Happy holidays are ahead for Internet apparel stores, but the long-term forecast looks grim, according to new research from the NPD Group Inc, Port Washington, N.Y. The firm predicts that online clothiers should celebrate the holidays with about $600 million in sales, more than doubling last year's $250 million. But only one-third of consumers with Internet access plan to buy apparel online during the next six months, calling future sales into question.
According to NPD's Apparel E-Commerce Report, nearly half of total Internet users say they never plan to buy clothing online. And the majority of Internet users (61%) who have never bought clothing online do not intend to do so in the future. This reluctance was prevalent even among those with years of experience on the Web--more than 40% of so-called Net vets say they'll avoid buying apparel on the Web.
As to why, the inability to try on merchandise remains a primary concern, with 85% citing that barrier. More than three-quarters want to see clothing in person before they buy it. And return policies raise concerns for 70% of respondents.
Consumers most likely to overcome these reservations are those who have purchased apparel on the Web before. One-quarter of Internet users polled had already purchased clothing online. Among those consumers, repeat purchasing expectations were relatively high. Over half plan to buy clothing online again in the near term and nearly all say they would buy again at some point.
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