COVID-19
THE IMPACT ON
GLOBAL BUYER
BEHAVIORAPRIL 2020

COVID-19 - THE IMPACT ON
GLOBAL BUYER BEHAVIOR
The Covid-19 pandemic continues
to grow with global confirmed cases
topping 1.7M and 100K deaths asof April 11, 2020. Some regions
have a handful of cases, otherswith early community transmission
have a few hundred, and those withwidespread transmission have tensof thousands.

Countries and territories have launchedunprecedented responses: lockdowns,closures of schools, stores and restaurants,
and non-essential employees working
remotely. These community measures now
impact a third of the global population inan effort to slow the spread. The pandemic
situation evolves daily and businesses arepivoting their strategic efforts online tobalance out the massive effects, as retailers
are being physically distanced from theirconsumers.
In this report, we share our latest insights,
starting with the initial impact to the global
apparel e-commerce business. We will alsopresent our observations on purchasing
behaviors and projections that will affectapparel returns for both e-commerce andomni-channel retailers.

COVID-19: THE IMPACT ON GLOBAL BUYER BEHAVIOR APRIL 2020

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PURCHASING BEHAVIOR
To get an in-depth understandingof how global purchasing behavior
has been affected by COVID-19,
we aggregated data from our client
database of 200+ retailers situatedon 6 continents.

From our data, we identified that, despite awidespread global transmission of COVID-19
in the first quarter - we saw a 27% increase in
overall purchases compared to 2019. Purchasetrends throughout the first quarter were very
similar in 2019 and 2020.
It wasn’t until March 2020 that purchases
were impacted- likely due to the pandemic.
Compared to last year, we would expect
businesses to be on the incline going into
Q2. However, with the severity of the virus
worsening each week, we can see that overallpurchases are decreasing.

Overall Purchases 2019 vs 2020WEEKLY OVERALL PURCHASES - FIRST QUARTER 2019 VS 2020

12345678910111213Weeks
Purchases Overall 2019

COVID-19: THE IMPACT ON GLOBAL BUYER BEHAVIOR APRIL 2020

Purchases Overall 2020

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PURCHASE TRENDS BY REGION
We know that COVID-19 has
impacted the entire world, but atdifferent times and spreading atdifferent rates.

Reviewing the countries hardest hit by
COVID-19, we see similar purchase trends inJanuary and February 2020 to that of 2019 aside from the US which fell relatively flat in2019 and showed much more volatile buying
behavior this year. Our insights show that inMarch, just as businesses closed their doors
and people stayed home in Italy (March 9),
Spain (March 14), and the US (March 23-30) there was a decline in purchases made.

The virus started in East Asiaand the region immediately

EASTERN ASIA WEEKLY OVERALL PURCHASES- 2019 VS2020
Eastern Asia Purchases 2019 vs 2020

saw the effects. In 2019,Eastern Asia increased thenumber of purchases by 36%
from January to Februaryand 27% from February toMarch. This year, likely due to
COVID-19, Eastern Asia saw
a decrease of 26% over thesame period from January toFebruary, and another declineof 3% from February to March.

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9 11 13 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52Weeks
2019 Eastern Asia

COVID-19: THE IMPACT ON GLOBAL BUYER BEHAVIOR APRIL 2020

2020 Eastern Asia

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NORTHERN AMERICA WEEKLY OVERALLPURCHASES - 2019 VS 2020

North America, on the otherhand, did not start to see

Northern America Purchases 2019 vs 2020a quick spread of the virus
until March. We can see that
North America had an 11% lift
in February 2020, unlike the11% decline compared to lastyear. In March, however, North
America was widely affectedby COVID-19 and purchases
dropped by 16%. As of April 7,95% of Americans have been

1357ordered to stay home. We

9 11 13 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52

expect to see similar trends

Weeks
2019 Northern America

Southern Europe was hit
the hardest in the middle ofthroughout the month of April.

