With the rise of social media and influencers these days, people pay more attention to what they wear than ever, significantly affecting the fashion industry trends. If you are starting the journey on this road, don’t worry. It’s a golden opportunity for marketers, business owners, and also consumers. 

But, before we dive in, why don’t we explore 60 fashion industry statistics you can’t miss out on in this era in order to make more informed business decisions!

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60 Fashion Industry Statistics 2024

Global Fashion Industry Overview

To get started, we should know the overall and global-scale landscape of the fashion industry. Questions like what’s the growth rate, what’s the size of the market, and also the valuation. The statistics to answer these questions are all in this section.

1. Recently, the global workforce has 3.4 billion people in service, and approximately 430 million work in fashion, clothing, and textile production. (Zippia, 2023)
2. Back in 2017, the fashion market’s growth rate was around 5.46% and experts predicted that the rate was going to reach 6.2% by 2020. (Zippia, 2023)
3. As expected, the COVID-19 pandemic has effects on the fashion industry, as the post-Covid figures show a significant decline. For instance, the fashion and apparel industry suffered a 20% decline in revenues during the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Another study also shows that the global apparel and footwear market size decreased by around -18% in 2020. (FashionUnited, n.d.)
4. In 2022, the global fashion market generated $1.53 trillion in total, and it was projected to grow to $1.7 billion in 2023. (Statista, 2024)
5. In 2022, The global fast fashion sector was valued at approximately $106 billion, and it is predicted to reach $185 billion by the year 2027. (Statista, 2024)
6. The fashion industry is one of the most important industries, significantly contributing and creating value to the global economy. Supposing the industry’s value is a national GDP, it would be ranked as the seventh-largest economy in the world. (McKinsey State of Fashion, 2017)
7. The clothing company with the highest market capitalization is the LVMH Group, at approximately $367 billion mark, according to the information from March 2022. (FashionUnited, n.d.)
8. On the other hand, the second-hand fashion market is also on the rise, it’s expected to reach $351 billion by 2027. (Upmetrics, 2024)
9. In recent years, several issues have existed that can disrupt the fashion industry (e.g. supply chain, inflation, and etc.). Most people in the fashion industry expect changes, and 3 out of 4 experts were quite expecting a negative outlook in 2024. (Statista, 2024)

U.S. Fashion Industry Statistics

The USA – as one of the biggest economies in the world – is a major player in the fashion industry, as we all know. Here are some of the statistics and insights, for example, employment, market size, and sales, which are specific to the U.S. fashion industry alone.

1. In terms of per capita spending, the United States is the number-one country that consumes the most fashion products. The average spending per individual household member is $819 (on clothing and shoes). (Zippia, 2023)
2. The fashion industry’s valuation, in the United States alone, is at $343.70 billion. (Zippia, 2023)
3. The fashion market in the United States is projected to grow annually at a 1.96% rate from now to 2027. (Zippia, 2023)
4. However, the apparel market in the United States is expected to grow by 2.82% annually. (Zippia, 2023)
5. On average, the fashion industry contributed around 2% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). (Zippia, 2023)
6. As of 2023, there are approximately 33,242 fashion designers in the United States’ clothing industry. (IBISWorld, 2024)
7. Fashion designer businesses in the United States have 1.2 employees on average. (IBISWorld, 2024)
8. From 2018 to 2023, the fashion designer market experienced an average employment increase of 2.7%. (IBISWorld, 2024)
9. When it comes to retail sales of the U.S. fashion industry, it was projected to reach $494.89 billion by the end of 2023. (Zippia, 2023)
10. In 2017, the total value of apparel product shipments in the United States was approximately $10 billion. (Statista, 2024)

Regional Fashion Industry Statistics

Now, you may ask what about other countries aside from the United States? How are the European, Asian countries, or other regions doing in the fashion industry game? Let’s look at some facts and figures.

1. In terms of the value of apparel imports, Europe ranked first in 2022, followed by the United States. (Statista, 2024)
2. On the other hand, in terms of the value of apparel exports, China led with the highest value, and the rest of the list is also dominated by countries in Asia. (Statista, 2024)
3. China also leads in revenue generation in the accessories market with $116 billion in total revenue in 2024. (Statista, 2024)
4. According to various observations, the forecast of revenue in the fashion e-commerce market is in the green zone, and the number-one leading region is Asia with 520.93 billion U.S. dollars. (Statista, 2024)
5. According to the same observations, the region ranked in the bottom is Africa with 8.86 billion U.S. dollars. (Statista, 2024) 
6. According to the results of International Fashion Dynamic Automated Quantification System’s Global Cities Consumer IPX, France ranked number one as the leading country for the fashion industry in the world, scoring over 3,000 points. (Statista, 2024)

Fashion Industry Segmentation Statistics

The fashion industry is a fairly large industry, as you can see from the various different segments it has. We believe you also need to know the specific insights of each segment to truly understand this industry, which is why we have gathered statistics in each category, such as clothing, footwear, accessories, and luxury fashion.

