Consumer brands like Nike, Adidas, and Puma see major growth opportunities in the newfound elevation of streetwear. All of a sudden, they’re more than just sports apparel brands—they’re nods to high fashion, open doors to what’s cool.
These brands also know “sneakerheads”—people who are addicted to the chase for an exclusive item—will wait hours in front of a store for a limited-edition product.
The coinciding rise of athleisure (a hybrid of gymwear and leisure clothing), and the celebrity influence on that stream of fashion, has further encouraged these consumer brands to lean into the fashion-meets-casual streetwear look. It’s contributing to a streetwear industry valued in excess of $347 billion.
Streetwear market definition and stats
Streetwear is a type of casual clothing heavily influenced by popular culture. It’s an eclectic mix of apparel from New York’s hip-hop culture and California skateboarding fashion that became popular in the 1990s.
Today, streetwear dominates the social media scene. This has contributed to a global streetwear industry that accounts for about 10% of the global footwear and fashion industry.
Growth in the streetwear market shows no signs of slowing down. Experts predict the industry will hit a $637 billion valuation by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.89%.
Why? Because customers spend big bucks on streetwear:
- 45% of customers buy streetwear items at least once a month.
- Consumers reported spending up to five times more per month on streetwear than non-streetwear.
- Between $100 and $300 is the sweet spot for pricing streetwear items, with 56% of consumers spending that amount on a single item of streetwear.
Sneakers are the standout streetwear product, with 62% of consumers selecting footwear as the item they were most likely to buy. Other popular streetwear pieces include oversized t-shirts, hoodies, and joggers.
Unlike traditional luxury retail, buying streetwear involves cultural knowledge as much as disposable income. The Streetwear Impact Report notes 70% of streetwear customers value brands’ commitment to social issues, with 59% prioritizing brand activism. Moreover, 47% indicated they would likely stop purchasing from brands with representatives who behave inappropriately.
What is the target market for streetwear?
Streetwear buyers tend to be millennial or Gen Z, and have some disposable income. They’re typically working professionals who don’t have children or mortgages to worry about, and have lived most of their lives online.
A report by Hypebeast confirms this:
- Three-quarters of streetwear customers are aged 25 or under.
- 70% of streetwear customers report an annual income of $40,000 or less and spend between $100 and $500 per month on streetwear.
- Almost a quarter of customers buy a streetwear item because it’s a status symbol.
Kristen Classi-Zummo, apparel industry analyst at NPD, told Vogue Business that “Gen Z wants a bike short that they can wear to both the airport or to brunch, but they are also looking for it to keep them cool and stay in place.”
Thanks to the democratization of social media, everyone will know that a cool t-shirt is expensive or a pair of headphones costs $3,000. The rise of the tech sector and fewer traditional industries employing young people has also meant smart, expressive and casual clothing is now more accepted in the workplace.
Social commerce platforms like TikTok and Instagram dominate the marketing strategies of many streetwear brands for this reason. The typical user of both platforms is a Gen Z consumer who’s grown up in a hyperconnected digital world where likes are a normalized currency.
Streetwear shoppers show diverse shopping habits but strongly prefer direct channels. According to Hypebeast, 53% of consumers prefer buying from physical brand stores, while 42% favor brands' own ecommerce sites. This highlights Gen Z and millennials' desire for exclusive, direct interactions rather than shopping via multi-brand retailers or social media.
10 streetwear marketing ideas and strategies
- Sell the lifestyle, not the product
- Build a community
- Partner with streetwear creators
- Collaborate with other brands
- Blend online and offline retail channels
- Experiment with the metaverse
- Induce scarcity with product drops
- Prioritize sustainability
- Play on nostalgia
- Launch experiential drops
1. Sell the lifestyle, not the product
When you work for a streetwear company, it’s easy to get caught up in the nitty gritty details of your product. After all, you’re proud of each item, and they tend to sell out.
But streetwear customers don’t always buy individual items because of their impressive specifications. People buy them to fit into streetwear culture—a lifestyle movement where dressed-down, comfortable clothing is a social status.
Maniere De Voir is one streetwear brand which took this approach with a marketing campaign. Slotted between Instagram posts that showcase their products, they publish short-form videos that sell the lifestyle their target audience is looking to create.
This Instagram Reel, for example, showcases interior design that’s cozy and minimalist—two adjectives that customers would use to describe the brand's image.
Incorporate this into your streetwear brand marketing strategy by creating a broader identity around your clothing brand.
What words would customers use to describe your streetwear items? What does their dream life look like? Angle your marketing campaigns around the answers to sell the lifestyle they want to create using your apparel.