2020 Northern America

SOUTHERN EUROPE WEEKLY OVERALLPURCHASES- 2019VSPurchases
2020
SouthernEurope
2019 vs 2020

March, falling in line with thelockdown of Italy and spreadof COVID-19 throughout
the country. The region saw
declines of 36% and 43%
respectively as the numberof COVID-19 cases quickly
increased.

1357

9 11 13 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52Weeks
2019 Southern Europe

COVID-19: THE IMPACT ON GLOBAL BUYER BEHAVIOR APRIL 2020

2020 Southern Europe

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MULTI-SIZE PURCHASESWith countries on lockdown andpeople ordered to stay home, wewitnessed a steady decline insize sampling - the practice ofordering more than one size due tofit uncertainty. We believe people
are ordering less sizes due to stayat home orders and limitations on
being able to return items.

Of the top 100 retailers, 19% have temporary
return policies during the pandemic. They’veeither extended the time shoppers have toreturn items or, in some cases, eliminated thepolicy altogether. Even with these changes, itappears that consumers are still skeptical ofpurchasing additional sizes at the moment.
This could foreshadow a positive impact on
costly apparel returns. With multi-size buying,
one item is guaranteed not to fit and therefore
leads to a return being made. It follows fromthis that when large multi-size orders are made,Share of Size Sampling
Purchases
SHARE OF SIZE SAMPLING PURCHASES- FIRSTQUARTER 2019 VS 2020

5,00%

0,0%

4,50%

-5,0%

4,00%

-10,0%

3,50%
3,00%

-15,0%

2,50%-20,0%

2,00%-25,0%

1,50%-30,0%

1,00%-35,0%

0,50%

Year over year change in multiple
size percentage

Percentage of orders with multiple sizes

Year over Year-40,0%

0,00%
12345678910111213Weeks
Share of Purchases with Multiple Sizes 2019
Share of Purchases with Multiple Sizes 2020
YOY Change in Rate of Size Sampling

COVID-19: THE IMPACT ON GLOBAL BUYER BEHAVIOR APRIL 2020

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6this has a negative and expensive impact on

Based on this reasoning, we thought it wouldreturns. On the other end of the spectrum,

be interesting to evaluate how restrictions onwith consumers purchasing less sizes per

making returns (brought on by the pandemic)

product, this has a favorable effect on

have affected the customer’s willingness toapparel returns.

seek size advice - to get a great fit that would

The percentage of orders with multiple sizesof the same item declined by 15% in 2020
compared to the first quarter of last year.
The share of multi-size orders started downlower the need to multi-size purchase. To dothis we assessed shoppers’ behavior towards
finding the perfect fit using a size advisor tool
like Fit Finder.

4% YOY with rates remaining relatively flat

While we see a stronger impact on multi-(between 3.5% and 3.7% share) through thesize purchases that used Fit Finder (-17%),

first 2 months of the year compared to thepurchases made without Fit Finder also saw aincline that occurred in February 2019. Indecline (-13%) in size sampling. With a strong

March 2020 we experienced a significant

decline in the share of multi-size orders, wedecline of multi-size orders. With week overcan expect a similar decline in returned orders

week declines, March ended down 39% to- a benefit to the bottom line and the alreadythe 2019 share with only 2.8% of purchases

overwhelmed distribution centers.

having multiple sizes.
We’ve previously stated our data shows thatthe mandatory widespread lockdown acrossthe globe, likely led to the decline that can beseen in size-sampling.
We’ve also attested that this could be
because of limitations that have now arisen
as a result of the pandemic, for example,
some stores simply do not have themanpower needed to handle a return.

-15%
DECLINE OF ORDERS
WITH MULTIPLE SIZES OF
THE SAME ITEM

As a result of this, customers are aware thatit’s in their best interest to make sure they
get the perfect fit with a single purchase,as opposed to buying different sizes of thesame product in the hope that one fits well.

