Is the thong going away?

According to the NPD Group, many younger consumers are opting for full-coverage panties instead of thongs, choosing comfort over style. Recent data from the market research firm also revealed that sales of full-coverage undies grew by 17 percent while thong sales decreased by 7 percent in 2014.

Marks & Spencer's head of lingerie design Soozie Jenkinson concurred, as only less than one in 10 bottoms the retailer sells is a thong. Agent Provocateur shared the same sentiment, having more sales for briefs than thongs.

Panties are not the only items consumers are seeking comfort for. UK-based retailer John Lewis stated that nonwired bras accounted for 40 percent of its bra sales last year, an increase of 32 percent YoY.

While fuller-bottomed women's underwear is experiencing a surge in the popularity, the opposite is true for men's undergarments. Although boxers still take up nearly 40 of the men's underwear market, sales have dropped by 14 percent last year. In contrast, briefs sales increased 23 percent.

Research and Markets expects the online lingerie market to grow by 18.2 percent from 2014 to 2019 as companies employ extensive customer service options such as comprehensive size guides, prompt delivery and aftersales services. At John Lewis online lingerie sales rose by 207 percent in five years, something that the company attributes partly to its online bra fitting videos.

View a comparison table of women's underwear suppliers on GlobalSources.com