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24% more households: The largest YoY growth across all categories

Number of households shopping Women's Fashion each year

  • 1.9m2018
  • 2.2m2019
  • 2.9m2020
  • 3.0m2021
  • 3.2m2022
  • 3.6m2023
  • 4.5m2024

Almost 4.5 million households shopped online for Women's Fashion in 2024, compared with 3.6 million in 2023: a 24% increase.

This represents 46% of Australian online shopping households heading to Women's Fashion, compared with 25% back in 2018.

Multi-channel shopping is popular in Women's Fashion, led by Gen Zs and Millennials

The line between online and instore shopping is blurring - and this is most common in the Fashion categories.

Showrooming

36% of Gen Zs, 25% of Millennials and 25% of Baby Boomers have purchased a Women's Fashion item online after viewing it in-store first2 - this is known as showrooming. They do this to allow time to consider the item before making the purchase.

Webrooming

Most shoppers have seen an item online but headed instore to buy it, known as webrooming. This habit becomes less likely across the generations: in Women's Fashion, 39% of Gen Zs, 26% of Millennials, 26% of Gen Xs, 20% of Baby Boomers and 18% of Builders.2 For Gen Zs, Millennials and Gen Xs, this is motivated by getting the item faster instead of waiting for delivery, while Baby Boomers and Builders like to see the item in person first (to check its size or colour, for example). Baby Boomers are also motivated by saving on delivery costs.

Webrooming across the generations2

  • Gen Z
  • Millennials
  • Gen X
  • Baby Boomers
  • Builders

Women's Fashion sales are the most highly anticipated sale events

All shoppers love a sale - and especially when it's in Women's Fashion.

Generations that rate Women's Fashion as their most anticipated sale category2

Gen Z

Millennials

Gen Xs, Baby Boomers, and Builders

The category's top postcodes

Top locations by
volume

PostcodeNameState
4350TOOWOOMBAQLD
3064CRAIGIEBURNVIC
4740MACKAYQLD

Top locations by
volume per capita

PostcodeNameState
3335ROCKBANKVIC
2000SYDNEYNSW
3336FRASER RISEVIC

Top growth suburbs
by volume

PostcodeNameState
3336FRASER RISEVIC
3335ROCKBANKVIC
4133WATERFORD WESTQLD

The most shopped category by Gen Zs in Online Marketplaces and social media

Of all shoppers, Gen Z has the strongest preference towards purchasing Women's Fashion goods from Online Marketplaces. 44% of Gen Zs purchase their fashion needs this way.2

66% of Millennials rank Amazon as their favourite marketplace.2 They list low-cost goods, a great variety to choose from, free shipping and fast delivery as the top things they like about shopping on marketplaces.

Gen Zs love shopping via social media, turning to Instagram the most, followed by TikTok. Almost 1 in 4 say Women's Fashion is the category they shop the most while social shopping.2

Almost half of Gen Zs shop via social media at least once a week, and 8 in 10 at least once a month.2

The top 4 things Gen Zs like about shopping on social media2

1.

Discovering new products they haven't seen elsewhere.

2.

The convenience of shopping while already in a browsing mindset.

3.

It's an easy way to learn about the brand's story and values.

4.

Following influencers who recommend products.

8.6% YoY growth in spending during 2024's cost-of-living crisis

Online spend in Women's Fashion has experienced YoY growth in each post-pandemic year, and 2024 was no different as the category grew by 8.6%.8

This is healthy growth during cost-of-living pressures, showing the keen interest in Women's Fashion compared with 0.7% growth in Fashion - Men's, Children's & Accessories.8

Australians spent $2.9 billion on Women's Fashion online in 2024, compared with just $828 million in 2015. That's 3.5 times more.23

Customer spend in Women's Fashion over the last 10 years23

 
  • $828m2015
  • $1.0b2016
  • $1.4b2017
  • $1.6b2018
  • $1.5b2019
  • $2.0b2020
  • $2.6b2021
  • $2.7b2022
  • $2.7b2023
  • $2.9b2024

Gen Zs and Millennials are the category's largest market

Millennials spent the most on Women's Fashion in 2024 with 32% of online spend. Gen Zs were not far behind, spending $811m, 28% of online spend for Women's Fashion.8

How each generation stacked up in 20248

  • Gen Z
  • Millennials
  • Gen X
  • Baby Boomers
  • Builders

The order of the coloured bars in the chart above corresponds with the order of the legend.

