The lingerie industry is booming and offers an incredible space for self-expression and creativity. Like many areas in women’s fashion, undergarments are constantly evolving, creating a strong business opportunity.
That said, lingerie shopping can feel intimidating. When starting a lingerie business, it’s pertinent to balance creativity and innovation with quality and comfort. For established retailers, adding lingerie to your product mix is a smart way to tap into a market with consistent demand. Shoppers look for comfort, style and personalization, creating opportunities to build a loyal customer base that keeps coming back.
But it’s not just about the products. To stay competitive, you’ll need streamlined operations, effective marketing and inventory management software that can handle trends and stock across locations without missing a beat.
- Research and understand your target audience
- Offer high-quality material from the right suppliers
- Create a business plan and apply for permits
- Set up an ecommerce website
- Offer the right pricing for your lingerie brand
- Optimize inventory and payment gateways
- Build your lingerie brand’s digital presence
- Invest in advertising and marketing
Thrive from day one.
Get on top of your inventory, build strong relationships with suppliers, create solid teams and thrive with Lightspeed’s all-in-one platform. From integrated POS and stock management to powerful reporting, Lightspeed helps your business soar.
Steps to start a lingerie business in 2025
1. Research and understand your target audience
When starting a lingerie business, you might think the goal is to attract as many customers as quickly as possible. While more customers can lead to success, that’s not a realistic or attainable way to build your business—especially for something as specific as lingerie.
To set off toward profitability, you need to find your core audience. Choose a group to target so you can develop deep, loyal relationships instead of forgettable ones with more people. This is especially important when you’re just starting out.
So how do you get there? Start by identifying key details like age ranges, body inclusivity needs, style preferences, and shopping habits.
How do you gather this information? Tools like surveys, competitor research and social listening are practical ways to discover what drives your audience’s decisions and help you decide where to sell your lingerie.
What you learn from these insights will help you figure out the next steps for your business. This info guides you in deciding where and how to sell lingerie. Will you focus on selling lingerie online, a physical boutique or a mix of both? When you align your products with what your audience really needs, you’ll be well on your way to building a loyal customer base.
Tomboyx is a great example of a brand that zeroed in on a specific market. Founded by queer women, they set out to create better underwear for people who’d been overlooked by the traditional options. They’ve since expanded their lines to include gender-affirming underwear for trans folks and safer alternatives to binders.
No matter which target audience you choose, you should make the experience inviting and unintimidating by building your brand around inclusivity of body types and creating a welcoming space both online and in-store.
2. Offer high-quality material from the right suppliers
The quality of material is a huge part of starting a lingerie business, especially since undergarments are naturally more delicate. People buying lingerie want pieces that are comfortable, durable and thoughtfully designed.
With a lingerie business, sourcing from ethical, reliable suppliers ensures your products meet those standards and align with values like sustainability. Always request samples before committing to bulk orders.
Take Ôde Lingerie, for example. The brand is committed to sustainability through certifications and eco-friendly methods. They also showcase their practices in a dedicated section of their website.
It’s also smart to negotiate pricing and minimum order quantities to balance cost and profitability. Reliable suppliers with consistent quality and on-time deliveries help you avoid stock issues. High-quality materials aren’t just about customer satisfaction—they reduce returns, which protects your margins.
3. Create a business plan and apply for permits
A detailed lingerie business plan is your blueprint.
Your outline should include goals, product lines, marketing strategies, pricing model and startup costs. Planning for long-term growth ensures you have a clear path forward.
Next, set up your legal structure. Sole proprietorships work for simplicity, partnerships share responsibilities and LLCs or corporations limit liability. Don’t skip securing local permits and licenses—compliance keeps your business running without costly interruptions.
4. Set up an ecommerce website
When selling lingerie online, you want to make sure your ecommerce site is clean, simple and easy to navigate, showcasing the unique elements of your brand. Your designs should include detailed product descriptions and lingerie-specific sizing guides.
