By Kathleen Kusek
Forbes
June 5, 2016
Amid lackluster news in retail, a bright spot is the handbag segment with 5% growth to $11.6 billion in 2015 according to a new report from the NPD Group, Inc.
The $214.6 billion U.S. apparel segment is flat versus a year ago according to NPD, but growth in the handbag segment is attributed to increasing importance of technology and more casual lifestyles.
Shoppers are looking for new and better ways to spend on handbags, according to Marshal Cohen, Chief Retail Analyst at NPD. While there hasn’t been much new in attire, handbags have evolved to meet women’s wide and varied demands. Segment growth is fueled by both spending more per bag and buying more bags overall. NPD’s report indicates that women 18-45 own an average of 13 handbags across 7 different brands.