The leading domestic textile and apparel e-commerce development

According to statistics, the total amount of e-commerce transactions in China reached 10.28 trillion yuan in 2013, a 26.8% increase over the previous year. Among them, textile and apparel accounted for nearly one-fourth of the total, which is a leading position in the development of e-commerce in China. Recently, the 2013-2014 China Textile and Apparel E-Commerce Development Report prepared by the China Textile Industry Federation’s Information Statistics Department and the China Textile Industry Federation’s Circulation Branch was released in Beijing. The “Report” contains more than 20,000 words and is divided into four major parts. It covers the overall development and characteristics of e-commerce in the Chinese textile and garment industry in 2013, the main characteristics of the retail network of apparel home textiles, and the e-commerce application of the textile and apparel specialty market. A more comprehensive elaboration and analysis, and put forward suggestions for the problems and developments of textile and apparel e-commerce. The publisher hopes that the "Report" can provide reference for the application and development of the industry e-commerce, and guide the healthy and stable development of textile and apparel e-commerce.

The steady growth of e-commerce in textile and clothing According to calculations, in 2013, the total amount of e-commerce transactions in the textile and clothing industry was 2.38 trillion yuan, up 28.65% year-on-year, accounting for 23.15% of the nation's total e-commerce transactions, and it continued to maintain its leading position in e-commerce nationwide. "Report" analysis, textile and garment enterprises (B2B) e-commerce transactions accounted for 79%, is still the industry's e-commerce development of the main body. The total retail sales of apparel and home textiles network amounted to 490 billion yuan, accounting for 26.49% of the total nationwide online retail sales, and continues to lead the nationwide online retail market. The development of overseas markets through the e-commerce platform of textile and apparel companies continues unabated, becoming a new hot spot for Chinese e-commerce in 2013.

In addition, with the rapid development of the network economy and e-commerce, the industrial chain of the industry has been continuously extended, resulting in a large number of new occupations and creating a large number of new jobs, especially for many grassroots entrepreneurial workers to expand the space for work and development. It is estimated that in 2013, there will be approximately 3 million direct employees engaged in e-commerce in the textile and clothing industry, an increase of 200,000 over 2012. Various industrial clusters and professional markets use their own industrial advantages to integrate e-commerce applications with entrepreneurship of college students and disabled entrepreneurs, build e-commerce business parks or incubation bases, strengthen training, and improve support, creating a good environment for regional e-commerce ventures.

Clothing & Textile Leading Online Retail According to the survey, apparel and home textiles are still the hottest category in online retailing in 2013, with purchasers accounting for 75.6% of the online shopping population, ranking first. The total retail sales volume of apparel textiles network totaled 490 billion yuan, an increase of 47.15% year-on-year, of which total retail sales of apparel network was 434 billion yuan, an increase of 42.29% year-on-year; total retail sales of home textiles was 56 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 100%. According to the “Report” analysis, 2013 was the year for the development of retail home textile network branding. The traditional e-commerce performance of brand enterprises has become more active, and online brand companies have further enhanced their offline service and supply chain management capabilities. With the return of brand value, the application of O2O's new business model has accelerated the transformation of online retail from price-driven to service-driven.

According to the survey, when purchasing clothing through the Internet, consumers are no longer merely price-conscious in terms of product selection. They are more concerned with the quality and style of the product, and have a high degree of concern for clothing brands. According to the "Report", this shows that the tendency of Internet users to shop is shifting from low-priced bazaars to malls with quality assurance and brand advantages. Consumer shopping patterns have quietly changed, and branded shopping has become the driving force for corporate brand management. During the investigation, many companies stated that they would gradually abandon the low-price competitive online retail distribution methods, do a good job of online and offline services, and do a good job of e-commerce around brand development.

The professional market is an important force for the development of e-commerce in the industry. The development of e-commerce in the textile and apparel specialty market cannot be ignored. According to statistics, in 2013, the e-commerce transaction volume of the textile and apparel specialty market was 461.7 billion yuan, accounting for 19.4% of the industry’s e-commerce transaction volume. In 2012, it increased nearly 4 percentage points. According to the “Report” analysis, the rapid development of e-commerce in the textile and apparel specialty market has become an important force in the development of e-commerce in the industry. The main reasons are twofold. First, the market regards e-commerce applications as an important direction for market development, and enhances professional service capabilities. It has invested in forces, such as setting up special service agencies to cooperate with Alibaba, opening up dedicated channels (commercial circles, etc.) to strengthen the merchants' online distribution capabilities; second is to strengthen training, improve merchant network marketing capabilities, and significantly increase the effectiveness of e-commerce applications.

The "Report" also analyzed that with the further deepening of the application of e-commerce, the textile and apparel professional market continued to strengthen the investment in network channels, and e-commerce was developed in various ways. The most important way is to use its own physical advantages to provide services for local merchants and even regions through self-built e-commerce platforms; followed by professional markets leveraging third-party open platforms for e-commerce, such as assisting local merchants with Alibaba industry belts. Carry out online distribution with source characteristics of origin.

Seven major recommendations to promote the healthy development of e-commerce in the industry In the process of e-commerce applications, industrial clusters and professional markets bear the important task of creating application environments and providing public services. Enterprises are the main bodies of e-commerce applications. The three interact and promote each other. . However, the lack of specialized talents is still an important factor that restricts the development of e-commerce in enterprises. E-commerce has developed rapidly in recent years, and there is a large gap in professional talents. Most of the talents are concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, and industrial clusters (professional markets) are widely distributed. In counties and townships, there is relatively little soil for talent growth and an environment for retaining talent. In addition, the cost of e-commerce applications has been pushed up, and corporate profits have been meager. Many companies are in a non-profitable state, which seriously affects the enthusiasm of e-commerce applications. Moreover, counterfeiting and counterfeit version infringement seriously affect corporate brand image.

In response to the above problems, the "Report" proposes several suggestions for the development of e-commerce applications: First, the government will play a leading role in improving the e-commerce development environment. The relevant ministries and commissions will formulate corresponding laws, regulations and policies as soon as possible, and implement technical and financial support for e-commerce. Second, we must promote the integration of the two companies, promote the integration of corporate e-commerce innovation, and promote the pace of information technology construction in the process of industrialization. Third, we must intensify the training of professional personnel, use the advantages of the Internet to accelerate the exchange and management of talents, and provide talent protection for the long-term development of e-commerce. Fourth, we must do a good job in e-commerce public services to accelerate the development of the integration of online and offline businesses. Fifth, we must establish a data linkage mechanism to strengthen statistical monitoring of e-commerce in the industry and meet the needs of industry and enterprises for data products by establishing systems for collecting, collating, and analyzing big data. Sixth, we must break the monopoly of e-commerce channels and reduce promotion costs. Seventh, we must innovate the e-commerce model, combine domestic and foreign trade, and take the path of e-commerce application differentiation.