Sportswear demand rise as COVID-19 alert level heightened: ZALORA

It rose to 24% from 20% during the high alert period in Southeast Asia.

Demand for sports apparel and accessories saw an increase to 24%, both for men and women, amidst the heightened alert level in Southeast Asia, ZALORA reported. 

This is up from 20% before the pandemic and during the low alert period, according to the ZALORA TRENDER Report 2021. 

Across Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines, for instance, sports apparel demand each went up by 4 percent to 29%, 19%, 24%, and 24% respectively.

“Before the pandemic, purchases for sportswear had only clocked in at 20 percent, but as lockdowns came into full swing, its frequency went up by four percent. When compared against women’s apparel, the differences are even more apparent,” the report read in part.  

“In fact, since early 2020, demand for dressier pieces (think ruffled blouses and statement shirts) went down by 12 percent within a year.” 

Moreover, the demand for women's apparel dropped to 23% during the high alert period from 35% in the low alert period; whilst it went down to 8% from 9% for women's shoes. 

Demand for women's accessories and men's apparel, meanwhile, rose to 14% from 11% and to 11% from 9% over the same period, respectively.

Women's apparel demand in Indonesia slipped 2 points to 16% and 14 points to 31% in Singapore. Malaysia and the Philippines, likewise, saw demand falling to 23% from 35%. 

ZALORA found that in shoes alone, the demand for casual footwear accounted for 95.89%, compared to only 4.11% for formal footwear. 

“Though we see changing trends, some may be temporary, and some may stay a little longer. [However] I do believe that [as more people prefer to work from home], casualwear is here to stay,” Simone Cortini, Marketplace Director at ZALORA Group, said.