The global activewear market was worth roughly USD 406.83 billion in 2024 and is on track to reach USD 677.26 billion by 2030, a 9% annual clip, according to Grand View Research. The category that used to mean gym clothes is now everyday clothes. Below are 48 verified, sourced statistics on market size, brands, channels, materials and resale, each tied back to the firm or report it came from.
Key activewear statistics (the editor's cut)
- The global activewear market was estimated at USD 406.83 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 677.26 billion by 2030 at a 9% CAGR. (Grand View Research)
- Sportswear sales rose 9% in 2025, outpacing a muted broader apparel market, driven by casualization and a focus on health. (McKinsey, The State of Fashion 2026)
- Women made up the largest slice of activewear, USD 210.87 billion in revenue in 2024, and the fastest-growing end-use segment. (Grand View Research)
- 44% of consumers now wear activewear for daily non-exercise activities. (Market.us)
- 92% of Gen Z wear athleisure sets multiple times a month, not just at the gym. (GearBunch)
- In U.S. monthly athleisure spending, Nike holds 31.6% and Lululemon 21.2%, with Vuori at 2.9% and Alo Yoga at 1.3%. (Retail Dive)
- Lululemon generated about USD 11.1 billion in net revenue in its 2025 fiscal year. (Statista)
- Over 65% of consumers globally now treat sustainability as a key factor in apparel purchases. (Fortune Business Insights)
- The top three apparel brands for resale sell-through are all athletics or outdoors labels: Lululemon, Patagonia and Vuori. (ThredUp)
Market size and growth
The global activewear market was estimated at USD 406.83 billion in 2024. Grand View Research projects it will hit USD 677.26 billion by 2030, growing at a 9% CAGR. (Grand View Research)
Estimates differ by firm and definition. Global Market Insights pegs the activewear market at USD 458.7 billion in 2026, growing 7.1% a year through 2035. (Global Market Insights)
Fortune Business Insights uses a tighter definition. Its activewear figure is USD 373.07 billion in 2026, with an 8.57% CAGR to 2034. (Fortune Business Insights)
The "athleisure" cut runs even larger. Fortune Business Insights values the athleisure market at USD 423.55 billion in 2025, growing to USD 935.19 billion by 2034 at a 9.2% CAGR. Precedence Research is more bullish still, pegging athleisure at USD 472.71 billion in 2025 and forecasting roughly USD 1.16 trillion by 2035 at a 9.37% CAGR. (Fortune Business Insights, Precedence Research)
The spread is wide because "activewear," "athleisure" and "sportswear" are defined differently from firm to firm. The throughline is the same: high single-digit to low double-digit annual growth, and a market measured in the hundreds of billions.
How the market splits by region
North America led athleisure with a 32% share in 2025. Precedence Research credits a mature fitness culture and high disposable income. (Precedence Research)
The U.S. athleisure market alone was about USD 106.51 billion in 2025. Precedence Research expects it to reach roughly USD 165.67 billion by 2035 at a 9.57% CAGR. (Precedence Research)
U.S. activewear is forecast to hit USD 198.58 billion by 2030. Grand View Research models a 7.6% CAGR from 2025. (Grand View Research)
Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing region. It held 23.9% of the global activewear market in 2024 and is forecast to grow 10.9% a year through 2030. (Grand View Research)
China is growing fastest among major markets. Its activewear market is projected to reach USD 52.60 billion by 2030 at a 10% CAGR. (Grand View Research)
Women's vs men's
Women are the bigger and faster-growing buyer. Women accounted for USD 210.87 billion of activewear revenue in 2024, the largest end-use segment. (Grand View Research)
Women held about 40.5% of athleisure revenue in 2025. That is the leading share by end user, per Precedence Research, and Allied Market Research sizes the women's activewear market alone at roughly USD 216.87 billion by 2025. (Precedence Research, Allied Market Research)
Men's is the faster grower from a smaller base. Grand View Research models the men's activewear segment expanding at a 9.6% CAGR from 2026 to 2033. (Grand View Research)
The brand landscape
Nike still dwarfs the field. It booked USD 51.2 billion in sales in 2023, against Lululemon's USD 9.6 billion that year. (Market.us)
Lululemon has kept climbing. It generated about USD 11.1 billion in net revenue in its 2025 fiscal year, which ended in February 2026. (Statista)
