They include among others current substitute products available, distributors networks, internal and external forces, target markets and current competitors. The fashion industry and in particular the luxury brands within this industry are performing well, but are still subject to changes within the business environment. The diagram below shows the sales change percentage year on year in regards to sales of luxury goods in the UK and USA, and as we can see, although there was significant and increased growth from 2009 onwards for three consecutive years, reaching a peak at 2011, there was a strong decline for the two years following. This decrease in consumer demand could be due to many reasons, such as increase consumption expenditure for other goods that are regarded as essentials when in comparison to other goods. .
To begin to look at the economic factors that are affecting Net-a-porter, one must consider the economy as a whole. The economic growth of Europe, Asia, the Middle East as well as the Americas is growing after the economic downturn of 2008 that we are ever so slightly beginning to overcome, which provides a ready market for luxurious good. The population here can afford the high cost of the items sold by Net-a-Porter. Moreover, the levels of employment in these areas are high, which guarantees continuous purchases. However, the economic muscle of the Eastern Europe is low, thus low consumer reception of the goods of this firm in the region. One must keep this in mind when deciding where to expand and where to market the company in order to achieve maximum profit.
The modern social culture is influenced by the use of social media. Europe and America enjoy a widespread use of the Internet. The computer generation, which forms over sixty precent of the population in these regions are heavy users of the internet, using the internet as a portal to view everything happening around the world, including new and updated fashions.