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. After an explosion in demand during the pandemic, clothing that crosses the boundaries of lounging to sports is now an everyday lifestyle look loved by teens to middle-agers alike in a market in which retailers and brands 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 cozy?
Activewear also suggests that we might be 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 not working at all – no one cares.
Athleisure Industry Trends: Strengthening sales
According to some estimates, the global athleisure market was projected to reach USD 393.7 billion in 2024, reaching USD 902.4 billion by 2033. North America continues to hold the largest share, at more than 40%.
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 activewear and athleisure a key growth category for retailers and brands. For example, the popular activewear brand Fabletics positions its collections as fashion-forward, high-performance activewear accessible to all. After more than a decade in existence, it has more than 2.4 million members within its VIP membership subscription sales program in the US and over 100 brand stores globally. Cosmopolitan has described its pants as “perfect for the gym, a party or a night out with the gals”.
Staying active in making the right purchase decisions
Whichever reason activewear shoppers are buying for, they still want to make the best 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, it can be challenging for retailers and brands to surface the information shoppers might need to persuade them to buy. And that can also lead to cart 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 in an increasingly saturated market. It can help highlight trending or in-demand items by showcasing how many items have been added to cart in a certain time window or by highlighting bestsellers.
Fabletics increased conversion rates by 3.19% when introducing social proof messaging to its website. Popularity and trending messaging prompt customers to buy.
By highlighting popular products, retailers and brands help shoppers make more confident purchase decisions – reducing cart abandonment and returns.
With enterprise social proof, you can incorporate everything from review messaging to fit advice, or low inventory feeds into your social proof messaging to help shoppers make better shopping decisions and buy more.
Key product information, such as the technical fabric details that the customer was looking for earlier, can be highlighted with attribute messaging, which helps highlight relevant 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. The company 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 cart page, reduce cart 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.