The spending split shows the incumbents still on top. In U.S. monthly athleisure spending, Nike holds 31.6% and Lululemon 21.2%, followed by Athleta and Fabletics at 4.4% each, Vuori at 2.9% and Alo Yoga at 1.3%. (Retail Dive)
Challengers are taking share, slowly. Over the trailing 12 months, Alo Yoga and Vuori each picked up about a point of market share while Under Armour gave some back. Both turn up on most current best activewear brands shortlists alongside the incumbents. (Retail Dive)
Vuori's valuation tells the investor story. It raised USD 825 million in November 2024, led by General Atlantic and Stripes, at a USD 5.5 billion valuation. (Retail TouchPoints)
Alo Yoga crossed the billion mark. It passed USD 1 billion in annual revenue and was reportedly valued around USD 4 billion after a 2023 round. (Retail TouchPoints)
Gymshark keeps compounding. The British brand posted GBP 646 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending July 2025, its thirteenth straight year of growth. (Companies History)
Brand preference is concentrated. Roughly 50% of consumers name Lululemon a preferred brand, with Nike and Under Armour each at 46%. (Market.us)
Channel and direct-to-consumer
Most activewear still sells offline. As of 2023, offline channels accounted for 85.2% of athleisure sales versus 14.8% online. (Market.us)
The big brands are pushing direct hard. Nike's direct-to-consumer business made up 42% of its total sales in its latest fiscal year. (Statista)
Some have gone almost fully direct. Chinese sportswear brand Anta's direct-to-consumer sales reached 92% of the total after an aggressive push. (Statista)
Direct-to-consumer is now the apparel norm. 77% of apparel and accessory companies operate through direct-to-consumer channels. (inBeat Agency)
The DTC pie is still growing fast. U.S. direct-to-consumer e-commerce is set to reach USD 212.9 billion in 2026, up 16.6% from 2024. (inBeat Agency)
Younger, female buyers drive it. Millennials and Gen Z make up more than 60% of direct-to-consumer purchases, and women are about 61% of buyers. (inBeat Agency)
Why athleisure went everyday
Sportswear is the bright spot in a flat market. McKinsey reports sportswear sales up 9% in 2025 while the wider apparel market stayed muted, driven by casualization and a focus on health and wellbeing. (McKinsey, The State of Fashion 2026)
The pace is expected to cool, not stop. McKinsey projects sportswear growth easing to around 6% by 2029, down from roughly 7% across 2021 to 2024. (McKinsey, The State of Fashion 2026)
Activewear has left the gym. 44% of consumers now wear it for daily non-exercise activities. (Market.us)
It is replacing denim for many. 37% of consumers say they prefer athletic pants over jeans. (Market.us)
Weekly wear skews younger, but spreads across ages. 39% of Millennials wear athleisure weekly, followed by Gen X at 33%, Gen Z at 22% and Baby Boomers at 6%. (Market.us)
For Gen Z it is a baseline, not a trend. 92% wear athleisure sets multiple times a month; among them, 63% wear it for errands, 59% to relax at home, 43% as a go-to outfit and 24% as the only thing they wear to class. (GearBunch)
Comfort is the whole pitch. 87% of Gen Z say "comfortable" is why athleisure is popular, and millennials plus Gen Z drive about 65% of activewear market growth. (GearBunch)
Comfort beats price in surveys, too. In one sportswear survey, 99% of respondents called comfort crucial, ahead of price at 92% and material quality at 88%. (Market.us)
Product categories
Leggings are a market in their own right. The global leggings market was about USD 42.5 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach USD 87.5 billion by 2036 at a 6.8% CAGR. (Transparency Market Research)
Yoga clothing keeps stretching. That market was roughly USD 32.3 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach about USD 80.0 billion by 2033 at a 9.5% CAGR. (Market.us)
Footwear is the single biggest activewear segment. It accounts for about 36% of the activewear market. (Business Research Insights)
Sneaker share is concentrated at the top. Nike holds roughly 18% of the global sneaker market and Adidas about 9%. (Grand View Research)
Low-tops dominate the silhouette mix. Low-top sneakers led with 76.9% of global sneaker revenue in 2025. (Grand View Research)
Athletic footwear is a giant on its own. The global athletic footwear market is projected to reach USD 212.08 billion by 2035. (Precedence Research)
Sustainability and materials