2. Build a community
The roots of streetwear’s community culture go back to niche online forums like NikeTalk, BapeTalk, and Strictly Supreme. Although these early forums have declined, the community ethos persists on platforms like Instagram, driving brand loyalty through shared cultural connections and peer-to-peer inspiration.
Tap into these communities when you’re:
- Sourcing new product ideas
- Collecting user-generated content (UGC) for marketing campaigns
- Giving loyal fans exclusive priority access to product drops
Streetwear brand Charlie Hustle is one retailer using the local community approach to drive consumer loyalty. Their slogan is “do good, feel good, look good”—a motto the brand helps their audience achieve through their Communi-TEES program.
Consumers in the Kansas City area can donate to local charities through any purchase they make on the brand’s direct-to-consumer store.
3. Partner with streetwear creators
The digital-native Gen Z relies heavily on social media influence when determining which products to buy.
For the majority of streetwear customers, social media is the top source of inspiration. It beats the street, word of mouth, and fashion publications.
This makes sense—Gen Z’s purchasing habits are wildly different from older generations. Data compiled in the Shopper Preference Report for 2025 found that almost 80% of Gen Z and millennials use social media to make purchases.
But a simple social media marketing strategy isn’t enough. Although Hypebeast found most consumers use social media as a source of information, just 31% consider a brand’s own social media presence an important factor.
Plus, with platforms like TikTok enabling everyone to be a creator, fashion brands can tap into the social nature of streetwear while publishing the user-generated content their audiences trust.
Shopify Collabs helps brands discover creators, influencers, and affiliates in the streetwear industry. Partner with these creators—be that through gifted products, sponsored posts, or affiliate commissions—to generate UGC through influencer marketing. This will show how your streetwear items look on real people.
4. Collaborate with other brands
Streetwear brands are leaning into co-marketing opportunities as a way to stand out in a saturated market.
Shopify’s Alex Danco says that "the biggest opportunity flying under the radar is collaboration. It’s the best way to increase the number of buyers who know and care about you in a way that turns you into not competitors but cooperators, perhaps even allies and friends.”
Identify brands that share your audience. The best collaborations are between two brands that share overlapping brand values and customer demographics without being direct competitors.
Alex adds: “Collaboration is truly the win-win way for brands to find new audiences in a way that doesn’t dilute your brands.”
Sportswear-turned-streetwear label Puma takes this to the extreme with their Dua Lipa partnership. The singer, known for her casual fashion sense, launched a limited edition collection with the brand. Both parties went back and forth on Instagram to strengthen the partnership and get both customer bases excited.
The sneakers element is a particularly interesting collaboration. Hypebeast reports that sneakers are the most popular streetwear product, but that this market is also one of the most saturated.
As Zofia Zwieglinska, international fashion reporter at Glossy, says, “Most brands dedicate a portion of their collection to streetwear, and sneakers in particular. Tie-ins to art and music have continued—from the Nike x RTFKT partnership with Takashi Murakami to Tiffany's tie-in with Basquiat and Beyonce.
“However, sneakers and streetwear have reached a saturation point—the differentiators now will be with brands that can evolve it to suit a new type of customer.”
5. Blend online and offline retail channels
Gen Z uses social media to research brands more often than search engines, and social media is driving in-store foot traffic (and subsequent sales) for many streetwear retailers.
More than half of customers say they’re most likely to buy streetwear items through a physical brand store, followed by 42% who head to the retailer’s ecommerce website—which is why 60% of retailers say flagship locations are a key part of their brand strategy.
British streetwear brand Corteiz has mastered this online-to-offline marketing strategy. Their social media presence drives in-person commerce with time-sensitive product drops at key locations in London.
This Instagram post, for example, encouraged followers to visit the brand’s market stall with 99p in exact change to buy their blackout cargo trousers. The stall was only open for two hours, and coordinates for the location dropped just a few hours before the event began.
The viral nature of Corteiz’s in-person product drops helps build a base of die-hard fans who want in on the brand’s community. So much so, people document their attempts to locate Corteiz’s product drop locations on YouTube and TikTok—a streetwear brand marketing idea that gets customers to do the legwork of building hype around product drops.
Experiment with new markets and products quickly—without the overhead. Make sales wherever your customers are with Shopify POS and mobile card readers, so you can accept payments on the spot. Learn more
6. Experiment with the metaverse
With customers craving experiences from the streetwear brands they interact with, the metaverse—a 3D virtual experience where customers can play, shop, and interact with other people—is quickly becoming a staple in many marketing strategies.
German sneaker retailer Flowers For Society is one label centered heavily around metaverse experiences. Their first product drop, which was only available through preorder, linked every item with a unique non-fungible token (NFT).
