Dec 18 Commerce Chronicles | Global fashion ecommerce market exploding

This week’s wire highlighted a new level of convenience for holiday shoppers and forecasted a booming global fashion ecommerce market. In addition, Gucci got a new Industrial and Supply Chain Officer, while FreightWaves warned of another supply chain shortage. Visit our blog every Monday for a roundup of the latest commerce news.

Amazon, Walmart and Target are making last-minute shopping easy

Last-minute shopping has reached a whole new level of ease, according to the latest shipping information released by retail giants like Amazon, Walmart and Target. There’s no need to be late for gatherings so you can make those final holiday purchases. Retailers across the country offer the gift of the season – premium shipping and, in some metro areas, same-day delivery.

The fulfillment landscape is changing, and the largest online retailers are selling convenience. To put things in perspective, the average cutoff date to receive an order by Christmas with standard shipping is December 15^th. The median for all types of shipping is December 18^th (that’s right, order today!). However, Amazon lists whether an item will arrive before Christmas via expedited (Prime) or same-day shipping. Walmart’s order deadline for next-day shipping is December 21^st to ensure pre-Christmas delivery.

As Christmas approaches, consumers are willing to pay more for shipping to receive gifts in time. And unlike the previous years, holiday fulfillment is running smoothly. Data from ShipMatrix found that FedEx, UPS and USPS are operating at their highest on-time shipping rate in years¹.

The global fashion ecommerce market anticipates high growth through 2030

The 2023 Global Fashion Ecommerce Market was valued at US$691.56 billion and is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 13%, hitting US$1,626.97 billion in 2030². Online shopping increased in popularity for a variety of factors, including mobile applications, more product availability, hassle-free delivery, competitive pricing and the convenience it offers.

Trends have also boosted the ecommerce fashion market by providing personalized shopping experiences and increasing brand loyalty through ecommerce platforms. The pandemic accelerated ecommerce adoption, and consumers have shifted preferences, demanding more branded and trendy fashion products and eco-friendly and ethically sourced fashions, both of which can be met through the fashion ecommerce market.

Experts predict further growth due to the rise in disposable income and up-and-coming augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. The rise of virtual fitting rooms will make it easier than ever for customers to experience enhanced visualization of products.

Gucci names Massimo Vian new Head of Industrial Operations and Supply Chain

Masimo Vian, former COO of Prada, has been appointed to the newly created position of Chief Industrial and Supply Chain Officer, starting January 15^th. The Kering Group’s leading label has placed Vian “in charge of the product development and manufacturing process for the leather goods, footwear, ready-to-wear and jewelry categories, and of the product allocation process across the various sales channels,” according to Gucci’s press release³.

The position is strategic given the importance for luxury labels to monitor their supply chain closely. The luxury retailer has undergone restructuring after a slower performance in the past couple years.

Vian comes after three years with Prada, following a year with Falconeri. More notably, he spent 13 years with Luxottica, an Italian eyewear company, serving as Head of Industrial Engineering and CEO of Product and Operations. Vian will answer directly to Gucci’s CEO, Jean-François Palus.

Is FreightWaves Right: Is there another supply chain everything shortage on the horizon?

FreightWaves is calling out the supply chain industry: They believe that the reason the supply chain crisis brought on by the pandemic is over is not because systems are fixed, but because buying has slowed down. Therefore, the industry must stay on its toes to prevent another “everything shortage.⁴”

Last week, two articles released by FreightWaves spoke about the root of this theory. They covered how tender lead times – the amount of time from when a company requests truckload capacity to when that shipment is picked up – are up 10 to 15%⁵ and how retailers and manufacturers have gone right back to just-in-time inventories instead of stockpiling. They did their due diligence and spoke to supply chain experts in various industries, such as healthcare, lumber.

The takeaway was that companies still haven’t taken the time to future-proof. Rather, they still position themselves better with investors by having leaner inventories and relying heavily on Chinese manufacturing. They’re also concerned with stockpiles that don’t remain fresh and expire, are not popular anymore or become useless, and run into disaggregated supply chains.

What’s the answer: Anticipating potential problems and adopting strategies that combine sustainability, agility and resilience.