Sustainable activewear is a fast-growing niche. The market reached about USD 14.8 billion in 2024 and is forecast to hit USD 29.4 billion by 2033 at an 8.2% CAGR. (DataIntelo)
Sustainability now shapes the buying decision. Over 65% of consumers globally consider it a key factor when buying apparel. (Fortune Business Insights)
Recycled fabric leads the sustainable mix. Recycled materials are expected to hold about 53.25% of the sustainable fashion segment in 2025, with recycled polyester the workhorse for moisture-wicking activewear. (Fortune Business Insights)
North America leads sustainable sportswear. It held the largest share at 33.8% in 2024. (Data Bridge Market Research)
The resale boom
Secondhand clothing is outrunning retail. The U.S. secondhand apparel market grew 14% in 2024, its strongest year since 2021 and roughly five times the pace of the broader clothing market. (ThredUp)
It is heading toward USD 74 billion. ThredUp expects the U.S. secondhand apparel market to reach that figure by 2029. (ThredUp)
Globally it is even bigger. The worldwide secondhand apparel market is forecast to reach USD 367 billion by 2029 at a 10% CAGR. (ThredUp)
Online resale is the engine. It grew 23% in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 40 billion by 2029 at a 13% CAGR. (ThredUp)
Activewear holds its value best. The top three apparel brands for resale sell-through are all athletics or outdoors labels: Lululemon, Patagonia and Vuori. (ThredUp)
How shoppers are choosing activewear brands
With hundreds of brands now competing on comfort, fit and price, most buyers start from a shortlist rather than the full field. The same comfort-first logic that drives 87% of Gen Z toward athleisure also explains why a handful of labels keep showing up in everyone's rotation. If you are putting together your own shortlist, the standouts across performance leggings, training gear and everyday sets are covered in the best activewear brands, which breaks the field down by activity and budget.
The line between activewear and everyday wear has also blurred, which is exactly why 44% of people now wear activewear outside the gym. For the at-home, off-duty end of that wardrobe, where comfort beats performance, the best loungewear brands is the companion shortlist. And because activewear holds its resale value better than almost any other category, buying a well-reviewed brand from either of those guides tends to pay off twice: once when you wear it, and again if you resell it.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the global activewear market in 2026?
Estimates range from roughly USD 373 billion to over USD 458 billion depending on the firm and how "activewear" is defined. Grand View Research valued it at USD 406.83 billion in 2024 and projects USD 677.26 billion by 2030 at a 9% CAGR. (Grand View Research)
What is the difference between activewear and athleisure?
Activewear is clothing built for physical activity, while athleisure is athletic-style clothing worn for everyday, non-exercise occasions. The lines blur in the data, which is why market-size figures vary, but 44% of consumers now wear activewear for daily non-exercise activities. (Market.us)
Which activewear brand is the largest?
By revenue, Nike leads by a wide margin with USD 51.2 billion in 2023 sales, followed by Lululemon at about USD 11.1 billion in its 2025 fiscal year. In U.S. monthly athleisure spending, Nike holds 31.6% and Lululemon 21.2%. (Statista)
Is the women's or men's activewear market bigger?
Women's is larger and growing fast: women drove USD 210.87 billion of activewear revenue in 2024 and about 40.5% of athleisure revenue in 2025. Men's is smaller but expanding quickly, at a projected 9.6% CAGR from 2026 to 2033. (Grand View Research)
How fast is athleisure growing?
Most forecasts put athleisure growth in the high single digits to low double digits annually. McKinsey reported sportswear sales up 9% in 2025, with growth expected to ease to around 6% by 2029. (McKinsey, The State of Fashion 2026)
Does activewear sell well secondhand?
Yes, better than most categories. The three apparel brands with the strongest resale sell-through, Lululemon, Patagonia and Vuori, are all athletics or outdoors labels, and U.S. secondhand apparel grew 14% in 2024. (ThredUp)
Do consumers care about sustainable activewear?
Increasingly. Over 65% of consumers globally now treat sustainability as a key factor in apparel purchases, and the sustainable activewear market is forecast to reach USD 29.4 billion by 2033. (Fortune Business Insights)