The US women’s and men’s jeans market has rebounded after facing recent challenges, pushing up sales four per cent in 2016. However, while men are shopping for older styles, latest styles drive women’s sales.

Denim manufacturers and retailers are realizing the importance of striking a balance between giving consumers the features they know and love, and introducing them to some new elements. Women’s jeans introduced to the market within the past two years make up almost 70 per cent of the units sold in 2016 and nearly all the dollar gains for the year.

Older product offerings for women launched in 2013 or earlier retained 19 per cent of the units sold. However, these products were responsible for more than a third of the dollar losses for the year. Meanwhile men are still warming up to comfort stretch and new cuts. Most of the jeans sold for men in 2016 were older products that entered the market in 2013 or earlier. This was likely a factor why the men’s denim market grew at a slower rate than the women’s market.

Denim products introduced in 2016 were a much smaller portion of the men’s market but generated almost three-quarters of the dollars gained in the same year.