Body-positive campaigns ring up positive sales for women’s swimwear

While brands have expanded the size range for their swimsuit lines to reach broader audiences, shoppers have gravitated more towards purchasing their swimsuits online. In fact, online sales for women’s swimwear were up by 25 percent in 2016, relative to 2015. With such a significant growth in the online market, this could be tied to brands investing in more inclusive campaigns, and thus, reaching more shoppers.

In the last two years, brands like Target and American Eagle, among others, have promoted body-positive campaigns that are inclusive of all shapes and sizes, and the trend only continues to grow. Most recently, we saw Target launch its supportive stretch marks campaign. For American Eagle, it was its #AerieReal campaign in January 2016. These are a few examples of factors that may have led to the recent overall surge in online women’s swimwear sales.

Victoria’s Secret, which previously held one of the largest shares of the online women’s swimwear market and was not among the brands investing in a broader size range, announced in May 2016 that they were discontinuing their swim line. So where are women buying their swimsuits online now? The answer: Amazon and Target.

Shortly after the Victoria’s Secret announcement, Amazon saw an uptick of 63 percent in online women’s swimsuit sales. While Victoria’s Secret continued to see sales through the New Year, there was a massive lag behind what Amazon was gaining in the women’s online swimwear market.

Although the bikini continues to be the staple item for women’s online swimwear, you can pretty much find one-piece swimsuits anywhere. From celebrities to fashion bloggers, everyone seems to have at least one version of this style. This trend has only strengthened in popularity, with a growth of 50 percent in 2016 and the two-piece swimsuit's share of the market gradually declining.

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