Hamster Shredder

Tom Ballhatchet's hamster-powered paper shredder. Via Core77 design blog.

Clothes out-selling tech online

According to the New York Times today, for the first time since online retailing was born a decade ago, the sales of clothing have overtaken those of computer hardware and software, suggesting that consumers have reached a new level of comfort buying merchandise on the Web.

In 2006, online revenue from skirts, suits and shoes reached $18.3 billion, surpassing that from PCs, printers and word-processing programs, which totaled $17.2 billion, according to a report to be released today by a major trade group. This year, 10 percent of all clothing sales in North America are expected to occur online.

"Apparel retailers have overcome a number of hurdles to encourage shoppers to buy clothing and accessories online," said Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org, which conducted the research along with Forrester. "Retailers are doing such a great job online that in some cases it's easier to find and buy clothing on the web than it is in a store."

The report suggests that the apparel and accessories category has experienced strong sales because of an influx of new companies and liberal shipping policies such as free shipping on returns and exchanges. Additionally, apparel and accessories retailers are integrating new technologies onto their sites including rich imaging, where customers can zoom and rotate merchandise or see the item in different colors before buying, all of which eases the mind of a customer who is hesitant to purchase apparel online.

We're guessing but given that the survey covered 170 retailers in America, sales via eBay haven't even been taken wholly into consideration (many mainstream retailers now sell via eBay Stores as well as their own sites) . Ironic, given that the eBay economy is likely driving behaviour.