What Is the State of China’s Fashion E-Commerce Industry in 2024?

In 2024, China’s e-commerce sector continued to play a pivotal role in driving consumer spending and advancing the digital transformation of the real economy. Fashion remains the largest category in China’s physical goods e-commerce, and as market regulation improves, consumer expectations rise, and platform competition evolves, the industry has entered a stage of stable growth and structural optimization.

For Western brands looking to enter or expand in China, understanding industry dynamics, platform changes, consumer psychology, and technological trends is essential for informed decision-making.

Overall Performance of China’s Fashion E-Commerce Market in 2024

According to official data, China’s e-commerce remained resilient in 2024:

• Total e-commerce transaction value: RMB 46.41 trillion (+3.9% YoY)

• Online retail sales: RMB 15.52 trillion (+7.2% YoY)

• Physical goods online retail: RMB 13.08 trillion (+6.5% YoY)

Within this, fashion (B2C) online retail sales reached RMB 2.33 trillion, a 1.31% year-on-year increase, accounting for 17.81% of total physical goods e-commerce.Despite slowing growth, the category remains one of the most strategically important due to its sheer size.

From 2019 to 2024, fashion e-commerce sales grew from RMB 1.67 trillion to RMB 2.33 trillion, while growth rates dropped from roughly 16% to below 5%. This indicates the industry has moved from an extensive growth phase into a more mature, quality-driven period—where long-term brand value and differentiation matter more than price competition alone.

Structural Shifts in China’s Fashion E-Commerce in 2024

Several major shifts defined brand operations in 2024:

• Fashion brands moved from broad mass targeting to precise user segmentation

• Supply chains shifted toward flexible manufacturing: smaller batches, more frequent updates, rapid iteration

• Marketing evolved from influencer-driven to brand-led livestreaming

• The “Livestreaming – Private Traffic – Repurchase” loop became the new dominant model

• Content seeding + city/culture-based marketing emerged as key growth drivers

➡️ For Western brands:Entering China is no longer about celebrity endorsements or brand prestige alone. Building an in-house livestreaming capability, a strong content engine, and a retention ecosystem has become essential.

Key Trends for 2025

1. “Compliance + Transparent Governance” as a New Competitive Advantage

In 2025, both regulators and platforms are pushing the e-commerce industry into a highly compliant era:

• Clearer rules around data usage, algorithmic recommendations, and advertising responsibility

• Leading platforms will use AI to monitor fake transactions, misleading discounts, and deceptive promotions

• Platforms will reward compliant, high-quality merchants with more traffic and support

➡️ What this means:Long-term, compliant, high-quality operations > short-term opportunistic tactics.For Western brands, following rules and building trust will yield better ROI.

2. AI Will Reshape Design, Supply Chains, and Marketing End-to-End

With China’s domestic AI models (e.g., DeepSeek) accelerating, AI will become central to fashion e-commerce in 2025:

• Design: AI-generated styles, fabric pairings, and aesthetic inspiration

• Production: smart factories, IoT-enabled quality checks, intelligent scheduling

• Sales: virtual try-on, AI shopping assistants, hyper-personalized recommendations

• Marketing: automated copywriting, livestream scripts, ad creative generation

➡️ Opportunity for Western brands:AI can significantly boost localization efficiency—for example, automatic Chinese adaptation, localized content generation, and preference-based product recommendations, greatly reducing operational cost.

3. Sustainable Products Become a Growth Engine — Not Just a Bonus

In 2025, Chinese consumers—especially Gen Z—show rapidly rising willingness to buy sustainable products:

• 77% of Gen Z say they are willing to pay more for sustainable items

• Strong growth in organic cotton, recycled polyester, plant-based dyes

• Amazon’s CPF (Climate Pledge Friendly) merchants saw 12%+ sales growth within one year

Combined with EU policies such as CBAM (carbon tariffs), China’s fashion e-commerce is shifting toward a full sustainable lifecycle:

Green design → Low-carbon production → Precision marketing → Circular services

➡️ Advantage for Western brands:With inherent strengths in materials innovation and sustainability standards, Western brands are well-positioned to win Chinese young consumers seeking higher quality and greener choices.

4. Shifting from “Price Competition” to “Value Competition”

In 2025, China’s e-commerce market is transitioning from a price-driven era to a value-driven one. Key competitive dimensions include:

• Product quality (materials, craftsmanship)

• Brand equity (storytelling, culture, social responsibility)

• Service excellence (delivery speed, after-sales, membership systems)

• Long-term operations (repurchase, customer lifetime value)

Deep discounting is no longer the most effective strategy. Instead, high quality, supply chain reliability, and clear brand positioning will define success.

➡️ For Western brands:Chinese consumers are increasingly willing to pay for “good products,” which is a significant advantage for quality-focused brands.

Conclusion

Entering a New Phase of High-Quality Growth

China’s fashion e-commerce landscape in 2025 continues to offer enormous scale, fast-growing consumer segments, and one of the most advanced digital retail ecosystems globally.

More than ever before, the key is:

Not just “entering the market,” but “integrating into the ecosystem.”

Understanding platform rules, consumer behavior, and China’s unique content-driven model—combined with AI adoption and flexible supply chain strategies—will be critical to achieving sustainable success.