2025 Apparel Planning Benchmark Report
How 150+ mid-market apparel brands actually plan — OTB accuracy, sell-through benchmarks, markdown timing, and planning tool usage. Peer data, not vendor claims.
28 pages · January 2025 · Free with work email
What the data shows
Nearly three in four mid-market apparel brands run open-to-buy planning in Excel or Google Sheets. Of those, 68% report rebuilding their OTB file from scratch at least once per season.
The majority of brands surveyed miss their sales plan by more than 30 percentage points at the class level. Planning teams cite disconnected systems and manual data entry as the primary causes.
Planners spend an average of 14 hours per week on tasks that a connected system would automate — pulling actuals from the ERP, reconciling OTB, and updating the assortment plan for the buy review.
Brands running OTB in spreadsheets show markdowns that are 2.4× higher on average than brands using connected planning systems. The gap is attributed to delayed in-season response and OTB drift.
What the report covers
Six sections covering the full planning operation — from tool infrastructure to team structure. Each section includes benchmark tables segmented by brand size and channel.
Planning Infrastructure
Tool usage rates by brand size and channel — from solo-planner teams to 25+ person departments. Which tools are winning, which are being replaced, and what the replacement triggers are.
OTB Accuracy Benchmarks
Median OTB accuracy by revenue tier, planning team size, and channel (DTC vs. wholesale vs. omnichannel). Accuracy defined as plan-vs-actual receipt variance at season end.
Sell-Through Benchmarks
Season-end sell-through rates by category (tops, bottoms, outerwear, accessories) and brand size. Full-price sell-through vs. promoted sell-through tracked separately.
Markdown Timing and Depth
When brands take their first markdown — relative to season start — and how markdown depth correlates with OTB accuracy and planning system type.
Planning Team Structure
Planner-to-buyer ratios, which roles own OTB vs. assortment vs. financial planning, and how team structures differ between DTC-only and omnichannel brands.
Technology Adoption Trends
AI feature adoption rates, which planning capabilities brands are investing in for 2025–2026, and the gap between technology interest and actual deployment.
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Download the 2025 Benchmark Report
Apparel Planning Benchmark Report 2025
Survey data from 150+ apparel brands on OTB accuracy, sell-through rates, markdown timing, and planning tool usage — benchmarked by brand size and channel.
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About the report
How was the data collected?
The 2025 Apparel Planning Benchmark Report is based on a survey of 150+ apparel planning professionals conducted between October and December 2024. Respondents were at brands ranging from $5M to $500M in annual revenue, across DTC, wholesale, and omnichannel channels.
What types of brands are included?
The survey covers US-based apparel brands across women's, men's, kids, and accessories. The largest segment (42%) is women's DTC brands at $10M–$50M in revenue. Wholesale-only brands represent 18% of the sample; omnichannel brands represent 31%.
How is OTB accuracy defined in the benchmark?
OTB accuracy is measured as plan-vs-actual receipt variance at season end, expressed as a percentage of plan. A brand that planned $500K in receipts and received $450K has an OTB accuracy of 90%. The benchmark reports median accuracy, not mean, to reduce the effect of outliers.
Is the report updated annually?
Yes. The Apparel Planning Benchmark Report is published annually in January, covering data from the prior year. The 2025 edition reflects 2024 planning data. Subscribers who downloaded previous editions will receive an email when the 2026 edition is available.
Can I use this data in internal presentations?
Yes. Data from this report may be cited in internal presentations with attribution to "RetailNorthstar Apparel Planning Benchmark Report 2025." For external publication or press use, contact us for media permissions.
Benchmarks tell you where you stand. The platform closes the gap.
RetailNorthstar is the connected planning platform built for the exact problems this report identifies — OTB accuracy, in-season responsiveness, and cross-functional alignment in one workflow.