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IMPACT OF SIZE SAMPLINGON OMNI-CHANNEL RETAIL
Since omni-channel retailers
typically have the option to shop
online or in stores, we were curious
to see what type of affect store
closures (due to COVID-19) might
have on their business.

We found that omni-retailers experienced asteady decline in online purchases in January
and February: in line with 2019 - but at asteeper rate. Whereas e-commerce only
retailers maintained flat purchase trends until
March, where we saw a significant decrease.
This could be because customers that shop
e-commerce only stores, may be more familiar

OverallPurchases
Omni-ChannelvsRETAILWEEKLYOVERALL
PURCHASES
BY
E-commerceOnlyRetailers
TYPE - FIRST QUARTER 2019 VS 2020

with their size or more comfortable making
purchases online. Whereas those who purchasein stores may feel the opposite. Due to theunfamiliarity, we can expect to see a contrast
in multi-size orders between the two channels.
Looking at the data, we can see that multisize purchases stayed relatively flat ine-commerce only stores but increased throughearly March for omni-channel retailers. This

12345678910 11 12 13Weeks

indicates that typical in-store shoppers wereshopping online and perhaps not aware ofour size advisor available to them. We see

Ecommerce Only - Overall Purchases 2019
Ecommerce Only - Overall Purchases 2020
Omni Purchases - Overall Purchases 2019
Omni-Channel - Overall Purchases 2020

COVID-19: THE IMPACT ON GLOBAL BUYER BEHAVIOR APRIL 2020

both retail types drop in March likely due tothe sudden uncertainty of returns with store
closures and stay-at-home orders.

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The purchasing trends for omni-channel- like same-day orders with BOPUS (Buyretailers indicate the importance of theOnline and Pick-Up in Store) and packing

in-store experience for omni-channel

store merchandise for online shipping.

consumers. It is apparent that store closuresnegatively impacted their online shopping,Once stores reopen, there may still be a level

resulting in less purchases and more sizeof caution as the memories of COVID-19 aresampling. The impact to omni-channel

fresh. Size technology available in-storesretailers is enlightening but it’s not all doom

allows customers to be fully confident toand gloom. With technology and in-store

search for their perfect fit in a more efficientinnovations, bridging the gap between online

and speedier way, without the risk of putting

and offline is becoming easier. There are

their health in jeopardy by trying on clothes

options for keeping brick and mortar storesin a fitting room which may or may not be

operational during these uncertain times

fully sanitized.

OMNI-CHANNEL
AND E-COMMERCE
RETAILERS Retailers
SHARE OF -SIZE SAMPLING
Omni-Channel
vs E-commerce
PURCHASES - FIRSTQUARTER
VS 2020Purchases
Shareof Size2019
Sampling

Percentage of multiple size orders

6,0 0%
5,00%
4,00%
3,00%
2,00%
1,0 0%
0,00%
12345678910111213Weeks
Share of Multiple Size Orders - Ecommerce Only 2019
Share of Multiple Size Orders - Omni-Channel 2019
Share of Multiple Size Orders - Ecommerce Only 2020
Share of Multiple Size Orders - Omni-Channel 2020

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9FINAL THOUGHTS
Our initial insights on how COVID-19 isaffecting the apparel e-commerce community
comes with unexpected optimism. A shift frombrick-and-mortar to e-commerce growth has
been on the rise for the past decade, but now
in absolute, current events are necessitating
this strategy. What we have learned fromthe data is that the small, albeit important,silver-lining amidst the devastating blow
to retail is that consumers are adapting
daily to the changes and embracing newpurchasing experiences. Store consumers areutilizing technology and apparel shoppers areovercoming their instincts to return.
The way that retailers in the fashion industry
operate has seen little change – despite theinnovations to apparel technology. What we
predict and hope is that more retailers will
truly embrace the omni-channel experience,
conducting the digital world in stores andbringing the in-store experiences online.

© 2020 Fit Analytics GmbH, Berlin
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or modified in any form, including
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storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.

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