What: Fashion is picking up again in the US following the combined action of stores reopening, stimulus checks and vaccination process

Why it is important:  Low key fashion remains the norm: customers tend to favour “hybrid” products, mixing comfort with practicality. Formal fashion is not yet back on track.

American customers prepare to return to the office and have started to visit stores in that perspective, taking advantage of the safer situation, a need for change, and stimulus checks. This translates into close to pre pandemic footfall in stores (-3.5% during the April 5 week, compared with 2019) and increases in fashion items purchases.

However, this is not the return to high-ticket formal items: customers kept from the lockdown periods a taste for comfort, and want to keep on enjoy it. For instance, Randa Apparel & Accessories discovered that customers tended to stay in sweatpants and carry only a few credit cards when moving within a radius of less than 2 miles. If they travel farther than 2 miles, they put on pants and grab a wallet. This translates into new ‘hot’ items:

• Slippers with leather soles
• Cargo pants and wide-leg Levi’s jeans
• Waist cropped tops
• Sport sandals

These buying patterns have been observed across the board, including at Sak’s, Levi’s, Revolve.

Cargo Pants and Outdoor Slippers Are Hot, as Americans Return to Stores