Among the top 25 global fashion sites by traffic, asos is in the number one spot followed by hm and macys. On fashion e-commerce sites, social media plays a more significant role than non-fashion sites. Fashion e-commerce sites generate 4.3 per cent of traffic from social media channels, which compares to 3.2 per cent for non-fashion sites. By type of traffic source, nonpaid or direct traffic garnered 56.3 per cent of all traffic to these retailers while organic search came in at 30.5 per cent. Traffic generated by referrals was 8.9 per cent.

Social media channels can be useful for fashion apparel retailers. In fashion marketing, using different channels allows brands to connect with niche audiences and diverse demographics. About 57.5 per cent of visitors to the top 25 sites hailed from the US while 12 per cent were from Russia and eight per cent were from Turkey. India had eight per cent of the share as well. It makes sense that the bulk of the traffic comes from the US because the sites are based there.

In regard to spending on e-commerce to drive traffic, fashion lags the industry. Some 28 per cent of general e-commerce businesses with the highest revenue spent more than a million dollars, and 20 per cent spent between 5,00,000 to a million dollars. Only eight per cent of fashion e-commerce businesses spent more than 5,00,000 dollars on paid advertising.