The global trend of athleisure saw strong growth this year too. The global awareness towards acute health problems arising from lack of activity and a shift of organizations towards health has boosted the athleisure sector, which boasted a revenue of $300 billion in 2018. Lululemon seems to be at the right place and right time, but will this growth continue in the e-commerce segment too?
In all likelihood, it seems so. Around 65 percent, or two-thirds, of this $300 billion, belongs to the premium product segment. Lululemon, as you might have guessed it, specializes in this segment. Since the athleisure sector itself is predicted to grow at a steady pace at least till 2025, the company seems to have placed a safe bet on its niche segment.
In the third quarter of 2018, e-commerce sales brought Lululemon almost $190 million in revenues. This was an increase of 44 percent from the previous year and accounted for about a quarter of its total revenue. To keep up the same growth rate, the company’s e-commerce sales would have to come up with a sale of $273 million in the ongoing quarter. Given that the e-commerce revenue in the previous quarter was $217.6 million, this doesn’t seem to be a far-off dream.
But Lululemon is not leaving things on luck. The company has tried to significantly improve the e-commerce experience for its customers. This includes things like better search functionality, easier browsing, upgraded checkout experience, etc. In addition, the company has also adopted the “buy online, pick up offline” policy, expanding its stores in most of North America. As we have seen, this successful formula will only further boost the company’s sales.
In all likelihood, Lululemon will continue to grow strong in the coming year, especially on the e-commerce front.
