Shapewear Industry Statistics

Shapewear has quietly graduated from stealthy corrective underwear to mainstream confidence armor, with millennials the biggest buyers, 70% of women owning at least one piece and 47% wearing it mainly to boost confidence, while men's searches rose 52% as compression undershirts and the fast growing niches of girdles and belly busters gain traction and one in five UK men have considered buying, Gen Z is normalizing shapewear as outerwear on social media with celebrity influence affecting 22% of their intimates purchases, younger shoppers drove a 125% surge in bodysuit interest and a move toward seamless, breathable and moisture wicking fabrics that 60% will pay a premium for, Asian consumers favor shaping briefs, women aged 34 to 45 are the top purchasers of high compression garments and 35% of brides wear shapewear, older buyers mainly seek back support and medical benefits, and post pandemic demand has risen 30% for soft shaping.

Shapewear is being reshaped into an online-first business—growing at an 8.8% CAGR to 2028 with 80% of shoppers starting their search online and mobile driving over 60% of traffic—but the market is tugging between impulse-driven social commerce and influencer-fueled buys on TikTok and Instagram, price pressure from Amazon and cross-border sellers that can undercut by 40 percent, DTC stars like Skims and expanded assortments at ASOS and Revolve, and the enduring pull of specialty and department store fitting rooms for luxury and older buyers, all while a roughly 25% return rate is fast-tracking virtual sizing and AI and subscriptions, flash sales and live-stream shopping keep rewriting who wins.

The shapewear market feels simultaneously squeezed and sprawling, with billion dollar celebrity brands like Skims and entrenched incumbents controlling roughly 45 percent while a crowded array of niche, regional, luxury, medical and influencer-driven players battle for the remaining scraps.

The shapewear market is literally shaping up from $1.9 billion in 2020 to an anticipated $3.7 billion by 2028 at an 8% CAGR, with North America still the largest market as Asia Pacific grows fastest, China and the U.S. offering similar scale, Europe leaning on fabric innovation, and booming niches from postpartum and seamless to plus size and corrective wear driving the sector toward a combined compression and shapewear value near $6.95 billion by 2030, which shows body-confidence apparel is moving from niche indulgence to sustained mainstream global demand.

Think of the shapewear industry as equal parts high performance and fashion: nylon and black and nude dominate inventory while control panties and medium compression pieces lead sales, seamless knitting, bonded panels and laser cut edges reduce waste and visibility, Lycra, Spandex and Coolmax supply the elasticity and cooling consumers want, influencers propel waist cinchers and bodysuits that now moonlight as outerwear, open bust, thong and maternity styles expand practical appeal, anti cellulite infusions and biodegradable synthetics test sustainability and beauty niches, polyester and high waisted briefs drive Asia Pacific exports, and cotton blends and arm shapers quietly serve sensitive and targeted customers.