China's sunscreen clothing market is constantly expanding, and the market size has reached 61.1 billion yuan in 2021, and the China Research Institute of Puhua Industry Research Institute has pointed out that from 2021 to 2026, the market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.4%.
According to Mojing's social listening data, in 2023, the number of topics related to sunscreen clothing on mainstream social media will exceed 4.371 million, an increase of 104.5% year-on-year.
In 2023, the volume trend of topics related to sunscreen clothing on mainstream social media
Source: Moojing Social Listening
With the expansion of the market in recent years, sunscreen clothing has shifted from niche needs to well-known categories, and consumer expectations are also quietly changing. In addition to functionality, the demand is refined and fashionable, and the sunscreen clothing market has ushered in a new stage of development.
01The popularity of outdoor sports and sunscreen demand boosted the expansion of the sunscreen clothing market
There's a term in economics called the "one-degree effect", which means that a 1°C change in temperature can dramatically change the sales of goods. In recent years, the continuous high temperature in summer has added another firewood to the hot sunscreen clothing market.
As one of the main positions of sunscreen clothing sales, the sales scale of online channels has grown significantly, and Mojing Analysis + data shows that the market size of sunscreen clothing on major e-commerce platforms (Tmall, Jingdong) will be 4.84 billion yuan in 2023, up 33.5% year-on-year, with sales of nearly 35 million pieces.
2023 sales trends of sunscreen clothing on major e-commerce platforms (Tmall, JD.com).
Data source: Magic Mirror Analysis+
The "breaking circle" of sunscreen clothing is inseparable from the popularity of outdoor sports, and its birth can be traced back to the common skin clothing in outdoor brands. In spring and summer outdoor sports, sunscreen clothing is an indispensable item, which can not only block ultraviolet rays, prevent skin sunburn, but also reduce the interference of mosquitoes to a certain extent, so it is highly respected by outdoor enthusiasts.
According to the national fitness big data platform, by the end of 2022, the number of outdoor sports participants in the country has exceeded 450 million. With the expansion of outdoor sports and the daily routine of outdoor activities, the sunscreen market ushered in spring.
In addition, consumers' awareness and knowledge of sun protection have improved significantly compared with the past. When it became a consensus that ultraviolet rays would accelerate skin aging, sun protection evolved into a major need for people's daily skin care. Compared with chemical sunscreen products such as sunscreen, physical sunscreen products are easy to burden the skin, physical sunscreen products are convenient, easy to use, have no side effects, and have simple and direct effects.
The market size has exceeded 10 billion yuan, and sunscreen clothing has grown from a niche outdoor scene to more subdivided daily scenarios such as urban commuting and parent-child travel, and has grown into a popular and multi-scene normalized category.
02 The involution of the track intensified, and the differentiated style of play became the key to breaking the game
The blowout growth of the sunscreen clothing market has attracted many brands to come to the layout, and the market has shown a diversified competitive trend.
There are not only outdoor and sports brands such as Anta and Decathlon, casual clothing brands such as Uniqlo, but also Bananaxia, Oh! Sunny, and Bosideng, which focuses on the high-end down jacket market, has entered the game. From well-known brands at home and abroad, to various online celebrity brands and white-label products, players in the market are emerging in an endless stream. Under the fierce competition, the fabric technology of sunscreen clothing is constantly upgrading and improving, striving to achieve a balance between function and comfort.
Magic Mirror Analysis + data shows that in 2023, in the main e-commerce platforms (Tmall, Jingdong), Jiaoxia, Bananai, Camel, Oh! Brands such as Sunny are at the top. Although there has been no major change in the ranking compared with 2022, the market share has changed significantly and the reshuffle has accelerated. If a brand wants to emerge in the involution environment, it needs to open the gap with the competition through insight into market demand and form a unique brand advantage.
In the current stage of the market, 75% of the products are concentrated in the low price band below 200 yuan, and win the market through the cost performance of the volume. Among the top 10 brands in terms of sales, the average price of most brand products is below 300 yuan, and only Bosideng focuses on the mid-to-high-end market, with an average price of more than 450 yuan, and the sales growth rate is the most eye-catching in the past year.
After entering the sunscreen clothing market, Bosideng continued its consistent mid-to-high-end route and occupied a considerable dominant position in this field. According to Mojing Analysis+ data, in 2023, Bosideng's products will rank first in the sunscreen clothing market of more than 400 yuan on major e-commerce platforms (Tmall and JD.com), and their market size and product sales will rank first in the brand list, with a rapid growth rate of 219% year-on-year.
Moojing e-commerce listens to the main factors that drive consumers to buy sunscreen clothing based on the consideration of category and efficacy, and at the same time, the fashionable design of Bosideng's sunscreen clothing has also been widely praised by consumers.
2023 Tmall Platform Bosideng Sunscreen Clothing User Reviews - Aspects/Views
Data source: Mojing e-commerce listening
Relying on the brand's brand influence and professional strength accumulated in the field of down jackets, Bosideng has successfully occupied a place in the red sea market of sunscreen clothing, responding to consumers' expectations for efficacy and aesthetic pursuit with professional product selection and fashionable design, and injecting innovative vitality into the homogeneous market.
03Pay equal attention to function and aesthetics, and enter the era of sunscreen category 2.0
In the minds of most consumers, Bosideng is a brand that "lives" in winter, and the brand mentality of "high-end down jackets" has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. In the face of seasonal restrictions and solidified labels, brands use sun-protective clothing as an entry point to make breakthroughs and make up for the lack of seasonal income.
As early as 2020, Bosideng took the sunscreen business as an important strategic supplement to the brand, and while adhering to the strategic positioning of "focusing on the main channel and focusing on the main brand", it avoided the risk of business simplification and leveraged a broader market increment space. With the intensification of involution on the track, Bosideng will launch more fashionable professional sunscreen clothing in 2024, breaking through the cookie-cutter form of traditional sunscreen clothing and leading a new trend in the market.
For a long time, sun-protective clothing was mainly regarded as a special equipment for outdoor sports, and after years of market development and popularization, it has evolved into a daily clothing that coexists with fashion and function, and consumers expect them to provide more value in terms of aesthetic and social attributes.
According to Mojing's social listening data, women account for about 70% of sunscreen clothing-related topics, and as a core consumer group, they have higher requirements for the appearance of products, but products with both a sense of technology and appearance are rare on the market.
Bosideng Sunshine 3.0 series
In the face of current consumer demand, Bosideng launched the Sunny 3.0 series. In terms of functional parameters, the series has achieved UPF 100+ with cool black technology, based on the yarn's own sunscreen factor, sunscreen from the source, and the cooling feeling is 66% higher than the national standard;
Bosideng Urban Light Outdoor Series
In addition, in response to the popular trend of light outdoor living, Bosideng has launched a new "Urban Light Outdoor" series, which offers a variety of style options, such as knitted models that are comfortable and not tight and suitable for sports wear, and woven models that are light and cool, highlighting outdoor style while bringing breathability and coolness.
Through the insight into consumer demand and the capture of market trends, Bosideng deconstructed the single form of traditional sunscreen clothing, combined professional sunscreen functions with fashionable design, and opened the 2.0 era of sunscreen categories.
04 Summary
With the continuous improvement of consumers' awareness of sunscreen clothing and the continuous growth of market demand, this track is entering a new stage of development. In the future, functional clothing will not only need to meet the basic needs of consumers in different seasons and scenes, but also need to carry the expression demands of consumers' style and aesthetics.
After the rapid development of the sunscreen clothing track, how to respond to consumer needs and form differentiated advantages through insight into market trends will become a compulsory course for every brand.