French consumers set new record by buying 2.8 billion apparel items in 2024

ReFashion, a French eco-platform connecting operators in the textiles and footwear recycling sectors, has surveyed over 10,000 retailers and importers to chart the evolution of the textiles, home linen and footwear market in France. The survey found that the number of items sold to consumers started to rise again in 2024. The increase was driven by high demand for sneakers on the product category side, and by pureplayers and inventory clearance sites on the retail side, while the resale market continued to grow too.

Last year, French consumers bought 3.5 billion new apparel, footwear and home linen items, just over 10 million items per day. The number of apparel items bought was 2.8 billion, up 2.4%. The number of footwear items was 259 million pairs (up 9.3%), and home linen items totalled 362 million, up 0.6%. In the last five years, total sales in the sector increased by 400 million items on average each year.

In 2024, sector revenue started to grow again, rising by 2.9%, having fallen by 2.3% the year before. “The reason for this was the double-digit inflation recorded [in 2023], which led to different consumption choices,” said Sandra Baldini, head of ReFashion’s consumer division, who noticed a catch-up effect. “Prices did not fall in 2024, but perceived inflation was less of a factor for consumers,” she added.

Last year, apparel sales were driven by menswear and womenswear, while childrenswear and products for infants lost ground. In 2024, French consumers bought 42 apparel, home linen and footwear items on average (one more than in 2023), of which 26 were items of clothing (up by one). Women bought an average 32 items of clothing, compared to 19 for men, while both cohorts bought three pairs of shoes each. The numbers were stable for children’s items at 49, but those for babies fell by two to 76.

Sneakers, chains and prices

Garment-wise, the number of shirts sold fell by 3.5%, coats fell by 2%, skirts by 6% and dresses by 2.2%. Last year’s adverse summer weather and a trend toward less gender-specific looks also played a part.

In terms of footwear, the 0.6% increase in the number of pairs sold was mainly generated by sneakers (up 6.8%), which accounted for 107 million of the 259 million pairs sold. Sales of summer shoes, the second-largest segment in footwear, fell by 7.4%.

“If we exclude pure players and inventory clearance sites, the number of items sold did not increase,” said Baldini. Items sold through these two types of retailers grew 29.9% and 10.3% respectively. The trend was different for chains based in city centres and shopping malls (which grew 2.8%), for out-of-town chains (up 0.6%), and especially for mass-market grocery retailers (down 5.1%).

Secondhand products

For the first time, ReFashion has analysed the volume of secondhand products sold in France, using 2023 data. In total, 63,500 tons of textiles and footwear were sold secondhand, equivalent to a 7.1% market share. In the period, French consumers bought an average of 7.3 used items. More than a third of French consumers said they have switched to the resale market, with 11% of them using it exclusively, according to data gathered by Kantar in a survey of 12,000 consumers.

Where are they buying these products? In 46% of cases via a C2C site, like LeBonCoin and especially Vinted (with 17,600 tons of products sold), but also massively via car-boot sales and flea markets. The latter channel sells 11,000 tons of products per year, mainly childrenswear.

French consumers buy 33% of their secondhand items via social and solidarity economy (SSE) operators, and 21% via B2B players, including apparel brands and secondhand specialists.

Kantar figures show that the average price of a secondhand item is €9.50 (compared to €15.60 on average for a new item). The same price is €15 for an item bought via secondhand B2C players, €9 via C2C specialists, and €3 via SSE operators. Some of these channels are extremely affordable. “But the resale market is growing in importance, thanks to sites like Vinted, and this could allow [these operators] to sell at higher prices,” said Véronique Allaire-Spitzer, head of ReFashion’s regeneration division.