Swimwear Consumer Portrait and Purchasing Preferences

Female consumers dominate the market, both younger and older age groups are active, and income differences affect purchase intentions.

The global swimwear market is dominated by female consumers, with the women's swimwear segment accounting for a whopping 53% of the market size by 2023. In terms of age, young consumers aged 18-24 years old mostly love outdoor activities and travelling, and the growth in the frequency of swimwear purchases is particularly prominent.Consumers aged 55 years old and above have also grown in the frequency of swimwear purchases.

In terms of income, the frequency of swimwear purchases rose by as much as 10% for the group earning less than $50,000 a year, while consumers earning more than $100,000 a year tended to be more conservative in their purchasing behaviour, with a rise in the proportion of purchases made less than once a year.

One-piece swimsuits and various bikini styles (such as triangle, spaghetti strap and halter) are the two most popular types of women's swimsuits worldwide. On overseas social media data, triangle bikinis are way ahead of other swimming costumes with a 42 per cent share of heat, and one-piece swimming costumes are second with 22.1 per cent.

Swimwear hot trend and differentiated development direction

The waist-cinching swimsuit/swim trunks can perfectly outline the body line, and its strappy design avoids the pain point of ill-fitting swimsuits. With its slimming and slimming features, and with the support of several TikTok pop-up videos, the sales have soared.

n 2024, the cover-up became a new favourite in the swimwear world, growing its social media popularity by 324.62%. Not only is the lookout shirt appropriate for poolside and the beach, but it's also becoming integrated into casual wear, with a particularly strong appeal in North America and Europe.

Simple and functional, one-piece one-piece swimsuits are preferred by many women who are conscious of their swimming experience, and are much loved by minimalists due to their lack of unnecessary embellishment and low friction.

Ruffles and neckline spaghetti straps design became the focus of swimwear fashion in 2024, with heat soaring by 448.24% and 52.87% respectively on social media. These kinds of design details satisfy consumers' demand for personalisation and fashion, and are also the key to product differentiation.

Crochet elements are commonly found in fashion accessories for seaside holidays, such as crochet beach bags and straw sun hats, and now they are also incorporated into swimwear designs. Crochet swimming costumes have attracted many women with their unique fashion sense. Despite the drawbacks of not being waterproof or flattering, their unique style and matchability are still loved by consumers.

With Muslim spending on fashion expected to reach £286bn in 2021, the market potential cannot be ignored, and conservative full-body swimwear (modest swimwear) could be a gold rush opportunity not to be missed.

In addition, maternity swimwear is a segment of the market with strong demand but the market is not satisfied. According to the survey, the global maternity swimwear market size is expected to grow from USD 1,883.0 million in 2022 to USD 2,990.2 million by 2029, at a CAGR of 6.8% between 2023 and 2029.

In recent years, consumers have come to expect a high degree of size diversity in swimwear, and demand for special sizes such as petite, plus-size and tall swimwear continues to grow. In the past, the swimwear market was often characterised by a ‘skinny’ look, but nowadays women's consumer attitudes are changing, with more emphasis on fit and comfort. Marks & Spencer, for example, has reduced its swimwear styles with the keyword ‘slim’ from 73 in 2020 to 13 in 2022, while ‘inclusive’ has become the keyword for swimwear.

In addition to fashionable styles, the comfort and safety of swimming costume fabrics are also elements that consumers are looking for.

In recent years, functional fabrics such as jacquard, glow-in-the-dark and reflective have become increasingly popular. Fluorescent swimwear has become a bright item on the beach and in the pool with its highly recognisable features. For parents, fluorescent swimming costumes help them quickly locate the position and depth of their children in the pool, which to some extent improves the safety of children in the water, and has become the first choice of parents when shopping for children's swimming costumes.

In addition to meeting diversified water sports in terms of function, swimwear has also been upgraded in terms of fabric performance, such as waterproofing and sterilisation. For example, for the special needs of women during physiological period, Swim Hi brand has launched a special swimming costume for menstruation. The fabric of this swimming costume not only has the function of absorbing liquid, preventing stains and odour, but also its quick-drying layer design ensures that the wearer stays fresh in the water, which is a great convenience for consumers who want to swim during their physiological period or face the problem of bladder leakage.