Western Europe

Given the economic uncertainty at the end of the review period, Austrian consumers purchased fewer apparel accessories. While the boom in fashion face masks (“other” apparel accessories) ensured a positive retail volume growth performance overall in…

Apparel accessories is recovering in 2023, following a noticeable decline in 2022 as consumers shifted away from buying face masks in the post-pandemic era. Whilst retail volume sales remained in decline, apparel accessories reported positive current…

Apparel accessories has slumped in volume in 2023, to just under 1% growth. This is in contrast to the more promising performance seen over the past two years, as the category rebounded from the double-digit volume decline seen during the pandemic.…

Volume demand for apparel accessories is expected to see a notable decline in 2023, demonstrating a shift in behaviour from German shoppers. Although the pandemic is over, changes in consumer behaviour have remained. The need for apparel accessories…

A post-COVID-19 return to business travel and events such as christenings and weddings benefited apparel accessories in 2023, with a notable increase in volume sales of ties. Belts, too, are benefiting from a return to office work and socialising and…

Apparel accessories is projected to see slight retail volume and strong retail current value growth over 2023, with the recovery of all categories, except for “other” apparel accessories. This category continued to suffer steep declines due to the…

Similar to most apparel categories, apparel accessories registered weaker volume sales in 2023 after growth in 2021 and 2022. Likewise, current value sales remained buoyant due to inflation and rising unit prices. Apparel accessories are purchased…

Being viewed as non-essential products, apparel accessories was challenged due to inflation rates in 2023. Portuguese consumers suffered from declining purchasing power, adapting their purchasing choices to focus on essential items. The recovery from…

Retail volume sales of apparel accessories fell significantly for the second consecutive year in 2023. This was mainly due the declining performance of other apparel accessories, following the relaxation of all remaining regulations regarding the…

Apparel accessories has seen a weaker performance in 2023, following strong growth in 2021 and a stable development in 2022 (excluding Other Apparel, which plummeted due to face masks no longer being needed).

Accessories sales in the Netherlands are witnessing a surge in interest among consumers, especially for fashion accessories like scarves, hats, and gloves. These items are increasingly viewed as style complements, expected to demonstrate robust…

The ongoing cost-of-living crisis in the UK is having a discernible impact on discretionary spending for various apparel accessories. Local consumers, facing economic uncertainties and inflationary pressures, are exhibiting more cautious purchasing…

Many local consumers prefer to make frequent small purchases, such as apparel accessories, in order to stylise their look without having to spend on larger, more expensive items of apparel, or at least delay their purchase. This behaviour is…

Western European sales of apparel accessories were already falling prior to 2020, with the arrival of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the region then resulting in significant declines in nearly all categories in 2020. The exception was other apparel…

After two challenging years due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the recovery of apparel and footwear started in earnest in 2022, but retail volume sales did not return to the 2019 level. On the other hand, high inflationary pressure on…

Overall, apparel and footwear continued to witness positive current value growth in 2023, although as in the previous year much of this growth was driven by inflation and retail price increases. In the face of these higher prices and costs of living,…

Apparel and footwear in France is seeing an overall volume slump in 2023, while value is supported by inflation pushing up unit prices, thus giving an artificial perspective of positive performance. Whilst we did see a robust volume uptick in the…

In Germany, inflation and interest rates have remained high in 2023, and real GDP has remained relatively flat, negatively affecting consumer spending and demand for non-essential goods such as fashion items. Despite the expectation of an increase…

Inflation and the cost of living crisis affected the performance of apparel and footwear in Greece in 2023, with price increases resulting in substantial current value growth across all categories. Volume sales increased, too, post-COVID-19; however,…

Apparel and footwear is projected to record strong retail current value growth over 2023, albeit slower than in 2021 and 2022, when sales rebounded from a lower base following the slump caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Nonetheless, most…

Apparel and footwear in Norway is expected to see a decline in retail volume terms and a modest current value sales increase in 2023, boosted by inflation and rising unit prices. The notably lower growth in 2023 follows two years of growth, which saw…

The outbreak of COVID-19, followed by the war in Ukraine, has led to high inflation rates in Portugal throughout 2023. Despite apparel and footwear products only witnessing moderate price increases, energy and packaged food saw high rises, impacting…

Retail sales of apparel and footwear in Spain registered a slowdown in growth in both volume and constant value terms in 2023, with the high cost of living being the key factor behind this trend. With many households exposed to rising interest rates,…

Apparel and footwear in Sweden is expected to display weaker current retail value and volume growth in 2023. Retail volume will post an overall decline, while retail value is set to remain positive, albeit lower than levels experienced in 2021 and…

The sales forecast for apparel and footwear in 2023 projects positive, albeit tempered, growth compared to the previous year. A prevailing sense of lower consumer confidence is impacting demand, leading to a more prudent approach to spending among…

