Global Decorated Apparel Overview

• In 2018, the global market size for decorated apparel was valued at $26.75 billion; it is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10.91% to reach $47.3 billion in 2024.

• The embroidery segment currently accounts for 44% of the total decorated apparel industry, followed by screen printing at 33.32%.
• Further, the heat transfer and digital printing accounted for a market share of 6% to 7% each. It is followed by dye sublimation, DTG printing, and others, together accounting for nearly 7.33% of market share in 2018.
• The global market for digital printing on textiles stood at $1.54 billion in 2017 and is projected to reach $2.43 billion in 2020, registering a CAGR of 16.3% during the forecast period (2018-2028).

Market Size of Heat Transfer Printing in Decorated Apparel Industry

• According to reports by Value Market Research, Grand View Research, Statista, and Future Market Insights, it is noted that the heat transfer printing segment has been found to account for a market share of 6% to 7% from 2014 to 2020.
• The global heat transfer film market is expected to reach $3.26 billion in 2028, registering a CAGR of 5.7% from the 2017 market value of $1.79 billion.
• The Textile industry accounted for nearly 95% or $1.70 billion of the total global heat transfer film market in 2017.
• The textile printing market for heat transfer technique is projected to reach $2.01 billion in 2020, registering a CAGR of 5.7%.

• According to a recent survey by The Advertising Specialty Institute, heat transfer printing was among the top five techniques offered by about 69% of surveyed apparel decorators.

Breakdown of Decorated Apparel Market share by Technique

• The global market size for decorated apparel in 2018 was $26.75 billion. We have cross-referenced and calculated the market share of various techniques for decorated apparel market as follows:

• The embroidery segment held a market share of 44.70% or $11.95 billion in 2018.
•  Screen printing held a market share of 33.32% or $8.91 billion in 2018.
•  Heat transfer printing held a market share of 6.5% or about $1.80 billion in 2018.
•  Digital printing held a market share of 6% or about $1.60 billion in 2018,
•  Dye sublimation, DTG printing, and others together held a market share of 7.33% or $1.96 billion in 2018.

Market Share of Heat Transfer Printing

Source

 

Market Growth of Heat Transfer Printing in Decorated Apparel Industry

• According to an industry report by Future Market Insights, the CAGR of the global printed heat transfer film market is 5.7% from 2018-2028. This will amount to a global market size of $3.26 billion by 2028.
• The sportswear industry is a big user of printed film heat transfer and is driving the growth of this segment. Sportswear brands are opting for "heat transfer vinyl" which are glossy and metallic but also allow passage of air. This choice aligns with the consumers' "rising fad for glossy and trendy sports apparel."
• The increasing demand for the use of heat transfer is one of the factors behind the growth of the global decorated apparel market.
•  Advertising Specialty Institute rates heat transfer second on the list of top five techniques offered by apparel decorators. 69% of apparel decorators currently offer heat transfer as one of their services.
• NBA, Adidas, Champion, American Girl, and Nike are some top brands increasing their use of the heat transfer technique.

Market share

• The printed film heat transfer segment's market share is currently estimated to be approximately 6.38%.
• As of 2020, the market size for the printed film heat transfer segment of the global decorated apparel industry is $2.1 billion.
• In 2018, the market share of the printed film heat transfer segment of the global decorated apparel industry was 6.5%.
• The global decorated apparel market size is estimated to be about $32.91 billion in 2020, growing from $26.75 billion in 2018 at a CAGR of 10.91%.

• The market size of the global heat transfer film industry was $1.79 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $3.26 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 5.7%.
• According to Future Market Insights (FMI), more than 95% of the global heat transfer films market's revenue will be generated from the textile industry.

Other Helpful Statistics

• Historically, the market share of the US printed film heat transfer segment of the global decorated apparel market was 7% in 2014, according to Statista's report released in 2015.

Research Strategy

Market Share Estimation

• The size of the global decorated apparel market varies among market researchers with Grand View Research and Market Study Report estimating it at $26.75 billion and $19.71 billion 2018, respectively. However, both reports seem to agree that the market share of the heat transfer segment is negligible as it is classified in the 'others' category.
• The main segments in the global decorated apparel market are embroidery (44.70%) and screen printing (33.32%). As of 2018, direct-to-garment, dye sublimation, and 'Others' accounted for about 7.33%.
• In 2014, the latest data available, the heat transfer segment accounted for 7% of the United States decorated apparel market.
• According to the 2019 State of the Decorated Apparel Industry, about 74% of apparel decorators offered heat transfer techniques.
•  Reflective heat transfer is a sub-segment of the heat transfer segment. It is possible that the information is lacking because it is a niche in a comparably small niche.

