For consumers in the China sportswear market, good quality is the most important purchasing factor when people buy sports and leisure clothing, followed by cost-effectiveness, demonstrating a strong desire for practicality. These findings underline the importance of providing professional, functional products as the backbone of brands’ competitive edges in the sports and leisure wear market. On top of this, designs that increase fashionability will be a breakthrough in gaining favour from consumers.
This report looks at the following areas:
- A market overview together with observations of creative marketing strategies and product innovation activities
- An overview of consumers’ spending on various sports and leisure wear sectors
- Investigations into purchase choices, such as brands consumers purchased and their future interest, clothing style preference by sports types
- Decode consumers’ ways to get inspiration for outfits
- Surveys on the purchase consideration factors and consumers’ overall attitudes towards sports and leisure wear.
Expert Insights from a Specialist
This report, written by Blair Zhang, a leading research analyst, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight trends in Chinese Sports and Leisurewear market and add expert context to the numbers.
The overall apparel retail market will grow steadily. The growth potential of sportswear lies in fully expanding its applicable scenarios, especially lightweight outdoor or niche sports scenarios, and becoming a part of daily life such as commuting. The direction of upgrading the sportswear category is to enhance its fashion or cultural attributes while still keeping professional functions as core competitiveness, since now when people choose sportswear, fashion and functionality are equally important. With consumer interest scattered across multiple brands, capturing consumer attention is increasingly challenging. The key to success may lie in community building and marketing on brands’ concepts and values.
Blair Zhang
Senior Research Analyst – China
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Executive Summary
- Key Issues Covered in This Report
- The Market
- The Consumer
- Graph 1: spending on sports and leisure wear, 2023
- Graph 2: purchased brands and future interest, 2023
- Graph 3: purchased occasions for sports and leisure wear, 2023
- Graph 4: consideration factors when purchasing sports and leisure wear, 2023
- Graph 5: ways to get inspirations for sports and leisure outfits, 2023
- Graph 6: attitudes towards sports and leisure wear, 2023
- Issues and Insights
- What We Think
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The market
- Market factors
- Graph 7: growth rate of retail sales, by key sector, 2019-23
- Graph 8: disposable income growth rate (price-adjusted), 2019-23
- Graph 9: confidence about improving financial situation in the next three months, by select confidence level, 2020-23
- Graph 10: out-of-home leisure participation, 2023
- Graph 11: ways consumers choose to exercise, 2020-23
- Graph 12: ways used to relieve stress – exercising, 2020-23
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Company and brands
- Marketing activities
- Product innovation
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The consumer
- Spending on sports and leisure wear
- Graph 13: spending on sports and leisure wear, 2023
- Graph 14: spending on sports and leisure wear – spent more on professional sneakers (a), by gender, age, monthly household income, 2022-23
- Graph 15: spending on sports and leisure wear – any spent on outdoor clothing and outdoor hiking shoes, by age, 2023
- Graph 16: spending on sports and leisure wear – any spent on outdoor clothing and outdoor hiking shoes, by city tier, 2023
- Purchased brands and future interest
- Graph 17: purchased brands and future interest, 2023
- Graph 18: purchase factors for sports and leisure wear – haven’t bought the brand but interested in buying, 2023
- Purchase choice by sport types
- Graph 19: purchased occasions for sports and leisure wear, 2023
- Graph 20: purchased occasions for sports and leisure wear – re-base to those who will participate in the sports and buy clothing specifically, 2023
- Graph 21: preferences for sports and leisure wear in selected occasions – Hiking/camping, by age, 2023
- Graph 22: preferences for sports and leisure wear in selected occasions – Tennis, by age, 2023
- Graph 23: purchased occasions for sports and leisure wear – cycling, by city tier, 2023
- Consideration factors when purchasing sports and leisure wear
- Graph 24: consideration factors when purchasing sports and leisure wear, 2023
- Graph 25: consideration factors when purchasing sports and leisure wear, by gender, 2023
- Graph 26: consideration factors when purchasing sports and leisure wear, by spending more on professional/casual sneakers, 2023
- Ways to get inspiration for sports and leisure outfits
- Graph 27: ways to get inspirations for sports and leisure outfits, 2023
- Graph 28: number of ways to get inspirations for sports and leisure outfits – Repertoire analysis, 2023
- Graph 29: ways to get inspirations for sports and leisure outfits – get inspiration from outfits of models in brands’ offline stores, by age, 2023
- Graph 30: ways to get inspirations for sports and leisure outfits, by spends on outdoor clothing and shoes, 2023
- Attitudes towards sports and leisure wear
- Graph 31: attitudes towards sports and leisure wear, 2023
- Graph 32: attitudes towards fashion style of sports and leisure wear, by gender, 2023
- Graph 33: attitudes towards sports and leisure wear – agree with ‘Athleisure brands need to be expert in particular category or style’, by age, 2023
- Graph 34: attitudes towards sports and leisure wear – agree with ‘Athleisure brands need to be expert in particular category or style’, by monthly personal income, 2023
- Graph 35: attitudes towards co-branding, CHAID analysis – target group profile of those who agree that athleisure brands co-branding with popular designers/IPs can make the brand more fashionable, 2023
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issues and insights
- Brands need to develop fashionability on the basis of providing professional functions under the trend of scenarios blurring
- Graph 36: Social media mentions of trendy sports on Xiaohongshu, 2022-23
- The moat of high-end sports brands lies in providing practical products that serve as spiritual symbols
- Brands need to establish expert images in their segmented fields and invest in long-term market education to cultivate a sense of cultural identity
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Appendix – methodology and abbreviations
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