Fashion set for era of 'high-quality' growth

China's fashion consumption market is expected to embrace "high-quality growth "in the current decade, Boston Consulting Group said in a recent report.

According to BCG, China's shoes and apparel market totaled 2.5 trillion yuan ($307.8 billion) in 2022, and is expected to reach 3.4 trillion yuan by 2030.

"China's economy has entered a high-quality development stage, and its economic growth has been steady," said Veronique Yang, managing director and senior partner at BCG. "With the continuous emergence of digital touchpoints, the relation between brands and consumers has become more direct and close. The continuous increase in household income and the emergence of new-generation consumers have driven the rise of more segmented and diverse demand, as well as personalized expression of needs."

Yang said the improved quality of fashion information and the evolution of digital social media have together promoted a gradual deepening of fashion demand. Between 2020 and 2030, China's fashion consumption market will be growing steadily and "in a high-quality manner".

Although China's fashion consumption was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic during the past three years, consumer confidence has been steadily restored from the beginning of this year, Yang said.

"We should be confident about consumption recovery. A remarkable change from the past three years was that online touch points have been playing an increasingly important role in fashion consumption. Also, consumers have higher expectations toward customer service, including multiple-channel returns, and quality of service," she said.

According to BCG, offline passenger flow is resuming quickly after China optimized its epidemic prevention and control measures.

"The recovery of passenger flow is good news for fashion brands, as consumers are entering stores again. In addition, the government has focused on promoting consumption this year, sending a positive signal to the industry," she added.

In the first five months of this year, total retail sales of consumer goods in China surged 9.3 percent year-on-year to 18.8 trillion yuan, with the growth rate of the shoes and apparel subcategory being even higher, the Bureau of Statistics said.