The growth in spending on apparel and footwear showed a further slowdown in April, increasing by a mere 2.7 percent compared to the corresponding month of the previous year according to the latest report from Coresight Research.
This marks the fourth consecutive month of decline in this sector. The report also forecasts a continued deceleration in growth, with demand anticipated to diminish completely by the year 2023.
Sunny Zheng, a senior analyst at Coresight, expressed the belief that the forthcoming data will reveal a sustained trend of minimal single-digit or stagnant growth in consumer spending on apparel and footwear by the conclusion of this month.
In March, apparel and footwear spending grew by 3.0 per cent compared to 2022. February showed a growth of 4.7 per cent, and January saw a rise of 5.7 per cent. However, in 2023, there has been a decline following the explosive purchasing trend of 2022, particularly in December when sales jumped by 6.8 per cent.
Zheng mentioned that the previous holiday season proved to be quite favourable for the apparel and footwear industry. The pent-up demand, which emerged as early as June 2020, remained strong for nearly two years.
However, there is now a noticeable decline in demand as it gradually starts to fade away. Despite a significant drop in inflation from its peak of 6.7 per cent in March 2022, the highest recorded since 1981, to 3.6 per cent in April, the decline in apparel and footwear spending persists.