Customers gained access to the brand’s own metaverse community, unlocking exclusive access to future product drops, limited edition apparel, and exclusive collaborations.
Sell NFTs on your streetwear store with Shopify. Give customers exclusive access to products, collections, and discounts, and sync your store with community engagement channels like Discord—all in one place.
7. Induce scarcity with product drops
Exclusivity is an important element for streetwear fans.
Zofia from Glossy says, “Digital-native brands need to focus on how streetwear customers interpret value differently to their other customers. Aspects like rarity, collectability, and wider cultural value matter more to these customers, as well as engagement with the brand community.”
Two-thirds of streetwear brands surveyed by Hypebeast described the drop model as important to their business. It capitalizes on rarity, collectability, and cultural value by making streetwear products time- or quantity-limited.
Streetwear brand Live Fast Die Young uses the drops model to fuel their social media campaigns. On Instagram, the retailer regularly teases new product drops, such as their new 54-piece collection. Customers flock to the comment section to express their anticipation.
Maksim Telkov, ecommerce manager at Live Fast Die Young, adds: “With our product drop strategy, we always had problems with over ordering or that payments didn't go through. With Shopify, these issues were resolved all at once.”
Use Shopify’s preordering functionality to create product pages and capture leads before the product goes on sale. You’ll be able to take full, partial, or no payment from customers and set expectations on when the item will be delivered.
If they don’t buy this time, an automated email marketing series can convert subscribers into paying customers. Email your subscribers when the product drops—a surefire way to get their attention, rather than relying on a social media post which might get buried in a crowded feed.
8. Prioritize sustainability
Sustainability is more than a buzzword for modern consumers—McKinsey reports that two in three customers think sustainability is an important factor when buying apparel.
Customers have the same approach to sustainability when purchasing streetwear. The majority of consumers said social issues were important to them, with brand activism playing a role in the clothing brands consumers choose to connect with.
Coney Island Picnic cofounder and creative director Ryan Wood says the brand prioritized sustainability in their mission to keep up with consumer preferences: “About a year ago, our brand made the conscious decision to shift the manufacturing of all tees and fleece to be sourced from organic cotton without raising the price for customers.”
This commitment to sustainability is deeply rooted across every aspect of the brand’s marketing strategy. Coney Island Picnic displays a “sustainable” category in their ecommerce navigation, produces short-form TikTok videos to explain their brand mission, and highlights how products are made using organic cotton within product descriptions.
Ryan says: “As we know, the fast fashion industry's current trajectory will not sustain much longer, and many consumers want to avoid being a part of the wasteful cycle. Therefore, more consumers are taking note of sustainable retailers they can trust and becoming repeat customers.”
If you’re not in a position to make your products more sustainable, don’t try to pull the wool over your customers’ eyes. Greenwashing—the term people use to describe clothing brands that exaggerate their role in making their business more sustainable—doesn’t fly with Gen Z customers.
You can make small changes to prove your streetwear brand is moving in the right direction without overhauling your entire logistics strategy or supply chain.
The Shopify Planet app, for example, makes a small contribution to the Shopify Sustainability Fund. This fund is used to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and make shipping carbon-neutral.
9. Play on nostalgia
Gen Z has had to thrive in difficult economic conditions. They report higher rates of anxiety, depression, and distress than any other demographic, often turning to nostalgia as a temporary escape from normal life.
Business Insider reports the nostalgia trend is being driven by this generation. In the article, Krystine Batcho, professor and psychologist at Le Moyne College, says, “For many people, particularly young adults or those without a financial safety net, poor economic conditions raise fears of being able to meet financial obligations like rent or student-debt payments.”
Related hashtags like #nostalgia and #Y2K are both thriving on TikTok, having each amassed billions of views. Streetwear brands are tapping into this nostalgia to connect with Gen Z consumers. Mauv Studio, for example, launched an entire brand that reflected the Y2K aesthetic.
10. Launch experiential drops
Experiential drops amplify streetwear’s exclusivity. Supreme and luxury brands like Dior and Burberry have adopted the drops model, limiting product availability to enhance desirability. Hypebeast notes that 66% of streetwear industry respondents view the drops model as core to their strategy.
Corteiz created significant buzz with their DA GREAT DENIM EXCHANGE popup event in Brooklyn. Founder Clint Ogbenna, known simply as "Clint," announced the event just 24 hours in advance on Instagram.
Folks came down to exchange jeans from popular brands (Levi’s, True Religion, Carhartt, etc.) right off their bodies for a free pair of Corteiz denim. The tactic was covered by outlets like GQ and earned hundreds of thousands of views on social media, a massive win for Corteiz.
