The fashion and apparel industry continues to demonstrate its dominant position in e-commerce, a remarkable $781 billion market value as of the end of 2024 — a number projected to more than double within six years. Still, fashion retailers face “many macroeconomic headwinds,” with mixed signals on whether inflation is set to continue, falling gross margins, and challenging customer experience demands. Against this background, Shopify released its “State of the Ecommerce Fashion Industry: Statistics, Trends, and Strategies to Use in 2025″ report this week, providing analysis of the evolving landscape of e-commerce in the fashion and apparel industry.
As for some of the key takeaways when it comes to trends in fashion e-commerce, according to the e-commerce giant, those include …
> Embracing AI: Artificial Intelligence is transforming the fashion industry by enhancing customer experiences through virtual assistants, chatbots, and personalized recommendations. Generative AI may end up adding between $150 billion and $275 billion to the fashion industry in the next five years, as it can help with design, development, 3D imaging, and creating realistic-looking models for campaigns.
> Sustainability at the Forefront: Consumers are increasingly prioritizing eco-friendly products, with 70% willing to pay more for sustainably produced goods.
> Personalizing the Customer Journey: Over 70% of customers expect personalized shopping experiences. Brands like Culture Kings have successfully tailored their offerings by creating multiple global storefronts, resulting in more than half of their revenue coming from ecommerce.
> The Rise of Resale and Recommerce: The secondhand apparel market grew 24% in 2022 and is expected to reach a $350 billion market valuation by 2028 (growing 11 times faster than traditional retail), driven by technological advancements and online marketplaces.
Technology and online marketplaces are driving this trend, with online resale seeing an even bigger growth of 23% in 2023. Around 52% of consumers shopped secondhand apparel in 2023, and 59% say if they can’t find a good deal on an apparel item, they won’t buy it at all. Another driver with resale is the control it gives brands over the quality of secondhand goods in circulation.
Shopify highlights recommerce, as well, saying that this model has “clear business and operational benefits, recapturing materials from a sale that would have otherwise taken place on a third-party marketplace. That matters in an economy where every new growth channel helps.”
> Social Commerce and Shoppable Content: Social media platforms are evolving to facilitate in-app shopping. Social commerce sales are expected to nearly triple by 2025, with 70% of Instagram users looking to the platform for their next purchase.
> Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL): BNPL options are gaining popularity, offering consumers flexible payment plans without interest. The BNPL market is valued at nearly $11 billion and is expected to reach over $59 billion by 2030.
> The Transition Back to Brick-and-Mortar: Despite the rise of online shopping, 56% of online returns occur because products don’t match descriptions, prompting brands to reestablish physical stores to enhance customer experiences.
> The Shift to Wholesale: Inflation and supply chain challenges are pushing direct-to-consumer brands toward wholesale partnerships, with 62% reporting increased wholesale revenue in the past year.
The U.S. Copyright Office released its latest report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, the second part of a broader AI-focused initiative, with previous and future reports covering digital replicas (more about that here) and AI training on copyrighted works. Among some of the key takeaways from the 50-page report are as follows …
> Human Authorship is Essential: The report reaffirms that AI-generated material is not copyrightable unless a human author contributes sufficiently to the final work.
> Existing Copyright Law is Adequate: No legislative change is necessary at this time, as current laws are sufficient to address AI-related copyright issues on a case-by-case basis. As such, there is no need special copyright or sui generis protection for AI-generated content.
> Use of AI as an Assistive Tool is Acceptable: If AI is used to assist, rather than replace, human creativity, the work can still qualify for copyright protection.
> Prompts Alone Are Not Sufficient: Merely providing text prompts to an AI model does not establish human authorship, as AI systems interpret and generate outputs unpredictably.
> Modifications and Arrangements of AI Outputs May Be Copyrightable: If a human makes creative selections, arrangements, or modifications to AI-generated content, that portion of the work may be eligible for copyright.
Arguments for and Against Expanding Copyright Protection to AI-Generated Works: The report delves into arguments made for and against granting copyright protection to AI-generated content, with some stakeholders that submitted responses to the Copyright Office’s call for comments arguing that granting copyright protection to AI-generated content could: (1) Encourage innovation by recognizing AI-generated creativity; (2) Support accessibility, as AI could help creators with disabilities produce original works; (3) Enhance international competitiveness, as other countries explore broader AI copyright protections; and (4) Provide greater legal clarity by reducing uncertainty in AI-generated content rights.
In terms of arguments against expanding copyright protections, arguments include: (1) AI-generated content could devalue human creativity, discouraging traditional artistic expression; (2) Granting copyright to AI works could lead to monopolization of AI-generated outputs by large tech companies; and (3) Existing intellectual property protections (e.g., trademarks and trade secrets) might be more appropriate for AI-generated works than copyright.
In terms of the latter, the Copyright Office notes that “the developers of AI models and systems already enjoy meaningful incentives under existing law (as indicated by the rapid development and adoption of those models and systems). These incentives include patent, copyright, and trade-secret protection for the machinery and software, as well as potential funding and first-mover advantages.”
MYT Netherlands Parent B.V. announced this week that it will become “LuxExperience B.V.” as part of its planned acquisition of YOOX NET-A-PORTER. As a newly combined group, LuxExperience “will be home to some of the most distinguished store brands in digital luxury with strong identities and unique characteristics, offering highly curated and strongly differentiated edits of the most prestigious luxury brands for luxury shoppers worldwide.”
The renaming “reflects the company’s ambition to build a leading global multi-brand digital luxury group that builds communities for true luxury enthusiasts and creates desirability through unique digital and physical experiences.”
Mytheresa CEO Michael Kilger said of the impending rebrand: “Luxury is an experience-driven business. The introduction of the new group name LuxExperience reflects our ambition to strengthen our position as a leading global multi-brand digital luxury group that builds a community for true luxury enthusiasts and creates desirability through digital and physical experiences. Within the group, we will further strengthen and develop the unique store brands and their identities, while creating synergies in the back-of-house. The newly formed group will present one of the most exciting opportunities for investors worldwide to participate in the huge market opportunity in digital, multi-brand luxury shopping.”
> For a deeper dive into rebranding, you can find that right here.