Nevertheless, not everything is so unambiguous. After all, where offline outlets have lost profits, e-commerce has traditionally benefited and found new promising vectors of development.

In the past couple of years, the fashion industry has turned upside down: revenue from conventional retail outlets has dropped catastrophically, while online sales have skyrocketed. The transition to Digital, which in normal circumstances might have taken years, was completed by many retailers in just a few months! This gave companies that were already strong on the Internet an even greater advantage over competitors who could not get their hands on the numbers. 

On the other hand, those who did not do so in time frequently struggled to adjust to the online shopping boom without sacrificing quality of service. New patterns of consumer behavior and widespread demand for technological innovation have emerged. Fraud patterns have also changed, proving that proactive prevention technology and adaptable data-driven solutions have become a necessity in today's e-commerce landscape.

In order to navigate better and be ready for the changes in the digital segment of Fashion-retail, we suggest you familiarize yourself with the key results of the latest Riskified research, which we have adapted and published especially for you!

The Riskified report explores the dynamics of Fashion Retail in 2021, examining the new challenges of omnichannel, the benefits of alternative payment methods, and the importance of seamless service to customer engagement and retention. 

Riskified is one of the largest publicly traded e-commerce cybersecurity companies since 2012. Provides SaaS fraud prevention and chargeback technology based on behavioral analysis, elastic linking, proxy detection and machine learning.

E-commerce in Fashion-retail — the results of 2021

• In the U.S. apparel industry, overall sales were down 12%, while online sales were up 30%.
• Fashion is expected to account for nearly 10% of absolute eTail sales growth between 2020 and 2025.
• Restrained by the pandemic, consumers have become more comfortable shopping through non-traditional channels (apps, social media).

Conversion rates of online stores depending on available payment methods

• To stand out, merchants must offer unique experiences and personal interactions (e.g., add more communication options in online channels). The goal is to promote the user experience through technological means.
• The move to the Internet has forced salespeople to accelerate multichannel planning, with 83% of business executives believing omnichannel is more effective than the traditional sales method, up from 54% in April 2020 (according to McKinsey).
• 62% of shoppers are more likely to shop online if they can seamlessly return their items to the store if necessary.

Conversion rates of online stores depending on available delivery methods

• Steps such as using augmented and virtual reality to try on fashions can help solve the next problem, the clothing and footwear category being one of the most frequently returned.
• Up to 70% of rejected orders are legitimate.
• The ability to make instant and automated decisions without manual verification can help merchants diversify payment options without creating new vulnerabilities.

Total level of abandoned carts

• The traditional online checkout process takes an average of 22 clicks. E-wallet integration can convert a customer with just one!
• Digital wallets such as PayPal and AliPay accounted for 44.5% of global commercial sales in 2020, nearly 6 times the 6.5% growth in 2019. And Chinese consumers contributed most of that growth.
• By 2024, digital wallets are expected to account for 51.7% of all global commercial transactions.

Different payment methods showed different levels of attempted e-fraud

• The PYMNTS report showed that Generation Z and Millennials would spend 44% and 72% more, respectively, on orders if BNPL (“Buy now pay later”) was offered as a payment option.
• BNPL's market share is expected to grow from 2.1% in 2020 to 4.2% by 2024. Europe is ahead of the trend with a predicted jump from 7.4% to 13.6%; North America is behind the curve with 1.4% to 4.5%.
• By the end of 2021, 2.14 billion people are expected to do at least some of their shopping online.

In the second quarter of 2020, the overall e-fraud rate increased by less than 1% compared to the first

• In the KPMG 2021 Outlook Pulse CEO Survey, which surveyed market leaders in 11 key geographies, 56% of respondents said they were focused on creating a seamless digital customer experience.
• A 7-country consumer survey found that 29% were more likely to make a purchase if the shopping experience was interesting, while 43% said a quick and easy checkout process would encourage them to buy a product online.
• One delivery method that has boomed because of social distance issues is BOPIS (“Buy Online, Pickup in Store”), which has seen a 106.9% increase in popularity in the U.S. in 2020.

The difference in the overall fraud rate for expedited and non-accelerated delivery

• BOPIS is projected to account for 9.9% of all U.S. e-commerce retail sales in 2021, with more than 150 million people placing at least one order on BOPIS that year.
• Fashion retail is expected to account for nearly a tenth of the absolute growth in e-commerce sales between 2020 and 2025.

Traditional clothing stores

As much as e-commerce has supplanted traditional retail stores, online sales are still less profitable, according to McKinsey. For obvious reasons, without the same problems of delivery, returns or fraud, physical retailers still offer a qualitatively different customer experience and service.

Professional retail equipment will help retailers to adapt to new requirements and restrictions, as well as not to lower the bar of offline service!

Our own modern production and experienced engineering team allows us to implement projects of any complexity, including in close cooperation with the customer's designers or according to your ideas, sketches, drawings, brand book.

Ustor specialists know the pains and needs of Ukrainian retail and will help you to realize any solution from drawings to installation in order to provide your customers with emotional involvement and desire to return! 

Bright examples of works in Ukraine, made in full visual, functional and textural accordance with the customer's brand book, were Antoshka stores, as well as retail outlets of two international brands, 4F and Intersport:

Intersport

4F

Antoshka

Conclusions

Find the optimal balance between online and offline service

As more users than ever tend to shop through their preferred channels, the Fashion industry is well positioned to set new standards for customer interaction.

Learn about your customers' payment and delivery preferences

Today's online consumers want more flexibility and freedom of choice when it comes to payment and delivery methods, making checkout an integral part of the purchase experience.

Meet expectations!

Because offering a seamless and convenient interaction from first click to order fulfillment is the best way to ensure engagement, loyalty and retention of your business' target audience.