RESEARCH STRATEGY

Helpful Findings

• MarketWatch reported that in 2019, the global Decorated Apparel market size was $24.0 billion and was expected to reach $46.8 billion by the end of 2026, projecting a CAGR of 9.9% during 2021-2026.
• Grandview reported that in 2018, the global decorated apparel market size was valued at USD $26.7 billion.
• MarketWatch reported that in 2018, the global Decorated Apparel market size was $19.7 billion and was expected to reach $38.1 billion by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of 9.9% during 2019-2025.
•  Value Market Research said the Global Decorated Apparel Market was valued at $24.2 billion in 2017 and was expected to reach $50.8 billion by 2024 with a CAGR of 11.5%.
•  Statista said that in 2017, the total decorated apparel market was valued at about $24.2 billion and was forecast to reach a value of $50.8 billion by 2024. "
• As noted above, there are two vastly different market size values claimed for 2018: $26.7 billion compared to $19.7 billion. Depending on which value is used, the market would be seen to increase or to decrease from the 2017 value of $24.2 billion. But the sole market size figure available for 2019 was $24 billion, and no matter how you calculate 2018, the 2019 figure is lower than the 2017 figure.
• A calculation shows that the decorated apparel market did not grow between 2017 and 2019. Instead, it declined, from $24,190,000,000 in 2017 to $24,014,000,000 in 2019, a decline of $176 million in two years. This was a decrease of 13.7%. [$24,190 - $24,014 = 176/24,190 = .0137]

• "Growing usage of heat press techniques by major brands, such as NBA, Adidas, Champion, American Girl, and Nike," are driving product demand. The increase in sports clubs around the world is giving manufacturers new opportunities.
• "High demand for reflective finish in apparels has also created growth opportunities for the market."
• The trend in the apparel industry to customize apparel as per taste and preference of users is one of the important reasons for the popularity of decorated apparel in recent years.
• "For permanent messaging and appeal, Heat Transfers provide imagery and text fused directly to fabric. Used internally, they provide touch-soft, tag-free labeling for the comfort consumers expect and appreciate."

• "Key factors driving the decorated apparel market are increase in per capita disposable income of individuals, increase in population, new developments in printing technologies, and promotional activities through various online and offline channels."
• One way the market is segmented is by techniques of apparel decoration. The first technique is embroidery which accounted for about 44.70 percent of sales in 2018 (the most recent figures available). A second technique is screen printing which held 33.32 percent of the market share in 2018. The remaining techniques of dye sublimation, direct to garment printing, and others (including reflective heat transfer) accounted for the remaining share of about 7.33 percent in 2018.

Research Strategy

Helpful Findings

• In 2018, the direct-to-garment, dye sublimation, and other printing techniques accounted for about 7.33% of the decorated apparel industry.
• The heat transfer segment in the apparel industry is further divided into sub-segments, including "glossy, glitter, metallic, flock, and reflective" heat transfer films.
• The reflective apparel was expected to grow at a rate of 5.16% from 2018 to 2022. However, heat transfer is not the only process to incorporate reflective materials onto apparel. Reflective inks are used in direct-to-garment (D2G) printing, while reflective tapes are sewn onto garments.
• Reflective heat transfer printing involves a carrier sheet or film. The printed film heat transfer segment's share in the decorated apparel industry was estimated to be 6.38%.

Research Strategy

Calculation

Customized Apparel

• The trend towards customized apparel was identified as one of the most significant themes driving the global decorated apparel market based on the fact that this trend is currently being cited as a major industry driver by a preponderance of industry experts, including Grand View Research, Value Market Research, Transparency Market Research, Market Study Report and ReserachAndMarkets.
• Value Market Research highlights that consumers worldwide are increasingly looking for "customized or personalized apparel," and are therefore turning to decorated apparel options to satisfy this growing area of demand.
• As evidence of this trend, Value Market Research, Transparency Market Research, Market Study Report and ResearchAndMarkets point to the fact that embroidery techniques and their ability to customize garments has "dominated" the global decorated apparel market in recent years, adding that embroidery accounted for 44.7% of worldwide decorated apparel sales in 2018.
• Additionally, Grand View Market research notes that the male consumer segment is expected to represent the fastest-growing revenue source for the market through 2025 with a CAGR of 12.6%, owing largely due to interest in "custom printing in sports apparels."
• Overall, market researcher Grand View Research asserts that the "growing trend" of customized t-shirts, tops and other garments is "leading to market growth."

Technology Innovation

• In parallel, technology innovation was selected as another key trend in the worldwide decorated apparel market, given the fact that expert consensus (e.g., Grand View Research, Value Market Research, Transparency Market Research, ReserachAndMarkets, Advertising Specialty Institute) highlights new decoration techniques as a key source of revenue growth for the sector.
• Transparency Market Research and ResearchAndMarkets are among the numerous industry experts discussing how recent "development in printing techniques" and "new technologies" are key factors that are driving the global decorated apparel market.
• For example, Grand View Research reports that the growing usage of heat press techniques by brands including NBA, Adidas, Champion, American Girl and Nike are leading to growth in the women's end-user segment, which represented over 65% of the global decorated apparel market in 2018.
• Value Market Research adds that rising demand for more energy-efficient and technologically advanced decorated apparel is "driving the regional market growth" in Asia-Pacific, which is currently the largest geographic segment of the industry.
• Overall, Advertising Specialty Institute's 2019 survey of decorated apparel industry leaders revealed that new technology is enabling industry players to benefit from the "increasing popularity" of new garment techniques with consumers worldwide.