CONSUMERS SHIFTING E-COMMERCE SPENDING TOWARD APPAREL, FOOTWEAR DURING CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

New data from Klarna reveal that Gen Zers, Millennials, and Gen Xers used a larger share of their wallet on clothing and accessories than any other category last week.

Gen Z, millennial and Gen X consumers who use Klarna have increased their share of e-commerce spending on apparel, footwear and accessories as well as home and garden items, suggesting that they are focusing on personal comfort and creating home environments that will allow them to weather the next several weeks mostly indoors.

Week over week in the week ended March 28, 2020, the apparel, footwear and accessories category’s share of all Klarna-enabled purchases increased by 18 percent among Gen Zers. Shoppers in this age group grew their share of apparel, footwear and accessories spending from 44 percent in the week ended March 21 to 52 percent in the week ended March 28.

Millennial shoppers increased their share of spending on apparel, footwear, and accessories from 32 percent in the week ended March 21 to 36 percent in the week ended March 28.

This category accounted for 26 percent of the volume of Gen Xers’ purchases in the week ended March 21, with that share growing to 27 percent in the week ended March 28.

Sales volumes in three other major categories-leisure, sport and hobby; marketplace; and intangible products (which includes event tickets and travel services)-fell week over week from March 22-28 among all three demographic groups.

Gen Xers increased their share of spending on entertainment slightly week over week, while Gen Zers’ and Millennials’ share of spending on the category was roughly flat.

Gen Xers were also the only demographic group among the three to increase their share of spending on electronics week over week, with category volumes up 11 percent in the week ended March 28 among the group.

To identify how consumer behavior is changing in the US due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Klarna looked at purchases made by users through its retail partners and through the Klarna app, which enables consumers to shop from any online store. The company analyzed purchases by shoppers in the Gen Z (ages 18-23), millennial (ages 24-39) and Gen X (ages 40-55) demographics over the weeks of March 22-28 and March 15-21 as well as a base period of February 1-March 7, 2020.

“We’ve found that U.S. consumers are really focusing their e-commerce shopping on clothing, shoes and accessories as they weather this difficult period,” said Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski. “For retailers and brands, the data may indicate that shoppers are choosing to buy comfortable items to work from home in as well as workout wear that will get them through the next several weeks of exercising in their living rooms. Consumers are also taking advantage of payment options that give them the flexibility and control to buy the things they need and that will help them get through `stay-at-home’ periods.”

Klarna, a global payments and shopping provider, is used by 7 million shoppers and has 4,000 retail partners in the U.S.