Apparel Consumption

March 21, 2012 — The Editors

Clothes, we all wear them and yet for the apparel industry what matters is fashion. It is through changing fashions that people are most often lured into buying more clothes than are strictly necessary. For many, of course, clothes buying is an entertainment.

Per capita spending on apparel in the United States peaked for the first decade of the new century in 2005 and then fell, gaining downward momentum with the onset of recession and the financial crisis that followed. Complicating the downward spiral is the fact that apparel companies were caught somewhat off guard by the sharp decline in spending which lead to excess inventories. As these were liquidated, overall apparel prices declined.

Today’s market size is a measure of hte apparel industry based on per capita spending in the United States.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2005 and 2010
Market size: Annual, per capita spending of $1,276 and $1,136 respectively
Source: “Table 3. Age of Reference Person: Average Annual Expenditures and Characteristics,” Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2005 and 2010, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, available here
Original source: U.S. Labor Department
Posted on March 21, 2012

Posted in Apparel, Clothes, Fabric & Fiber. No Comments »

Clothing Stores

January 8, 2012 — The Editors

The sale of clothing in the United States is done through a variety of retail outlets, only a portion of which are stores dedicated primarily to the sale of clothes. Today’s market size is the value of all sales made through clothing stores in 2010. Of the total, family clothings stores had the largest share, accounting for 54% of the sales. The other clothings store segments, with their share of total clothing store sales are as follows: women’s clothing (23%), men’s clothing (4.9%) and all other clothing stores (7.2%).

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2010
Market size: $158.8 billion
Source: “Estimates of Monthly Retail and Food Services Sales by Kind of Business: 2010,” Monthly Retail Trade Report, available online here.
Original source: U.S. Census Bureau
Posted on January 9, 2012

Posted in Apparel, Clothes, Retail Outlets. No Comments »

The Business of Weddings

October 5, 2011 — The Editors

Today’s market size is an estimate of the size of the entire wedding industry in the United States—we take some license in using the word “industry” here. The things included in measuring the size of the wedding industry are many, from planning, apparel and jewelry through the ceremony, flowers, food, reception and honeymoon.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2010
Market size: $47.2 billion
Source: Toon Van Beeck and George Van Horn, “Wedding Bells are Ringing,” The RMA Journal, December 2010-January 2011, page 22-27, available online here.
Original source: IBISWorld
Posted on October 5, 2011

Posted in Apparel, Clothes, Entertainment, Food Service, Metals, Personal Services, Shoes, Travel. No Comments »

Apparel Sales

March 22, 2011 — The Editors

The market size presented here is based on estimates of the total retail sales value of all apparel sold in the United States in 1999 and ten years later, in 2009. The retail value of apparel sales over this period grew by 37.4% but when adjusted for inflation, that growth rate was actually only 8.4% for the period. By way of comparison, U.S. population growth over this period was 10.1% (from 279.3 million to 307.4 million). Worth noting, however, is the fact that while population had a steady growth rate over this period, the measure of growth between two points in time for something like apparel sales may be deceptive. In 2006, for example, retail sales of apparel in the United States were probably much higher than in 2009, a recessionary year.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1999 and 2009
Market size: $222 and $305 Billion respectively
Source: Alva, Marilyn, “Consumers Are Spending Again But They’re Picky,” Investor’s Business Daily, January 4, 2011, page A5.
Original Source: Credit Suisse

Posted in Apparel, Clothes, Shoes. No Comments »

Online Sale of Clothes and Shoes

February 24, 2011 — The Editors

The market size presented here is the total value of clothing and shoes that were sold electronically in 2003 and 2008. It is interesting to see that growth of online sales of clothes and shoes have grown briskly over this five year period since it was believed that such merchandise would be harder to sell online than other things, things that people would not wish to try on before purchasing. Four Census Bureau product codes are included in this market size calculation, they are: 20200 (Men’s wear); 20220 (Women’s wear); 20240 (Children’s clothes), and 20260 (Footwear).

Geographic reference: United States (based on the location of the selling entity)
Year: 2003 and 2008
Market size: Sales: $5.13 and $17.06 Billion respectively, representing a 233% increase.
Source: “Table 1055. Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses—Total and E-Commerce Sales by Merchandise Line,” Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011, page 663, U.S. Census Bureau, available online here in a spreadsheet format, and here as a PDF file.

One word of clarification to help prevent any confusion about just what is being presented here. The data in the source table are provided in two columns per year, the first one called “Total,” and the second is “E-Commerce”. The column headed “Total” refers to the total sales for the industry “Electronic Shopping and Mail-order Houses,” [NAICS 4541], and the second column is the e-commerce portion of that industry’s total. Do not confuse the “Total” column for a measure of total sales of the product line listed in that row. It is, rather, the total sales of that product line made electronically and through mail-order houses.
Original Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Posted in Apparel, Clothes, E-Commerce, Footwear, Retail Outlets. No Comments »

Women’s and Girl’s Sports Uniform Production

September 24, 2010 — The Editors

While textile and apparel industries used to be an important sector in the United States they are among many manufacturing industries that have moved out of the United States over the last decades, for the most part. Nonetheless, there are still a few companies doing sewing and making garments in this country and their activities are tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau annually. Makers of women’s and girl’s team sports uniforms saw a drop in production between 2007 and 2008 of 21%. This is a large drop for a single year. Worth noting is the fact that purchases of women’s and girl’s team sports uniforms may not be down at all. It is the production of those uniforms in the United States that has fallen sharply.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2007 and 2008
Market size: $51.6 Million and $40.8 Million respectively
Source: Annual Survey of Manufactures 2008, March 30, 2010, available online here
Original Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

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Team Sports Uniforms, Men’s and Boy’s

September 23, 2010 — The Editors

While textiles used to be an important industry in the United States it is one of the industries that has moved out of the United States for the most part. Nonetheless, there are still a few companies doing sewing and making garments in this country and those involved with making men’s and boy’s uniforms has actually seen a small increase in production between 2007 and 2008. Since earlier in the decade, however, production figures are down and following an overall downward trajectory along with all other apparel making industries in the United States. Tomorrow we’ll have the women’s and girl’s team sports uniforms market.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2007 and 2008
Market size: $185.3 Million and $191.8 Million respectively
Source: Annual Survey of Manufactures 2008, March 30, 2010, available online here
Original Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

Posted in Apparel, Clothes, Market Size. No Comments »
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