The dressing up trend is back, and American clothing and beauty products are hot-selling!

As countries relax epidemic control measures, more and more consumers are beginning to resume social activities. It is reported that Americans are updating their wardrobes, and as a result, sales of clothing, cosmetics, accessories and other products have risen in the first quarter.

The dress-up trend is back, and American Apparel beauty products are hot on the market!

According to foreign media reports, American consumers began to abandon the casual clothing they wore during the epidemic in the first quarter and updated their wardrobes for outdoor activities such as socializing and traveling. The United States is ushering in the return of the dressing trend.

Under such circumstances, the sales of most clothing retailers in the United States have seen strong growth to varying degrees in the first quarter. It is reported that Nordstrom's sales in the first quarter increased by 18.7% year-on-year, of which the sales of luxury product lines increased by 23.5% year-on-year; Urban Outfitters' sales increased by 13.4% year-on-year; Anthropologie's sales increased by 18.7% year-on-year; and Express's sales increased by 30.0% year-on-year.

In addition to clothing, cosmetics have also become a new favorite of American consumers recently. The sales data recently released by cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty exceeded Wall Street's sales expectations . It is reported that Ulta Beauty's sales in the first quarter increased by 18% compared with the same period last year , and then the company raised its full-year sales forecast .

Ulta CEO Dave Gimbel revealed: The new trend in the field of color cosmetics is bold, bright, charming and shiny colors, and consumers are ready to go out of the house. At the same time, even if people are on a tight budget, cosmetics are an affordable product.

Richard Hein, CEO of Urban Outfitters, said: "Consumers are excited to return to normal life, and they are starting to go out, travel, dine out and participate in many activities with family and friends. In order to make these social activities more perfect, they are buying a lot of products that can make them look more perfect."

Although clothing and beauty retailers are benefiting from this change in consumer spending habits, they are still facing challenges such as supply chain disruptions and inflation. Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch said that rising shipping and product costs are weighing on its sales, and children's clothing retailer Carter's sales also fell 0.8%.

As people go out more, demand for occasional clothing rises, and sales of home leisure clothing (such as pajamas and sportswear) will decline to a certain extent . American Eagle, a retailer selling casual clothing and fitness apparel, said on Thursday that its first-quarter demand was "well below" expectations, and the inventory of goods piled up increased by 46% compared with a year ago .

At the same time, the continued rise in inflation is having a certain impact on consumers. According to a survey by NPD Group , American consumers are currently more inclined to buy lower-priced goods. At the same time, promotional activities will become an important factor in stimulating consumers' shopping desire in the future .

In addition to clothing and beauty products, other categories of goods have also seen varying degrees of growth. However, as consumers go out shopping more frequently, the growth rate of the US e-commerce industry has slowed down.

U.S. e-commerce grew 6.7% in the first quarter, slowing growth

As the US epidemic prevention policy has been relaxed, local residents' consumption in food, clothing, housing and transportation has increased to a certain extent. From January to March 2022, total retail sales in the US increased by nearly 8% year-on-year, of which more than 20% of consumer spending was online. The increase in the average selling price of goods caused by inflation has affected consumers' purchasing power.

According to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. e-commerce growth continued to slow in the first quarter, while in-store consumption remained strong. Retailers maintained the sharp increase in online sales in the early stages of the epidemic, increasing by another 6.7% in the first quarter, but part of the growth came from rising commodity prices under inflation.

In the first quarter, online sales in the United States reached $231.35 billion, a slight increase of 6.7% from $216.74 billion in the same period last year. According to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, this is another deceleration after the 9%-10% quarterly growth recorded in the second half of 2021, and a significant decrease compared with the 45% quarterly growth rate in the 12 months before the epidemic.

The performance in the first quarter of this year is in stark contrast to the first quarter of 2021 , when U.S. e-commerce sales grew 46.9% year-over-year . However , despite the slowdown in the first quarter of this year, e-commerce revenue was still 56.8% higher than the first quarter of 2020 and 88.7% higher than the same quarter in 2019 before the pandemic .

E-commerce penetration rate in the United States

According to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce , as local consumers continue to shop through online channels , more than $1 in every $5 of retail spending in the first quarter still came from online orders. The proportion of online channel sales in total retail sales fell from 21.2% in the same period last year to 21.0% in the first quarter of this year . Since the beginning of the epidemic in the United States , the average e-commerce penetration rate has hovered between 20% and 23% each quarter .

Before 2020, the penetration rate of online sales in the United States increased year by year. With the development of the economy and the popularity of electronic products, consumers are more willing to buy goods through online channels , and many retailers are also constantly improving their e-commerce operations to deliver goods faster and provide customers with a good shopping experience .

The sudden outbreak has accelerated this trend to a great extent . Many offline stores have suspended business , and policies such as social distancing have made people no longer choose to go to crowded physical stores , which has prompted more people to shop online and greatly increased the penetration rate of e-commerce .

Although some European and American countries have relaxed their epidemic prevention measures, recent inflationary pressures are also affecting the development of local e-commerce.

According to a report by Salesforce Inc., U.S. online sales increased 5% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022. During the same period, commodity prices soared 11%, while corresponding order growth fell 6%.

The Adobe Digital Price Index also shows that both U.S. consumers and retailers struggled with inflation in the first quarter , with March marking the 22nd consecutive month of rising U.S. online prices. U.S. consumers spent $83.1 billion in March , of which $2.8 billion came from price increases , meaning shoppers paid $2.8 billion more for the same amount of goods .

Under the current policy environment in Europe and the United States, local companies have resumed work and production, and restrictions on residents going out have been greatly relaxed. This will stimulate residents' consumption, promote economic development, and drive sales growth in categories such as clothing accessories and outdoor products. However, the competition for customers between online and offline channels and the impact of factors such as inflation on consumer purchasing power cannot be ignored. Cross-border sellers still need to pay attention to relevant information in a timely manner and make reasonable arrangements.

US Market

E-commerce