The rise is attributable to a number of factors, notably: a growing awareness among consumers of the benefits of indoor exercise for health and wellbeing; an increase in participation, particularly among women, in a number of indoor sports and fitness activities; a rise in the number of indoor sports facilities; and huge improvements in the functionality and comfort of garments designed for indoor exercise.

Also, recent developments in wearable devices are providing participants of indoor sports with greater levels of reward. These devices are capable of gathering a person’s performance data and enable the person to track improvements in their performance -- which, in turn, increases their motivation.

Suppliers of indoor sportswear and fitness apparel are attempting to cater to the needs of this market by creating products which whet the appetites of style conscious fitness enthusiasts, thereby encouraging greater spending on indoor sports and fitness activities.

A prime example is yoga wear, a market segment in which participation has increased markedly in recent years and which has been very successfully targeted by the Canada-based company Lululemon.

In the early 2000s, Lululemon enjoyed a virtual monopoly in the US yoga wear market and between 2000 and 2012 sales grew massively. This has lured major indoor sportswear players -- including Nike and Adidas -- into a market once considered to be too small a niche to justify entering it.

Future development efforts in the field of indoor sportswear and fitness apparel are likely to be focused on making physical exercise even more effective, rewarding and enjoyable by further enhancing the functionality and comfort of garments.

Such achievements have the potential to drive up participation in indoor sports and fitness activities and thereby fuel demand for indoor sportswear. Prospects for this growing market therefore remain bright.