Apparel sales across men, women and children grew 3% in 2016, reaching $218.7 billion, according to a report from the NPD Group published Monday. However apparel has struggled to grow more than 3% since 2013 as gains in one segment are offset by declines in others. Athleisure continues to be the top-selling segment, growing 11% in 2016 to become a $45.9 billion market. Jeans, dresses and tailored clothing also sold well for the year, the group said. And the shift to online sales persisted, with e-commerce sales rising to 19% of all U.S. men’s, women’s and children’s apparel sales. In 2011, it was 11%. “Online’s continued growth has come at the expense of in-store sales, affecting the more traditional apparel department, national chain, and specialty channels,” NPD said. “The growth that occurred n the online, off-price, and mass channels came from a consumer focus on convenience, value and price.” The SPDR S&P Retail ETF is down 4.7% for the past year, while the S&P 500 index is up 19.2% for the same period.
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