According to a NPD Group survey, apparel sales in the United States declined by 19 per cent in 2020, reports Fashion Network. Sales of comfy cozy categories like sweatpants increased by 17 per cent, those of sleepwear rose by 6 per cent, and those sports bras grew by 10 per cent during last year. Fashion footwear sales declined by 27 per cent during the year.
Sales of tailored clothing, dresses and dress shoes were hit particularly hard in 2020 due to the ‘work from home’ trend. Sales of fashion sneakers declined year on year although at a much softer rate than the overall category.
Regardless of whether consumers adopt more permanent work-from-home routines or go back to the workplace, demand for comfortable fashion is likely to stick around for the long term, says the survey.
Seventy per cent of respondents reported that once they can return to work and other activities, they plan to dress just as or more casually than they did prior to the pandemic.
As per NPD’s ‘Future of Footwear’ report, the fashion category will recuperate in 2021, though it will regain less than half of the volume it lost in 2021.
