Fashion buying outside US bounces back after tariff price hikes says JOOR

US tariffs have been just about the biggest story dominating business headlines this year but a new report suggests that the world outside the US is becoming used to them.

Online wholesale specialist JOOR said its data shows a Q3 bounce-back in fashion buying — the US excluded — following price hikes caused by the new tariffs.

Its transaction data from like-for-like retailers year on year had shown a global decline in Q2 purchases of 5%. But non-US retailers rebounded in Q3 with an 18% uplift in purchases year on year.

International markets seeing significant growth in Q3 orders included Italy (+40%), Germany (+29%), South Korea (+29%), and the UK (+22%). 

But JOOR said the same buyer confidence wasn’t seen in the US where Q3 retailer purchases continued to decline by as much as 10%.

The US had announced significant  tariffs in April, precipitating a pullback in global buying. JOOR said that wholesale prices rose by around 5% globally from Q1 to Q2 this year whereas a more usual price rise was around 0.6% quarter on quarter.

And price rises are continuing. While the upward shift was most dramatic from Q1 to Q2, prices also increased in Q3, showing an additional rise of 0.5%. That may be a much smaller number, but it’s notable when compared to the previous three years, when prices from Q2 to Q3 were largely flat or down.

The company conducted a global survey in April and found 85% of brands planned to pass on some or all tariff costs via price increases. For retailers, 96% of those that are US-based and 82% of non-US retailers confirmed they anticipated increasing their prices as a result of tariff costs.

Amanda McCormick Bacal, SVP of Marketing at JOOR, said: “This year has marked a particularly tumultuous period for the worldwide fashion industry, causing retailers to make notable shifts in their buying strategy. While global purchases declined in Q2 amidst significant price increases, our latest data shows a confident return to buying by retailers outside the US in Q3 — a welcome development for the fashion sector.”