Online shopping for fashion goods in the UAE market is set to cross 20 percent of the total market size over the next three years, driven by the continuing spike in purchase frequency and average order value, a new study said.
Within the e-shopping segment, fast fashion brands are scoring a march over mass and premium brands – both in terms of awareness and purchases, revealed the study by RedSeer Strategic Consulting, a global consultancy specialising in online services.
“An instrumental change to the UAE fashion scene in the coming years is the rising trend in frequency and average order value which will drive higher wallet share for online channels.
“This will drive a lot more growth than the addition of new users. We expect online penetration in the sector to increase to over 20 percent by 2025 on the back of this,” the study said.
RedSeer has projected a higher increase in wallet share at over 70 percent among online fashion shoppers, while the number of new users are forecast to grow at about 35-40 percent over the next three-year period.
The UAE fashion industry’s revenue is projected to reach about $3.7 billion by 2025 from an estimated $2.3 billion last year, according to Statista Market Forecast.
Apparel is the largest segment – both among offline and online shopping – in the UAE.
The growing number of fast-fashion platforms catering to instantaneous trends and style-hungry shoppers is fuelling the uptick in the share of wallet among online fashion shoppers.
Significantly, omni-channels emerged as the largest platforms for online shopping in the UAE.
“This is because of the brand trust established with a loyal consumer base over several years on the offline channel and the significant investments made by the omnichannel players to improve their digital capabilities,” RedSeer said.
The study said UAE shoppers instinctively resort to the omni-channel retailers first when shopping online because of the high brand recall.
RedSeer, however, cautioned that online retail platforms will have to continue to innovate to keep up the current market tempo and also to retain customers.
“The competition for online fashion shopping is expected to intensify in the coming years as a new set of consumers – Gen Z – enter the market,” it said.
Industry experts said the growing trend of online shopping for fashion goods will further consolidate UAE’s – especially that of Dubai’s – position as the world’s luxury fashion hub.
Dubai earned this laurel through years of concerted efforts by way of holding a number of large-scale events, including the globally popular Dubai shopping festival, to promote the fashion and retail industry in the emirate.
Dubai also hosts many fashion brands, from the world-famous fashion maven to the lesser-known next designer.
It is also home to the world’s largest retail shopping malls.
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