In any country, there are key economic indicators which can show the trend for the national economy. In the United States, this includes the number of housing starts. In other countries, this could be the sale of a specific consumer item, like computers or beer. In India, there is a basket of goods which comprise the consumer price index, any of the items on the list can be considered as a key economic indicator. The way things are going, one of these days, lingerie can become one of those items, even if informally.
Economic Sector Indicator
Although it is not far-fetched, the sale of lingerie per se may not be a good indicator for the economy as a whole. Rather, the sale of lingerie by secret store businesses can be an indicator for growth within some sectors of the economy. Specifically, the sectors this represents include the young adults, in their early twenties, to the early thirties, who are upwardly mobile, and employed in the corporate sector. In addition, this same segment of the market can be used as an indicator for the buying power of women in the middle- to upper class market. These are the segments which are creating waves when they do online lingerie shopping in India.
These segments of the market have shown to be have a rapid growth in disposable income, which translates to buying power as well as savings. The growth of the corporate sector in the past 10 to 15 years has made an enormous impact on lifting this segment of the population, and in the economy as a whole.
Leading the Economy
There is a boom in the lingerie market. Whereas the traditional low-end of the market was mainly home-made or poorly made, this was also the portion of the market which sold the most. However, the biggest growth in recent years is in the premium and super-premium market.
Growth and Trends
Online stores, as well as foreign brands have taken a foothold and helped push the market to new heights. From 2009 to 2014, the total lingerie market had a compounded annual growth rate of 18.3%. The women’s lingerie market comprises 52% of the volume but 66% of the value of sales. The higher average selling price accounts for the difference. The growth rate in the past five years has fueled speculation that the women’s lingerie market can become the next fashion trend.
What fuels the growth is the growing purchasing power of women, as well as the formerly mid-market young adults. In any growing economy, it is expected that affluence would push the selling power of the lower income classes to upgrade from the mass-market and economy product lines to the mid-market. In the same manner, the traditional mid-market is also expected to upgrade to the premium and super-premium. In the case of the Indian lingerie industry, the percentage of the mass-market and economy segments has maintained their market shares, while the premium and super-premium market have grown a lot.
Thinking About the Future
There is no doubt that with the continuing growth of the economy, it would also continue to feed the growth in the lingerie industry. With that in mind, there seems to be no end in sight for the upscale lingerie manufacturers, as well as the rest of the branded major players. The online stores have also made plans to take advantage of the expected growth and are signing up more foreign high-end labels. As a fashion statement, there is a lot of growth which can still be expected from the Indian lingerie.