Image cuertesy of europestring.com

Although they might be ahead of the rest of the world with pretty much everything else, the U.S are missing out on Zara's latest venture. On September 2nd, the successful high street chain will offer e-commerce in a select few countries. These places include France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom where the system will work from computers, smartphones and the newly launched iPad. However, there has been no discussion of bringing this system into action in the U.S and it seems it is not only Zara who lacks an internet presence in America. H&M also resists selling online in the States and gives the excuse that the clothes are manufactured and sold within weeks where there really is no time for internet business abroad.

Brian Sozzi, a retail analyst did not disagree with this statement and said: “I think the core thing with the fast fashion guys has been their inability to localize product by specific region. The way I think about H&M and Zara is that they make a broad bet on fashion, allowing them to receive good costs. What’s more, these companies have been very focused on growing square footage, devoting capital to selling the store experience instead of the Web."

However, major competition like Topshop and Mango are playing the online game and making more money than ever. Although Zara's sales are on the increase it wouldn't hurt them to pursue an internet commerce within the United States, there is certainly a demand for it so there is no money to be lost.