This report looks at the following areas:
- Underwear and loungewear market size and trends, as well as high-potential segments worth investment and attention (eg women’s sports bras and shapewear)
- The competitive landscape of the underwear and loungewear market, including challenges and opportunities for different types of brands
- Underwear and loungewear consumption habits (purchasing channels, brand preferences and price range selections), purchase considerations, and expectations for underwear and loungewear brands among men and women in Tier 1 to Tier 3 cities
- Identification of blue ocean market opportunities based on consumer insights, and exploration of product innovation and marketing strategies for key target segments
- Application of Mintel’s 2025 Global Consumer Trends to explore how underwear and loungewear brands can evolve alongside Chinese consumers in the future, integrating technology, human-centric values and the environment
In a highly competitive underwear market, brands need to precisely understand consumers’ detailed needs across different wearing occasions, driving continuous innovation and breakthroughs in functionality and design.
Tina Cheng, Research Analyst
Market Definitions
Underwear includes size-free underwear, underwired bras, sports bras, camisoles, swimwear, socks, thermal clothing, shapewear and other close-fitting garments.
Loungewear includes tops and bottoms primarily worn at home, pyjama sets, nightdresses and dressing gowns.
While the retail market size includes women’s, men’s and children’s underwear and loungewear, this Report focuses on adults’ underwear and loungewear for analysis and research.
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Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definition
- What you need to know
- Market trends
- Competitive landscape
- Consumer demand and brand strategy
- Explore future development directions through Home, Community and Globe
- What we think
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Market trends
- Underwear and loungewear are essential categories with steady sales growth
- Graph 1: retail sales of underwear & loungewear, consumer spending on clothing & accessories and year-on-year growth, 2019-24
- Graph 2: underwear and loungewear market segmentation (%), 2024 (est)
- Market concentration continues to decline, posing challenges for traditional mid-to-high-end brands
- Emerging brands are gaining market share
- Mainstream fashion brands are strengthening their competitiveness
- Graph 3: brand choices for select underwear and loungewear items bought in the last 12 months, 2024
- The sports bra market is booming
- The sports bra market has potential for premiumisation
- Graph 4: price range of sports bras, 2024
- Diversify sports bras to meet functional needs in different sports settings
- Enhance differentiation through size inclusivity, aesthetics and ease of use
- Specialist brands lead the trend towards diversification
- Graph 5: sports bra brands purchased in the past 12 months, 2024
- Mass-market fashion brands have the potential to break through
- Graph 6: brands that consumers are interested in buying sports bras from in the next 12 months, 2024
- Lingerie brands need to strengthen their competitiveness in the sports bra market
- Shapewear gets a makeover
- Shapewear: from functional garment to personal style statement
- Graph 7: mentions of ‘shapewear’ on social media*, 2024
- SKIMS redefines shapewear, empowering women to explore beauty on their own terms
- Everyday wear holds the key to unlocking market potential
- Graph 8: purchase rates of underwear and loungewear, 2024
- Graph 9: purchase of underwear and loungewear priced above RMB200 yuan, 2024
- Design shapewear tailored to Chinese women’s body types and everyday wear needs
- High-income women aged 30-39 in Tier 1 cities have the strongest purchasing power, with postpartum body management as a key driver
- Graph 10: women’s shapewear purchases in the last 12 months, by age and monthly personal income, 2024
- Develop a brand narrative around “confidently blooming in role transitions”
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Consumer demand: women’s underwear and loungewear
- Essential categories drive core demand while the potential of niche segments grows
- Graph 11: price range for underwear and loungewear purchases, 2024
- Antibacterial properties, less constrictive materials and size inclusivity are the top expectations for underwear innovation
- Graph 12: expectations towards women’s underwear brands, 2024
- Women’s awareness of health is increasing, and demand for diverse products and services is emerging
- Graph 13: expectations towards underwear brands, 2022-24
- Using sleep as a starting point for the narrative on women’s health
