Maternity Wear – Growing Acceptance of Fashion During Pregnancy

Maternity wear refers to all those clothes that are specially designed with comfortable fabric and cloth that make a woman feel comfortable during their pregnancy phase. These dresses offer comfort and a sense of fashion for pregnant women.

The market is poised to witness a nominal growth over the course of the next five years primarily on account of rising awareness about the maternity fashion, supported by increasing disposable income and rapid urbanization, especially in developing economies with high birth rates is contributing to this dominant demand for these product segments over the forecast period. The increasing number of fashion-conscious ladies in both developed and developing regions around the globe also plays a significant role in shaping up the global maternity wear market growth over the course of the next five years. The increasing working population also provides an impetus for the market to grow as working women further need proper formal wear while working in offices, thus, the availability of a wide variety of formal maternity clothing has also led to an upsurge in the adoption, hence, positively impacting the market growth.  

The growing acceptance of pregnancy photoshoots has also augmented the adoption of designer maternity wear, in both developed and developing economies around the globe. The graph below represents the global maternity wear market size that shows the market reached US$18.899 billion by 2025 from US$13.767 billion in the year 2019. However, the lack of awareness coupled with the low purchasing power in some parts of the world is expected to hamper the market growth to some extent during the next five years.

Global Maternity Wear Market, Forecasts From 2019-2025, in US$ Billion

Source: Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence Estimates

Internet Penetration Is Driving the Market Growth

One of the major factors that is projected to augment the market growth significantly is the constantly growing penetration of the internet as well as the growing adoption of smartphones, especially across the developed economies. The growing number of people across social media platforms such as Instagram, facebook, and snapchat among others have made people aware of the constantly evolving global fashion trend. This, coupled with the increasing disposable income, rapid urbanization, and increasing middle-class population has also led to a shift in the preferences of females regarding the acceptance of maternity wear. According to the statistics from the World Bank Group, the individuals using the internet (% of the population) reached 49.725 by the year 2017 from 20.41% in the year 2007.

Individuals Using the Internet (% of Population), 2007-2017, World

Source: International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers

Furthermore, a rise in the number of online start-ups over the past years further shows the potential for the global maternity wear market to grow over the next five years. Also, the expansion of distribution channels by existing market players to online platforms is also a major factor bolstering the market growth throughout the forecast period. This can be backed up by several examples such as in June 2019, AKS, one of the leading Indian ethnic brands announced the launch of a new product range of nursing and maternity wear collection, especially for its e-commerce store. Similarly, the integration of several big clothing retailers on online platforms is also augmenting the market growth in the coming years. For instance, H&M a leading fashion retail chain, announced its online store in India, with an aim to tap a greater market share in the country.

Segment Overview:

By product type, the global maternity wear market has been segmented on the basis of dresses, bottom wear, lingerie, and others. The dresses segment is expected to hold a decent share in the market throughout the forecast period. The major factors supplementing the share of this segment include the comparatively high prices of dresses than other types of clothing. Furthermore, the presence of a wide variety of products being offered by the companies further provides an impetus to this segment to grow in the next five years. The growing working women population is also a major factor supplementing the demand for maternity dresses in the next five years, thereby positively impacting the growth of this segment. The lingerie segment is expected to witness a healthy growth during the next five years on account of the growing acceptance of maternity lingerie as women are increasingly taking efforts to take necessary care of them as during pregnancy their body goes through several changes, thus an increase in the demand for maternity lingerie is expected in the coming years.

By the distribution channel, the online segment is expected to witness a rapid growth over the course of the next five years. The rapid penetration of the internet and smartphones has led to an upsurge in the adoption of online platforms for the purchase of maternity wear. Also, the movement of various retailers towards the expansion of online distribution channels has further positively impacted the growth of this segment in the coming year. However, the offline segment is projected to hold a substantial share in the market on account of the reluctance of a larger share of the population towards online shopping.

Geographically, the Asia Pacific region is expected to show propelling business opportunities for the market players over the next five years. Rapid urbanization coupled with the increasing working-class women population in countries like India and China among others are some of the factors that have led to an upsurge in the demand for maternity wear across these countries. Furthermore, the rapid internet penetration along with the growth of the e-commerce sector further bolsters the market growth in the APAC region during the next five years. The North American region is projected to hold a noteworthy share in the market throughout the forecast period on account of the higher purchasing power of the people in countries like the United States and Canada. However, multiple restrictions are restraining the market growth, with the most major one being the declining birthrate. According to the provisional birthrate report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the total fertility rate in the country declined by 2% from the previous year to reach 1,728.0 births per 1,000 women in 2018, which was a record low for the country.