Top challenges for lingerie stores in 2024
If you run a lingerie store you’re probably wondering what the top challenges are for your industry in 2024.
With inflation rising, behaviours changing and trends emerging, there’s certainly a lot you need to know, so let’s talk about the top challenges for lingerie stores in 2024.
#1 Inflation
There’s no skirting around the fact that inflation is going to be a primary factor for most lingerie stores in 2024. Janet Mui, head of market analysis at RBC Brewin Dolphin, says, “inflation will remain well above 3% for the whole of 2024, and our current forecast is that it will not return to target [2%] until mid-2025”.
So what does that mean for lingerie stores? Well, for most, it means they have to extend the burden of inflation onto their customers by raising their prices. This is because the cost of fibres and logistics that are used to make and deliver the underwear continues to rise. To cover the cost of the increase in prices charged by their suppliers, they have no other choice but to raise their prices if they want to remain in business.
How can lingerie stores overcome this challenge?
You can’t stop inflation, but you can figure out how to make the situation work.
Lingerie is a luxury item which means it’s not a necessity. Yes, underwear is a necessity, but if you wanted a basic bra, you could head down to a basic store and pick up one. People go to lingerie shops because they want something special.
The great thing about luxury marketing is that it’s primarily emotion-based. This means people buy based on how they feel rather than listening to the logical side of their brain e.g. “That is way too much to pay for a bra.”
As your store and the sales associates in it are your greatest marketing asset, you can train them to make every customer feel incredible when they walk through your door.
Giving them the skills and expertise they need to make your customers say “wow” every time they leave your store; means you can take price out of the equation.
You should be providing a level of expertise that is so exceptional your customers no longer worry about the price and instead worry about whether you’ve got their size in stock.
#2 Sustainability
Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about sustainability and are exceptionally picky about who they buy their products from. With 70% of emissions resulting from manufacturing, it makes sense that lingerie brands need to use sustainable materials that are recyclable, regenerative, and responsibly sourced.
For example, Boux Avenue is a member of Better Cotton, an initiative that helps them increase their sourcing of more responsibly sourced cotton.
Obviously, the first step is to make sure that you’re trying to improve your materials and processes, but the second step is to make your customers aware of your efforts.
How can lingerie stores make customers aware of their sustainability efforts?
It’s no good making an announcement on a page tucked away on your website because, let’s be honest, not many customers look there.
Your sales associates interact with people every day, so if you’re not getting them to mention it, then you’re missing a trick.
Whenever a customer walks into your store, a focal point must be centred around your sustainability efforts. You need to make it blatantly clear that you are becoming a sustainable lingerie brand and don’t leave it up to your customers to find out for themselves.
You need to train your lingerie staff on what sustainable materials you’re using for your underwear garments and ensure they’re relaying this to your customers naturally. Otherwise, your customers are never going to know.
An easy way to do this is to use a digital observation platform. This is a platform that the top lingerie brands use to map employee behaviour to their ideal customer journey. Simply add questions such as “Did the employee talk about our sustainable material?” and the observer can swipe, type or tap the answer.
#3 Changing desires
Lingerie is no longer an item worn under clothes; it's increasingly in demand to wear as outerwear too. CEO and Founder of Nudea, Priya Downes, spoke about which lingerie trends will dominate 2024 and one major trend was wearing lingerie as outerwear.
She says that
“For 2024, we’ll be seeing bras, bralettes and bodies as tops under blazers and shirts unbuttoned to the waist.”
Now, this in itself isn’t a challenge, but what does pose a challenge for lingerie store owners is training their sales associates not just on their lingerie products but also on fashion.
Their staff have now got to have a keen eye for fashion as well as lingerie. They need to be able to know which underwear pieces work well with which items of clothes and varying different colours. They’ve got to be clued up on the latest statement pieces and know how to pair them with your bras, bralettes, and bodies.
This is a new load of information for your team to learn, and if you haven’t got the best sales training systems in place, it will be hard to keep up.
How lingerie brands can overcome the challenge
Provide a sales training app that makes it easy for your sales associates to fit their learning around their busy routine and that also allows them to learn whilst in the flow of work.
Ocasta Engage is a sales training app specifically designed for B2C employees, and it includes microlearning courses that your employees can jump in and out of when they have 5 minutes spare. Along with a handy searchable knowledgebase that they can use in the flow of work whenever they feel unsure about something.
For example, if a customer comes in and asks what goes best with your statement bralette, your sales associates can search “what goes best with blue statement bralette” and an article explaining the different options will display. Think of it like Google, but for your business. All the content is customisable, so you can create as many knowledge articles as you like.
#4 Shopping anxiety
A recent UK study found that 37% of consumers 35 years old and above feel overwhelmed by the volume of trends sweeping the fashion pages and social media feeds. The added factor of the number of people working from home has added to the anxiety people feel when they do venture out for a trip to the shops.
They aren’t up to date on the latest trends because they barely leave their house in the week, and the posts on social media constantly make them feel like they aren’t living up to expectations. Because of this, it leaves them feeling highly anxious when they visit their favourite stores on the high street.
If someone walks into your lingerie store, are they faced with rows and rows of different underwear options with drawers of different sizing variations and a huge number of matching alternatives? This can leave your shoppers in complete despair about what they should purchase, leaving them feeling overwhelmed and more likely to leave empty-handed.
What can lingerie brands do to overcome shopping anxiety?
The key is to make your customers feel welcomed and looked after as soon as they enter your store. Don’t leave them to wander the space looking like a deer in headlights. Instead, get your sales associates to welcome them at the door, ask them what they’re looking for, or even better, get them to show them what items are most popular to help guide their purchase.
Give your employees a digital employee handbook so they have everything they need to present information to your customers. You can include a customer journey here, which can jump to the steps they need to follow depending on the situation.
#5 A desire for comfort
In a post-pandemic world, casualisation is set to continue as a major trend, so sports bras and wireless options will be the most popular items flying off the shelves this year.
Whilst this isn’t an issue if that’s all you stock, it can be an issue if you’re selling a whole other variety of lingerie too.
Customers might take one step into your store and think, ‘this all looks too uncomfortable; best look elsewhere.’ Remember, they don’t know what you don’t tell them.
How can lingerie stores overcome this challenge in 2024?
To overcome this challenge in 2024, you’ve got to get clear on the comfort benefits all of your products offer. Think about the materials, the structure, and your expert fittings. Now, of course, you’d want to display these benefits on posters in your shop window and around the store, but you’d always want your sales associates to be experts in the area of comfort too.
We’d recommend running a campaign internally around ‘comfort’ this would include everything from:
Internal comms articles to educate your staff and guide them to your latest training.
Microlearning courses to embed the knowledge.
Knowledgebase content to ensure your staff have got the information they need at the ready if your customers have any further questions. Plus, information on how to overcome common sales objections surrounding discomfort.
Need support overcoming sales challenges in your lingerie store this year?
If you’re interested in using a sales training app that puts your lingerie employees at the forefront, supporting them to overcome difficult challenges in the year ahead. Try Ocasta Engage. It’s a sales training app designed for B2C sales staff, giving them everything they need to sell efficiently every single day.
Try it for free for 60 days to see how it transforms your customer experience and increases sales in your lingerie store.
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