The cost-of-living crisis in the UK has cast a shadow over discretionary spending, significantly impacting the purchase of apparel and footwear. As inflation rises and essential expenses such as housing, utilities, and groceries become more…

Economic instability and high inflation continued to restrain retail volume sales of apparel and footwear in Turkey at the end of the review period. The Turkish economy is taking longer to recover than many the economies of some other countries. This…

Purchasers of childrenswear focused on quality and less at quantity as they became more mindful of personal finances and textile waste. Still high inflation in 2023 translated into retail current value growth, despite the decline in retail volume…

In 2023, childrenswear continues to see robust growth in value terms, although this is largely driven by inflation and price increases. Inflation has fallen slightly, but it continues to be a hindrance to volume growth, with sales pushed back into…

One would think that childrenswear would be resilient, due to the necessity of replacement needed for growing infants and children. However, both value and volume sales are in a slump in 2023. One key reason for this is the declining birth rate in…

Childrenswear in Germany is expected to continue to see current value growth in 2023, given the high inflation rate and resultant price increases. Nevertheless, volume sales are set to decline, reflecting the cost-of-living crisis and low consumer…

Within apparel and footwear, childrenswear was the least affected by COVID-19 and lockdowns, so the high growth recovery rates seen in apparel for adults are not as evident in childrenswear in 2023. Widespread and ongoing economic uncertainty is…

Childrenswear suffered a disruption, but less so compared with menswear and womenswear, in 2020, in the wake of the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19). This was partly because parents tend to prioritise goods for their children, but also because…

Childrenswear has seen volume sales decline in 2023, while inflation and rising unit prices have boosted current value sales, similar to the overall trend in apparel. While childrenswear did not experience the same fluctuations as other apparel…

After the decline registered in 2020 due to COVID-19 and successive lockdowns, childrenswear registered noticeable growth in 2021. Nevertheless, in 2022 and 2023, retail volume slowed down, lower than levels seen in men and womenswear, as parents…

Retail sales of childrenswear in Spain registered relatively modest growth in constant value terms in 2023, with the high cost of living being the key factor behind this trend. With many households exposed to rising interest rates, given the high…

In 2023, childrenswear in Sweden is anticipated to follow the overall apparel trend, showing a decrease in retail volume sales. The landscape remained relatively stable during COVID-19, but similar shopping patterns influence it, as some Swedish…

Anticipated healthy growth in childrenswear across its three subcategories in 2023 is being propelled by sustained demand for quality products and an escalating interest in fashion and design. The extended use of social media platforms is…

Following the pandemic-related baby boom, birth rates in the UK are now declining, but demand for childrenswear continues to grow. However, a stronger performance in value growth terms is being driven by unit price increases. Childrenswear faces…

The demand for childrenswear is dampened by demographic trends, with the fertility rate and 0-3-year-old population seeing a downward trajectory in the country. In addition, the 4-14-year-old population started to drop towards the end of the review…

The briefing introduces the Cities Households Necessities Spending Index. The index ranks 1,075 cities by household expenditure on non-discretionary items, namely food, housing, and clothing and footwear. This analysis focuses on 160 major cities.…

In the upcoming years, consumers and businesses face an array of challenges, with income inequality, mass migration and rising uncertainty about another crisis being among the major ones. Nevertheless, within this lie untapped opportunities. This…

In the upcoming years, consumers and businesses face an array of challenges, with rising income inequality being among the key ones. Nevertheless, addressing the income inequality through catering to the Bottom of the Pyramid and the Middle Class…

Footwear has been under particular stress with the shift from traditional leather shoes to other materials and sports shoes for many years. In particularly, children’s footwear has been under pressure, and it is projected to see the biggest decline…

Footwear is struggling to recover from the harsh impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with retail volume and current values sales still below pre-pandemic levels in 2023. Although 2021 brought a renewed interest in footwear with consumers returning to…

Footwear volume is managing to stay in very small positive growth in 2023, which is expected to pick up slightly in 2024, then slump again over the forecast period. Meanwhile, value is being better supported by inflationary pressures pushing up unit…

After seeing close to double-digit current value growth in 2022, footwear has been facing challenges in Germany in 2023, and growth is set to slow. Several insolvencies have been filed in 2023 – an increase compared with the year before –…

Discounting activities have been gathering pace in footwear as players deploy this strategy to clear out accumulated stock gathered during the pandemic, and to mitigate declines in volume sales as a result of inflationary pressures which are…

Footwear is projected to see healthy, if slower than in 2021 and 2022, retail current value growth and a slight, and similarly slower, retail volume increase over 2023. This is set to enable footwear to slightly exceed its 2019 pre-pandemic retail…

Like apparel, footwear registered declining volume sales in 2023 following two good years, as local consumer spending began to shift away from goods back to services. Inflation and rising unit prices positively impacted current value sales, however.…