Amazon is now the nation’s largest apparel retailer, according to research from Wells Fargo, fulfilling predictions from 2018.
Wells Fargo estimated that Amazon’s U.S. apparel and footwear sales grew by roughly 15% in 2020, reaching more than $41 billion in sales, according to CNBC. It’s worth noting that Americans spend more money on apparel online than other household essentials, such as furniture.
“This represents a highly impressive 11%-12% share of all apparel sold in the U.S. and 34%-35% share of all apparel sold online,” wrote Wells Fargo analysts Ike Brouchow and Tom Nikic. “We now estimate Amazon will surpass $45 billion in apparel/footwear in 2021.”
Amazon now holds roughly 30%-35% of the global market share of the online apparel and footwear market, according to Wells Fargo analysis.
Wall Street experts predicted the company’s rise as early as 2018. Much of the company’s initial success came from offering a wide range of basic products but later decided to increase its fashion footprint.
Wells Fargo notes that the company could carry more brands that customers want, such as Nike. The company in 2019 terminated its relationship with Amazon due to issues with counterfeit products and questionable pricing tactics.
Amazon’s growth in recent months was fueled by the pandemic as consumers trapped at home turned to shopping online. The company’s free shipping and fast speeds continue to give the company an edge over its competitors, who are often forced to charge additional shipping fees and require one to twi business days for shipping.
Amazon and Walmart have remained competitive with each other over the past year with innovations and new business models. Walmart partnered with Instacart to break further into the grocery delivery market, taking on Amazon’s Whole Foods delivery service. Amazon launched a video gaming service, floated purchasing empty malls, and even joined the health wearables market.
A group of book publishers and sellers filed a lawsuit in January against Amazon, accusing the company of price-fixing. Amazon remains at the center of numerous other price-fixing controversies as well.
In February, the company’s founder Jeff Bezos announced that he was resigning as CEO in the company’s third-quarter and moving into a chairman capacity.