- Supporting women’s health helps brands connect with high-income women aged 30-39 and new mums
- Graph 14: expectations towards women’s underwear brands – ‘promoting knowledge of women’s health comprehensively’, 2024
- Put sleep health front and centre of product lines and marketing efforts
- Product innovation focus #1: functional sleep bras
- Product innovation focus #2: soothing, skincare-infused sleepwear
- Develop product ranges around menopausal health needs
- Leverage physical stores to establish a brand image as a trusted partner for healthy sleep
- Graph 15: purchase channels, by select demographics, 2024
- Leverage physical stores to establish a brand image as a trusted partner for healthy sleep
- Transform physical stores into marketing spaces for immersive sleep experiences
- Embrace diverse aesthetics and refine the user experience
- Demand for women’s underwear and loungewear is becoming more diverse and personalised
- When choosing underwear and loungewear, younger women care more about aesthetics than material
- Graph 16: underwear and loungewear purchase considerations – ‘youthful aesthetic design’, by age, 2024
- Graph 17: underwear and loungewear purchase considerations, 2024
- When choosing underwear and loungewear, younger women care more about aesthetics than material
- Diverse aesthetics drive innovation in the underwear market
- Traditional lingerie brands embrace diverse aesthetics to drive youth-focused transformation
- Focus on diverse style innovation to capture the younger female fashion market
- Graph 18: style preferences for casual outfits, by age, 2024
- Women aged 30-39 focus more on product details
- Graph 19: underwear and loungewear purchase considerations – ‘product design attentive to details’, by age, 2024
- Graph 20: expectations towards women’s underwear brands, by age, 2024
- Product functionality upgrades and extensions revolve around detailed experiences
- Cater to women’s physical and mental health needs during pregnancy and breastfeeding
- Transform corporate social responsibility into tangible practices
- Graph 21: environmentally friendly and sustainable, by age and monthly personal income, 2024
- Optimising the in-store shopping experience and making service more respectful and considerate
- Graph 22: purchasing underwear and loungewear from brands’ offline stores, by age and monthly personal income, 2024
- Deepen brand concept awareness through immersive lifestyle experiences
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CONSUMER DEMAND: MEN’S UNDERWEAR AND LOUNGEWEAR
- Over 70% of men buy underwear and loungewear for themselves
- Graph 23: purchase decision maker for underwear and loungewear, 2024
- Both men and women allocate a high budget to thermal clothing
- Graph 24: price range for underwear and loungewear purchases, 2024
- Graph 25: price range for underwear and loungewear purchases – above RMB200, by gender, 2024
- Thermal wear is poised to ride the outdoor fashion trend into a new growth phase
- Graph 26: mentions of ‘three-layer system’ on social media*, 2023-24
- Thermal wear brands are aligning with outdoor sports
- Starting with outdoor activities, extend product lines to different sports settings
- Focus on high-spending men
- High-spending men are concentrated in Tier 1 cities, the high income bracket and the 25-29 age group
- Graph 27: proportion of men who buy underwear priced above RMB500, by demographics, 2024
- Graph 28: sample composition, 2024
- Brand image is a key driver behind high-spending men’s purchase decisions
- Graph 29: underwear and loungewear purchase considerations, by demographics, 2024
- Lifestyle brands lead high-budget men’s loungewear choices
- Graph 30: loungewear brand choices, by demographics, 2024
- Graph 31: pyjama brand choices, by demographics, 2024
- Celebrity influence boosts targeted marketing for high-end brands
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FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
- Integrate technology, culture and environment from the perspectives of Home, Community and Globe
- Home: Under Construction – home is not just a place, it’s a feeling
- Industry insight: beyond comfort and functionality, underwear and loungewear should also highlight the aesthetics of everyday life
- Community: Linked Lives – seeking shared interests and values to recharge the soul
- Industry Insight: build community influence to create a relatable and fun brand
- Globe: Tradition in Transition – brands and consumers co-create the future
- Industry insight: embrace sustainability and empower consumers to take small positive actions
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Appendix – methodology and abbreviations
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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