Lightspeed customer Ashley Doll, owner of Ashley Lingerie and Swimwear, has a straightforward sizing system on her website to help shoppers measure correctly for the perfect bra fit. Plus, she offers professional fittings for anyone who visits her store. Ashley also provides straightforward instructions and explanations to help shoppers find the perfect fit.
Make sure your site is mobile-friendly. Most shoppers browse and buy on their phones, so a frustrating mobile experience could cost you sales. Pair that with high-quality photos and detailed descriptions to make buying decisions easy.
With Lightspeed eCom, you can quickly build a professional online store, connect it to popular platforms like WordPress and Wix, and link your domain.
5. Offer the right pricing for your lingerie brand
Pricing your lingerie business says a lot about your brand and how you approach business. It’s not just about covering costs—it’s about balancing quality, market expectations and competitor pricing. Value-based pricing highlights unique features, while tiered pricing offers flexibility for different budgets.
Lightspeed Insights helps you optimize pricing by tracking sales trends, inventory and margins. Use it to adjust prices based on demand and decide which items can be discounted or should stay at full price.
Experiment to see what works best for your audience. Transparent pricing builds trust, and discounts for repeat buyers encourage loyalty. Healthy margins are key, but pricing too high or too low can alienate your target market.
The Slow Label is a great example of an apparel company that’s very vocal about how they develop their prices.
6. Optimize inventory and payment gateways
Managing inventory is essential for avoiding costly overstock or stockouts. Use tools that track stock levels, automate low-stock alerts and simplify reordering. Staying on top of demand ensures smooth operations and better cash flow.
Lightspeed inventory management lets you control all your stock from a single POS system. It connects you to wholesale brands, speeds up ordering, tracks stock across channels, updates prices easily and more.
Payment gateways also matter. Offer secure, user-friendly options like credit cards, mobile payments and online checkout. A seamless checkout experience—both online and in-store—keeps customers happy and reduces cart abandonment.
Lightspeed payments offers secure, user-friendly options including all major credit and debit cards, mobile wallets and integrated online checkout.
7. Build your lingerie brand’s digital presence
When promoting your lingerie business, a strong online presence is essential—it’s how customers discover and connect with your brand. Start with a cohesive visual identity like your logo, color palette and tone of voice.
Organic Basics is a great example of a company that’s nailed their branding both online and on social media. They use a minimalist, neutral palette with earthy, muted tones and clean lines. At the same time, their website and social channels feature a neon pop art style that adds a touch of originality to the clean, simple look.
Social media is critical, so launch profiles that reflect your brand and engage your target audience.
Share content that connects. Styling tips, behind-the-scenes videos and real customer reviews build trust and create a sense of community around your brand.
Email marketing is also a powerful way to stay top of mind—use it to share promotions, product launches and personalized updates. Together, a strong digital presence and thoughtful content help you stand out and drive sales.
Unlike social media posts and videos, emails aren’t controlled by an algorithm, which makes them much easier to optimize.
8. Invest in advertising and marketing
Reaching your audience takes more than just a good product. Influencer marketing is a great way to showcase your lingerie authentically, and pay-per-click ads let you target shoppers already searching for products like yours.
What better example of an influencer taking over a lingerie brand than Kim Kardashian with Skims? Kim leverages her fame and influence to build the brand and create a strong following.
But of course, you don’t need Kim K to build a lingerie brand. You can work with micro-influencers or create ambassador programs that help promote your brand by building trust with their audience.
For example, Knix has an ambassador program where people can sign up, leave honest reviews and earn perks like VIP access and commissions. It’s a smart way to connect with their audience, learn about their customer base and gather valuable feedback.
Don’t overlook SEO. Optimizing your site for terms like “start a lingerie business” brings in organic traffic over time. Pair storytelling with paid campaigns to create a brand that’s not just visible but memorable.
The bottom line
Starting a lingerie business takes focus. You need to understand your audience, find quality products, and keep everything organized. A strong brand identity builds connection and keeps customers coming back.
Efficiency helps you manage online and in-store operations without wasting time or resources. With streamlined inventory, sales and customer interactions, plus smart marketing, you can grow your brand and build lasting loyalty.
Watch a demo to see how the right tools can help your business grow.