  • Online spend
  • $811m
  • $950m
  • $725m
  • $368m
  • $81m
  • YoY growth
  • 6.5%
  • 9.3%
  • 9.0%
  • 9.5%
  • 16.1%
  • % share of online spend
  • 27.6%
  • 32.4%
  • 24.7%
  • 12.5%
  • 2.7%

An average of 40% of shoppers plan to purchase more Women's Fashion online over the next 5 years, with Gen Z leading the way.2

  • Gen Z
  • Millennials
  • Gen X

Your next step:

Give Gen Z and Millennial customers the delivery experience they expect

With Gen Zs and Millennials dominating online shopping in Women's Fashion, delighting them with a great delivery experience is an important focus. Here's what you need to know about them:

Want to choose at checkout how to receive their parcels.2

  • Gen Z
  • Millennials

56% of Gen Zs and 45% of Millennials would switch retailers to access an out-of-home collection point, such as a Parcel Locker.1

The simplest way for your customers to select Parcel Locker delivery is by installing the Australia Post Collections widget or Shopify app into your checkout. This creates a seamless experience to easily find a Parcel Locker at a convenient location and pick up parcels at any time, 24/7.

67% of Gen Zs and 72% of Millennials believe picking up a parcel should be as convenient as grabbing a coffee.2

  • Gen X
  • Millennials

80% of Gen Zs and 73% of Millennials would switch retailers to get faster delivery.1

Explore our Next Day delivery options, including Metro and Express.

For 43% of Gen Zs and 42% of Millennials, free delivery is the most important element of the delivery experience.1

Basket size down 4% YoY, matching the overall downwards trend

Shoppers opted to spend a little less in each transaction in 2024, with the average basket size shrinking 4% YoY.8 However, the longer-term view of Women's Fashion is a little different, with a 9% increase in basket size between 2015 and 2024.23

Online basket sizes for Women's Fashion across the years23

 
  • $1042015
  • $1022016
  • $992017
  • $1022018
  • $1032019
  • $1112020
  • $1202021
  • $1212022
  • $1182023
  • $1132024

2024 basket size by generation8

All generations dropped their average basket size in Women's Fashion in 2024. This was most pronounced among Millennials and Gen Xs. It was Gen Xs who spent the most in each transaction.8

  • Gen Z
  • Millennials
  • Gen X
  • Baby Boomers
  • Builders

The order of the coloured bars in the chart above corresponds with the order of the legend.

  • Basket size
  • $107
  • $115
  • $119
  • $114
  • $105
  • YoY growth
  • -3.1%
  • -4.9%
  • -5.0%
  • -3.6%
  • -4.0%

30% of customers opt for their fashion to be delivered fast

30% of Women's Fashion purchases were delivered with Express shipping options in 2024.

Your next step:

Explore our Next Day delivery options, including Metro and Express

Each service can be easily integrated using existing APIs, with deliveries available to residential and business addresses, Parcel Lockers, PO Boxes and Post Offices.

52% of Gen Zs and 34% of Millennials purchase multiple items with the intention of returning all but one

Returns rates in fashion are impacted by the practice of bracketing: when someone buys multiples of the same item, perhaps in different sizes, with the intention of returning all but one. Their reasons include saving time - they find it convenient to order in one batch rather than return and wait for another delivery – and being unsure about which size they should order.

Bracketing is most common in Women's Fashion, with 52% of Gen Zs and 34% of Millennials doing this in Women's Fashion.2

Gen Z

Millennials

Your next step:

Review the returns expectations of Gen Zs and Millennials

For 73% of Gen Zs and Millennials, a friction-free returns process contributes to their overall happiness with the online shopping experience.1

1 in 4 like to send returns back via a Post Office.1

1 in 4 take their items back to a store.1

1 in 5 will do whichever is cheapest.1

Whatever the size of your business, we have a streamlined returns solution that's convenient for your customers.

Fashion (including women's, men's and footwear) is the most popular category that international shoppers choose to buy from Australia.12

43% of shoppers based in other countries who choose to do cross-border shopping select fashion goods to purchase.24 This is up 4% YoY, highlighting further opportunities for fashion eCommerce businesses to grow internationally.

The top reasons international shoppers buy from Australia:24

Affordability

Variety

Low shipping costs and fast delivery

Setting expectations is key: 71% of international shoppers buying from Australia say that clear information about delivery charges pre-purchase is very important.20

The countries making the highest number of online purchases (across all industries) from Australia are: New Zealand, US and UK.19

We really wanted to nail the domestic market first, and when we were ready to go international our Australia Post account manager stepped in and had a chat with us about what's possible.

They really get in the water with us – at one stage I didn't know whether they were working for Australia Post or working for SIR.! It's all one collaboration, which keeps giving us confidence. Now we serve 90 countries worldwide from our little operation here in Rosebery.”

Patrick CallananDirector of Operations, SIR. The Label

  1. Know your shoppers

  2. Customer spending insights

  3. Delivery experience success

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