Apparel and Clothing

1. In 2020, the global clothing market was valued at around $1.5 trillion, with the United States as a primary player of the industry. (Statista, 2024)
2. In 2021, Amazon and Shein were two top-visited websites when consumers purchase clothing online. (FashionUnited, 2022)
3. Never underestimate the power of online platforms. As of 2023, videos with a hashtag #haul on TikTok have been viewed more than 49 billion times, and remember, the number increases every minute. (Good On You, 2023)

Footwear

1. By 2028, the total pairs sold in the footwear market is estimated to reach 1.97 billion pairs, with the average volume per person at 5.45 pairs in 2024. (Statista, 2024)
2. Surprisingly, the non-luxury footwear products are likely going to contribute to more than 90% of sales in the market by 2024. (Statista, 2024)
3. The United States’ footwear market is expected to lead with $91.51 billion revenue generated, and it is also expected to grow at 3.25% CAGR by 2028. (Statista, 2024)

Accessories

1. The sales made online in the accessories market of the United States is predicted to make up 31% of the total revenue in 2024. (Statista, 2024)
2. In the United States, among the sub-segments of the accessories industry, the Watches & Jewelry segment is the largest with a market volume of $74 billion in 2024. (Statista, 2024)
3. The accessories market is going to bring in around $100 billion to the United States, with an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.02%. (Statista, 2024)

Luxury Fashion

1. In 2024, the luxury fashion market is projected to generate $368.9 billion worth of revenue. (Statista, 2024)
2. During the year 2024-2028, the luxury fashion market is anticipated to grow annually at a 3.22% rate. (Statista, 2024)
3. In 2022, among mainstream apparel brands, Nike held the top position as its brand value almost reached $110 billion. (Statista, 2024)

Fashion in E-commerce Statistics

Can we really not talk about the digital disruption in this day and age? The following are statistics that highlight relevant topics like fashion e-commerce sales, growth rate, and the role of AI in the fashion industry. So, let’s look at them.

1. The global fashion e-commerce market size is expected to reach $1,103.1 billion by the end of 2027. (Statista, 2024)
2. As expected, the global trend is heading towards online. In 2021, there were approximately 2.14 billion online shoppers globally, and the revenue number also reached $4.9 trillion. (FashionUnited, n.d.)
3. In 2022, the global e-commerce sales are expected to reach a total $5.5 trillion mark worldwide. It is also projected to grow beyond $7 trillion dollars by 2025. (FashionUnited, n.d.) 
4. The ratio of e-commerce to total retail sales is increasing each year. In 2021, it accounted for 20% of the total sales, 21% in 2022, and in 2025 it is probably going to share 25% of the cake. (Manaferra, 2022)
5. While around 20% of global fashion retail sales is made up of online purchases, in Europe, Oceania, and the United States, online sales contribute around 30% of the total sales. (Statista, 2023)
6. The country with the highest e-commerce revenue is China, followed by the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Germany. (Manaferra, 2022)
7. In the next five years, generative AI may add around 150-to-275-billion-dollar value to the whole fashion industry. (McKinsey & Company, 2023)

Fashion Consumer Behavior Statistics

Moving on to another significant aspect to truly understand the fashion industry: consumer behavior. Is the majority of consumers really demanding sustainable and ethical fashion? Below are crucial insights to find out the answers.

1. Back in the pre-COVID-19 era, around 75% of all fashion purchases were bought in physical stores. (Note that this is the statistics specifically in the U.S., not the global figures). (FashionUnited, n.d.)
2. Each year, the fashion industry around the world produces between 100-150 billion fashion items, and around 80 billion of them are purchased yearly. (Bedbible, 2024)
3. Approximately 84% of consumers would love customized products and admit they would pay more for this service. 45% of consumers express interest in personalized colors and customized clothing. (Markenartikel, 2021)
4. A study indicates that women are more likely to make impulsive online purchases, and clothing and shoes were the most popular impulse purchases online in 2022. Moreover, the majority of these consumers are 26-to-35 years old. (Statista, 2023)
5. More than 35% of Gen-Zers buy a new piece of clothing at least once a month. (Thredup, 2024)
6. When it comes to money spent on clothing, the women between 45-to-54 years old spent the most, with an average amount of around $995. (Gitnux, 2024)
7. In 2021, more than 40% of Millennials and Gen-Zers around the world are willing and likely to purchase second-hand apparel. (Statista, 2023)
8. The portion of sustainable apparel sales is also likely to increase from 3.7% in 2022 to 5.3% in 2026. (Statista, 2024)

Fashion Industry’s Environmental Impact Statistics

Last but not least, in the previous section, we have mentioned a bit about Gen-Z’s interest towards sustainable and ethical fashion. Guess what, when looking at the current situation, what they are interested in is not wrong at all. Most of the statistics correlate with their concerns – the issue is critical and needs to be addressed. 

1. Today, the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of the total carbon emissions around the world, which is higher than carbon emissions from international flights and maritime shipping combined. The industry is also the second-biggest consumer of the global water supply. (Zippia, 2023)
2. Furthermore, synthetic materials in clothing are responsible for 35% of all plastic microfibers found in the ocean. (Zippia, 2023)
3. Since the year 2000, the number of apparel produced each year has doubled, and it has exceeded 100 billion pieces for the first time in 2014. (FashionUnited, n.d.)
4. In 2021, people spent an average cost of $220.7 on apparel and footwear, and the average unit consumed is 16.7 units per person. (FashionUnited, n.d.)
5. In order to make one pair of jeans from start to finish, the process requires more than 3,781 liters of water used. (Zippia, 2023)
6. As mentioned above, consumers buy 80 billion fashion items every year. This number represents a 400% increase compared to what we consumed 20 years ago. (FashionUnited, n.d.)
7. However, unfortunately, 85% of all textiles ultimately end up in the dump every year. (Zippia, 2023)
8. Despite some environmental campaigns, the study indicates that 16 out of 21 items donated through the brand’s take-back schemes were either destroyed, left in warehouses, or exported to Africa, where up to half of used clothing is quickly shredded for other uses or eventually dumped. (Changing Markets Foundation, 2023)

Catwalk to Conclusion

And that’s all 60 fashion industry statistics you need to know for the year 2024. We have covered many aspects of insights, such as the global landscape, the regional landscape, and the trend in the United States – the key player of the industry. Also, the consumer behavior, the coming of digital disruption, and finally and most importantly, the environmental impact. We hope within a few-minute read, you have gained more than enough that will help your business to strive further this year!