.png)
Year in review
European Fashion E‑commerce in 2022 and trends for 2023
2022
a year of rebound
A recovery in consumer demand throughout 2022 enabled fashion e‑commerce to have a successful year despite higher inflation, geopolitical challenges, and the energy crisis affecting consumer behavior in the last quarter.
2022 was a year of contrasts. Following 2 years of the pandemic, the fashion industry returned to normality with consumers turning to their usual seasonal demands. The positive mood was followed by the insecurity and uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine. This triggered an escalating energy crisis throughout Europe and an increase in inflation leading consumers to make more conservative choices regarding spending.
The decline in purchasing power, however, did not seem to have a negative impact on online fashion stores in 2022. 53% of GLAMI partner e-shops reported an increase in sales (compared to 52% in the corresponding question in the 2021 GLAMI partner survey).* For 18% of respondents, sales remained the same, while 25% reported a decrease.
Overall, almost half of GLAMI partners (48%) were positive about their business results in 2022. This is an impressive jump from 38% in last year's survey.
53% of fashion e-shops report a growth of revenues
Question: Would you say that your sales in 2022...
3% responded "Other"
The majority of fashion e-shops see 2022 as a positive year for their business
Question: 2022 was the first year after the COVID-19 pandemic. How would you evaluate it in terms of success for your company?
Negative 17%
Neutral 30%
Positive 48%
Source: GLAMI survey across more than 200 fashion e-retailers, 01/2022.
Survey run in 8 countries: Italy, Czechia, Slovakia, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, and Slovenia. 4% responded "Not sure", 1% responded "Other".
Main challenges
Question: What were the main challenges for you in 2022?
Although the overall business results for the year were not significantly affected by economic instability, a year-over-year decline in sales was observed by GLAMI in December, indicating that the effects of inflation are starting to influence fashion shopping habits.
When asked if they had noticed a change, 32% of fashion e-shops stated that customers were buying less, while 26% mentioned that customers appeared to be trading down to cheaper items.
Unsurprisingly, inflation was the top challenge for fashion e-shops, along with increased advertising costs and lower profit margins due to the need to offer greater discounts.
Source: GLAMI survey across fashion e-retailers, 01/2023.
Top categories of 2022: new life of formalwear
Life will never be the same
Consumers continued to choose versatile clothes, suitable for many occasions. Blazers got paired with relaxed t-shirts, sporty pants and casual shoes — for example, loafers and moccasins for men increased by +43% in comparison with 2021.
The popularity of sneakers continued to increase, with men's sneakers growing by +13% and women's by +5%.
Source: internal GLAMI data on clicks, a year-over-year comparison 2022/2021
Make it special
For special occasions, versatility was not as important.
Dresses saw a decrease of -2%, but elegant and occasion dresses grew by +22%. Additionally, searches for sequins increased by +60%.
Heels also saw a growth of +10% and men's suits had a noticeable increase of +25%.
Smartorial
As reported by Business of Fashion, Google searches for “smartorial” more than doubled in 2022. Italian label Canali defines Smartorial as a combination of the desire for relaxed garments and wish to dress in a refined way.
5 most popular products of 2022
Flower dress
This type of dress is in the top list of best sellers in all countries.
Classic sneakers
The most popular model of sneakers in Romania and Slovenia is the Nike Air I, while the Adidas Runfalcon is a top seller in Greece and Bulgaria.
Comfortable outerwear
Light jackets and hoodies are the most popular apparel pieces for men.
Little black dress
Black color, midi length, and half-sleeve — all is consistent across all countries of research.
Mom jeans
The most popular piece of apparel for women in Romania and Czechia in terms of clicks.
Top brands of 2022
These are the top brands among GLAMI users, based on the number of likes and items added to wishlists during 2022. This data is an aggregate of GLAMI users from Italy, Greece, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovenia.
1.
2.
.png)
3.
.png)
4.
.png)
5.
.png)
6.
.png)
7.
.png)
8.
.png)
9.
.png)
10.
.png)
Source: internal GLAMI data on clicks, a year-over-year comparison of 2022 with 2021
The colors with the biggest growth
Orange
Orange is commonly linked to happiness and after two years of lockdown, it has come to represent optimism and excitement about getting dressed up again.
Purple
One particular shade of purple is leading the way - Very Peri. It was chosen by Pantone as the colour of the year for 2022, and fashion designers have certainly taken notice.
Green
There are many shades of green, but we still associate growth with a specific shade — Bottega green. It quickly became one of the symbols of Italian luxury fashion and a very trendy colour.
2023
a year of uncertainty
The global fashion industry rebounded strongly in 2021 and much of 2022. But in today's fragile market, expectations of a sustained recovery can quickly be dashed: according to Business of Fashion, non-luxury fashion sales in Europe are forecast to grow between negative 4% and positive 1%.
The uncertainty is also reflected in fashion executives' views on the expected conditions in their local markets. According to GLAMI survey, 28% expect market conditions to improve, 28% expect them to worsen and 20% say the industry will remain the same.
53% of retailers have no plans to increase prices due to consumers' shrinking fashion budgets. However, 36% plan to raise prices to maintain margins.
An equal number of fashion e-commerce businesses anticipate market conditions to either worsen or improve in 2023.
Question: Do you think market conditions for fashion e-commerce in 2023 will:
Source: GLAMI survey across fashion e-retailers, 01/2023.
Southern European countries appear to have a more positive outlook for their businesses for 2023. Factors such as higher inflation, increased reliance on gas, and proximity to Ukraine have a greater impact on fashion e-commerce players of Central European countries.
More than half of fashion e-commerce shops intend to prioritize profitability over growth in the coming year.
Question: In 2023 you will rather focus on:
Source: GLAMI survey across fashion e-retailers, 01/2023.
Methodology
The report combines both primary and secondary research methods, including the results of surveys among more than 200 fashion retailers (in Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia), internal data on categories and product performance, and data from external reports, referenced to the original source.
.png)
Do you want to know more? Download our report in PDF!
What will you find inside?
Unique research of more than 200 partner e-shops of GLAMI. How do they rate 2022? What challenges have they faced and what do they expect in 2023?
Technology as the future of e-commerce
Gen-Z trends that all fashion businesses needs to know
