With a new year comes new year resolutions and that typically means good news for brands, retailers and service companies that market and offer health-related products and services.
According to Pew Research, overall, 79% of consumers say their resolutions concern health, exercise or diet-related goals.
But healthy New Year resolutions are not the only reason why the activewear and athleisure industry is booming. Athleisure, activewear, or simply sportswear clothing crosses the boundaries of lounging to sports and is now an ingrained, everyday lifestyle look loved by teens to middle-agers alike in a market in which retailers are fighting for prominence.
It’s not surprising – what’s not to adore about a style that allows us to look good with minimum effort while also being comfy and cosy?
Activewear, or athleisure, suggests we are doing more than we actually are. We might look like we’re off to the gym when we are just planning a gentle stroll with a friend or relaxing indoors. We might be hard at work or comatose on the sofa – no one cares.
What is certain is that it’s a bigger sector than ever – a hybrid style that now also matches our hybrid working lifestyles.
Athleisure Industry Trends: Strengthening sales
As a result, sales are booming. The global athleisure market was projected to reach USD 393.7 billion in 2024, reaching USD 902.4 billion by 2033.
One of the driving factors of the growing athleisure and activewear market is that consumers continue to seek out apparel that combines comfort, performance and fashion, making it suitable for working out as well as daily activities. An increasing focus on health and fitness also contributes to the growth of this market, attracting both established and emerging brands.
This makes athleisure a key growth category for activewear brands like Fabletics as well as general retailers such as M&S and specialists such as Sportsshoes.com.
M&S Sports Edit – its curated collection of activewear brands on M&S.com – now comprises more than 50 third-party partners, including Sweaty Betty and Reebok, offering more than 140 products in February 2024. Sportswear searches have increased +110% since the launch in February 2023.
Staying active in making the right purchase decisions
Whether athleisure wearers are secretly chilling in front of the TV or gearing up for that energetic HIT class to get beach-ready for summer, they still want to make the right purchase decisions.
The Problem
Going to the gym, working from home, or picking up kids at school, with such a mix of reasons for buying activewear, can be challenging for retailers and brands to surface the information shoppers might need to persuade them to buy. And that can lead to basket abandonment and lost sales. One customer might be wondering about the technical aspects of a fabric, while the next might be more concerned about how comfy it is or simply want the hottest and most popular /new look.
The Solution
This is where social proof messaging can provide an added dimension to the customer experience, helping customers to navigate overwhelming choice in an increasingly saturated market. It can help to highlight trending or in-demand items by showcasing how many items have been added to a bag in a specific time window or by highlighting bestsellers.
This signposting of popular products helps to drive confidence to buy right first time – reducing basket abandonment and returns.
With advanced features offered by social proof enterprise messaging, you can incorporate everything from review messaging to fit advice, as well as adding upselling and cross-selling or low stock feeds into your social proof messaging to help customers buy more.
Relevant product information, such as the technical fabric details that the customer was looking for earlier, can be highlighted with attribute messaging, which helps highlight real-time product attribute messages.
The use cases are numerous, and the results are fast and impressive. When Sportsshoes.com integrated social proof messaging on its website, it boosted conversion rates by 4.5% in only three weeks. It was so impressed with the results that it rolled social proof messaging across its entire website.
Leveraging social proof messaging across the activewear customer journey
By leveraging social proof messaging across the customer journey, you can create dynamic and relevant shopping experiences that help customers navigate a range of purchase decision factors that better enable them to buy. You can aid product discovery and improve the time to first click on the PLP, reduce bounce rates on the PDP and on the basket page, reduce basket abandonment and increase conversions.
In a market as crowded as activewear, ensuring your online customer experience stands out is essential to success. Is your online activewear offer fit for purpose?
Try our free conversion calculator to understand the impact it might have on your business, or get in touch to find out more.
