eMarketer released a report today that I thought you’d find interesting.  Their main finding states that the apparel and accessories category (in the U.S.) is now “climbing faster than any other other ecommerce product segment.”  In fact, while ecommerce in general is expected to remain very strong this year, up 15% from 2011 (reaching $224.2 billion), apparel will outpace the market in 2012 by gaining 20% (reaching $41 billion).

And it’s not just 2012.  “The apparel and accessories category will lead ecommerce sales growth throughout the forecast period”, which runs through 2016.

The reasons for these gains?  Well, eMarketer principal analyst Jeffrey Grau notes that “Retailers continue to increase the scale of their ecommerce operations, particularly by investing in online sales platforms that display products and convert shoppers more effectively; apparel sales have benefited more than any other category. Apparel has become an online success due largely to easy and free returns, innovative visualization tools and the presence of customer reviews.”

More data proving that innovative visualization tools help drive online apparel sales?  I must say, it’s great to see 3rd party data supporting our findings.