAs driving apparel growth, we have a big opportunity gap in the market. We need to understand the cause in order for the apparel industry to regain traction moving forward.”

Source: Forbes