USD 30bn of Indian fashion market to be digitally influenced by 2020: BCG-Facebook Report

As per the 'Fashion Forward 2020' report, this digital transformation is happening on the mobile with as many as 85 per cent online apparel shoppers preferring mobile over any other device.

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) along with Facebook, has released a report titled 'Fashion Forward 2020' that focuses on the rising influence of digital in the fashion industry.

India is in the midst of a digital transformation and fashion is at the forefront of this change. Of the approximately USD 70 Billion Indian Fashion market today, close to USD 7-9 bn is already digitally influenced. This influence is expected to multiply nearly four times to reach ~$30bn by 2020, a staggering number which will constitute 60-70 per cent of the total branded apparel market. All this digital transformation is happening on the mobile with as many as 85 per cent online apparel shoppers preferring mobile over any other device.

The report reveals that fashion is the first category that most people buy online with nearly 30 per cent of new shoppers likely to start with apparel and footwear. Fashion e-commerce today, is already sizeable at 4-5 per cent of total fashion market and, is comparable to sales from department stores put together. Further, the report points out that online purchase for fashion category will multiply nearly four times to reach $12-14bn by 2020 accounting for a significant 11-12 per cent share of Indian Fashion market. 40 per cent of this growth will be driven by a spurt in new shoppers, while the remaining will be driven by maturing existing shoppers.

Speaking about the key findings of the report, Rohit Ramesh, partner and managing director, The Boston Consulting Group, India says, "The spurt of new fashion shoppers will bring with it a fundamental shift in the profile of online fashion shoppers. The 2020 shopper will no longer be the typical young, metro-residing male of today - By 2020, nearly half the shopper base will be women, more than 50 per cent will come from lower tiers (Tier 2 or even lower) and ~37 per cent will be older than 35 years of age"

The report then talks about how the changing face of the fashion consumer will bring about a change in the online purchase behaviour. Today, while discounts are the largest drivers of online shopping, the new online shopper will look beyond discounts. Women and lower tier shoppers, for example, are driven more by variety while older shoppers care more about convenience. Hence, the online fashion market will increasingly pivot towards variety and convenience.

"This report clearly lays out the pivotal role of digital in the fashion industry, this trend is not limited to urban metros alone but is spreading across geographic and demographic segments. By 2020, 33 per cent of all urban fashion consumers will buy online which means for a mobile first country like India we will witness a high number of purchases taking place on the mobile," says Umang Bedi, Managing Director, Facebook India & South Asia. He further adds, "Mobile has become central not just to the way brands market and sell, but also how they design products, plan merchandising and engage with customers end-to-end."

A key finding of the report is around the interplay of online and offline channels in consumer paths to purchase. The online shoppers are using a number of channels to discover, research and purchase apparel. Digital has become a significant channel in the entire journey of the consumers and not just the purchase stage. Consumers are increasingly going online to discover the latest trends, designs and get to know about brands. A quarter of all transactions by online apparel shoppers are conducted entirely online. In the future, this is expected to rise as consumer confidence in online shopping increases. The report showcases multiple opportunities for digital to further strengthen customer experiences across these purchase journeys.

The report call outs the need for shift in media spending towards digital where further scope exists for brands and retailers as currently only ~10-15 per cent of ad spends are on digital media, despite the magnitude of digital influence on fashion spends. The report finally draws out implications for fashion players to win in this digital world which include 'here and now' strategies like leveraging digital to connect with consumer across the various touch-points to more futuristic strategies like optimising assortment at 'individual' level and digital-enabled personalisation.

The findings in this report are based on qualitative and quantitative research conducted by BCG's Centre of Customer Insight (CCI). Insights from this research were then combined with BCG's proprietary models as well as BCG's industry intelligence.

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm and an advisor on business strategy. Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with 85 offices in 48 countries.