Amazon.com Inc.’s apparel brands are just starting to attract the attention of fashion shoppers, but their sales picked up noticeably late last year, reports Slice Intelligence.
Slice, which analyzes online sales based on the email receipts of a panel of 4.7 million consumers, says sales of Amazon’s private-label apparel products increased 67% in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to the third quarter. Slice says in a blog released today that Amazon launched at least seven private-label apparel brands in 2016, and that its Lark & Ro brand is generating the most sales.
Amazon still has a long way to go to displace more established retailer labels: Nordstrom Inc.’s Halogen brand has generated 11 times the sales of Lark & Ro since January 2016, and most of Macy Inc.’s brands outsell Lark & Ro, with the department store chain’s Alfani label producing nine times the sale of Lark & Ro in the same period, Slice says.
Dresses represent a big part of Amazon’s private-label apparel sales, 43%, Slice says, while other retailers derive their private-label sales from a wider mix of products. Macy’s, for example, generates 27% of its private-label revenue from tops and T-shirts, versus 17% from Amazon, and 18% from pants, versus only 5% for Amazon. On the other hand, dresses represent only 6% of the private-label revenue of Macy’s, Slice says.
“Consumers are willing to buy private-label apparel brands online, particularly from the brands that they are familiar with in the offline world.” says Ken Cassar, principal analyst at Slice Intelligence. “Amazon’s new private label brands will need time to develop that familiarity. Still, competitive apparel brands—both private-label and national brands—should keep a close eye on Amazon. It has a ton of data about what consumers like, what consumers are willing to pay, and has control over a wide array of levers to create awareness of its brands.”
Among the Amazon brands Slice studied are Franklin & Freeman, Franklin Tailored, James & Erin, Lark & Ro, Scout + Ro, North Eleven, Society New York, Goodthreads and Amazon Essentials.
Amazon is No. 1 In the 2016 Internet Retailer Top 500, Macy’s No. 6 and Nordstrom No. 18.