UK Underwear Market Report 2026
After years of pandemic-fuelled highs and cost-of-living lows, the UK underwear and nightwear market is stabilising at just over £5bn for 2025.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Outlook for underwear
- Opportunities
- AI can give the bra industry a lift
- Support the ‘body-change’ moment with fit reassurance
- Build wellbeing collaborations that turn comfort into a mood-boosting ritual
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THE MARKET
- Snapshot – market size and forecast
- Men’s pants as a brief economic indicator
- Graph 1: trends in fashion items purchased, by consumers, 2020-26
- Responding to VAT changes and safety concerns in period care
- An ageing population will keep menopause needs in focus
- Body changes are making fit reassurance more important
- Graph 2: prevalence of overweight and obesity, by gender, by age group, 2024
- The rise of weight-loss drugs is raising new pressures around body image
- Graph 3: interest in weight loss medication, 2023-26
- Market size and forecast
- Market size and forecast of Underwear
- Graph 4: market value forecast for underwear, 2021-31
- Nightwear continues to experience growth
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THE CONSUMER
- Women: what they buy & how they shop
- Everyday essentials remain a key focus for women
- Graph 5: types of underwear and nightwear women have purchased for themselves in the last 12 months, 2026
- Comfort is most important when it comes to bra shopping
- Graph 6: types of bras purchased by women and age group, 2026
- Bra fittings for the future solve pain-point for women
- Finding the right bra fit still feels uncomfortable
- The emotional impact of the sports bra for mums
- Men: what they buy & how they shop
- A brief shift as men’s pants preferences changes as they get older
- Basics dominate men’s underwear purchasing
- Graph 7: reasons to buy new underwear, by gender and age group, 2026
- Seize younger men’s demand with fashion-led underwear and high-impact campaigns
- Unlock men’s shapewear growth…
- …by reframing it as subtle supportwear
- Where they shop
- Retailer mix shows preference for value
- Graph 8: retailers used to purchased underwear and nightwear, by gender, 2026
- Underwear shoppers seek out value-for-money when purchasing essentials
- Win value-conscious shoppers by making quality worth the spend
- Multipacks make underwear/nightwear more affordable
- Underwear brands get personal to win over shoppers
- Body changes & fit needs
- Confidence rises but finding the right fit remains a challenge
- Weight-loss drugs will shape fashion
- Fit reassurance is becoming a growth lever
- Tackling the sizing uncertainty of online underwear shoppers
- Comfort philosophy and support are key for underwear retailers
- Aligning with wellbeing can encourage underwear/nightwear purchasing
- Underwear that has consumers’ backs
- Beyond basics: how underwear signals identity and value
- Underwear is bought to feel good and mark meaningful moments
- Graph 9: reasons to encourage underwear purchasing, by gender, 2026
- More celebrities unveil underwear collections
- Gifting underwear and capturing proactive purchases
- Materials are a key interest for underwear
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LEADING SPECIALIST RETAILERS
- Boux Avenue and Bravissimo see significant growth in customers and spend
- Graph 10: leading underwear specialists, growth in spend and customer numbers, 2024-26
- Lingerie specialists see boost in demand
- Victoria’s Secret lifted by soaring sales and UK relaunch
- SKIMS stands out in an increasingly fragmented retail landscape
- Skims is disrupting the underwear market
- Retailers expand third part offering
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INNOVATION AND MARKETING
- M&S gets down to the bare essentials with its first unified underwear campaign
- Nightwear being worn as daywear
- Underwear shopping is becoming an experiential moment
- Intimissimi highlights softness with touch-and-feel billboards
- The ultimate self-care collaboration
- Period care brands score with football partnerships to tackle taboos
- Underwear adapts to women’s needs and bodies
- Royce Lingerie’s “Unapologetic Menopause” campaign calls for better workplace support for menopausal women.
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APPENDIX
- Report scope/Market definition
- The market
- Forecast methodology
- Forecast methodology – fan chart
- Market size and forecast of Underwear
- Market forecast and prediction intervals
- The consumer
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology – EMEA
- CHAID analysis methodology
- Repertoire analysis methodology
- TURF methodology
- How to read: TURF analysis
- Leading retailers
- Specialists see a mix bag amidst continued economic uncertainty
- Other data source methodologies
- Snoop SpendMapper methodology
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
"Underwear is moving beyond a simple basic to play a more meaningful role in confidence and daily comfort, giving brands scope to drive trade-up by focusing on fit and offering reassurance to consumers."
Bridget McCusker, Research Analyst
UK Underwear Industry – Trends and Insights
- After years of pandemic-fuelled highs and cost-of-living lows, the UK underwear and nightwear market is stabilising at just over £5bn for 2025. While shoppers are tightening discretionary spending elsewhere, underwear remains a low-risk trade-up, with 81% saying they will pay more for high-quality, long-lasting items. To win this spend, brands must deliver on fit, reassurance, and trust.
- A majority of bra shoppers struggle to find bras that are both stylish and a good fit, and 59% find in-store bra fittings awkward. This makes fit reassurance a key battleground. 3D virtual fitting services and AI-powered tools like Brarista can help by making the experience more comfortable and confidence-inspiring.
- As consumers increasingly prioritise their health and well-being, their clothing choices are becoming an integral part of their self-care routines. The greatest opportunity lies in creating clothing that supports well-being. However, the primary threat is a loss of consumer trust. Issues like chemical safety in period-proof pants and heightened body-image concerns related to new weight-loss drugs can quickly erode brand credibility. To succeed, brands must prioritise transparency and inclusive design, ensuring their products not only perform as promised but also promote a positive and healthy body image.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
- The current size and five-year forecast of the UK underwear and nightwear market
- Gender-specific drivers for underwear and nightwear purchasing.
- How shifting consumer priorities toward comfort, quality and wellbeing are influencing the market.
- How weight-loss drugs and evolving body-image trends are influencing inclusivity and market demand.
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