Clint himself appeared at the event, personally interacting with attendees and handing out individually numbered dollar bills as tickets. The traded-in jeans were later donated to youth charities, adding a social-impact dimension.
Streetwear marketing examples
Supreme
New York-based brand Supreme is highly regarded for its influence on streetwear culture. What started as a Manhattan skateboarding store turned into a business acquired for $2.1 billion by VF, the parent company of VANS.
Every new product is associated with a time-sensitive drop only available at one of their 11 retail stores. But you need an invite to get there, and a one-purchase per person limit applies. Only customers on Supreme’s mailing list get the “golden ticket”—an invitation to join the hundreds of people that queue around the block to get their hands on a Supreme drop. And if they want more than one piece, they’ll need to bring a friend.
A Bathing Ape (BAPE)
The founder of iconic streetwear brand A Bathing Ape (BAPE), Japanese artist Nigo, intentionally made a limited amount of merchandise when he started out in the early 1990s because he knew the desire for exclusivity would help his brand grow.
HighSnobiety reports that “Nigo started out on a tight budget and could only afford to produce around 50 T-shirts a week—but he also disliked the idea of everyone wearing the same thing.”
Alongside their drop model, BAPE got celebrities to wear their products to build hype and create the social symbol many streetwear customers aspire to. Hip-hop stars like The Notorious B.I.G and Pharrell sported BAPE products, with Soulja Boy even rapping the words “I got me some Bathing Ape” in his 3x Platinum hitCrank That.
Culture Kings
Australian streetwear retailer Culture Kings is known for its shopping experience. Instead of allowing shoppers to passively browse items, their stores are a true community experience.
The non-shopping activities on offer include:
- A DJ
- A basketball court
- An in-store barbershop
- The “Vault”—a section selling their rare and most exclusive streetwear products
- Celebrity appearances from athletes, musicians, and celebrities who vouch for the brand
Culture Kings turned to Shopify with a goal to mimic these in-store experiences for global shoppers online. They customized their storefront to display tailored, dynamic product listings with a “Shop the Look” page. Anyone viewing the brand’s social media content could easily shop the latest products through this landing page.
Simon Beard, cofounder of Culture Kings, said: “Shopify—what it really did is allow us to more focus on our art side rather than being so bogged down in the science side, which was not our forte. It really enabled us to scale, knowing that we had this platform that delivered, that can grow with us.”
Off-White
Off-White differentiates itself from other streetwear players by bridging the gap between luxury brands and pop culture. Their founder and former artistic director of Louis Vuitton, the late Virgil Abloh, started the company in 2012 under the original name Pyrex Vision.
According to Front Office Sports, Off-White came to life as a result of Abloh’s 3% approach—the idea that a new design could be created with just a 3% difference.
Part of this differentiation includes irony—a sense of humor Gen Z consumers can bond over. Many of Off-White’s streetwear products obviously state the use case in quotation marks, like this windbreaker coat with the word “water” splashed across the back.
Princess Polly
Princess Polly, an established streetwear company located in Australia, took a unique approach with their marketing strategy. Alongside becoming a staple in their Gen Z customers’ shopping routine, the streetwear brand wanted to deliver a seamless experience long after the first purchase.
Alexandria Collis, director of operations at Princess Polly, says, "We're always looking for ways to create less pressure points for customers. Making returns difficult shouldn't be the goal—there's actually a real opportunity to create loyalty through the return experience."
The first stage was Princess Polly’s migration from Magento to Shopify. They then enlisted the help of Shopify Technology Partner Loop to access measurable returns insights and allow customers to exchange items, rather than request a refund.
The result? Princess Polly saw a 55% reduction in out-of-stock rates with their new instant exchange function.
Alexandria Collis adds: "Thanks to Shopify and Loop, we’ve seen a huge improvement in our return experience, with customers telling us firsthand that they appreciate how easy it is. And not only is it improving our customer loyalty—it's also driving a significant uptick in revenue."
Brain Dead
Kyle Ng, founder of the streetwear brand Brain Dead, is redefining streetwear culture through a maximalist, community-focused approach.
Kyle is building an expansive lifestyle around eclectic interests, hosting hardcore music festivals, running a movie theater (Brain Dead Studios), organizing Magic: The Gathering tournaments, and collaborating creatively with figures like Jeff Goldblum, Seth Rogen, and Freddie Gibbs.
Brain Dead has also branched out, notably reviving avant-garde Oakley shoe designs from the 1990s. Kyle actively avoids mainstream, predictable brand collaborations, instead choosing projects driven by genuine personal interests and niche subcultures, like vegan burgers or indigenous artisan-made Minion products featuring the familiar characters from the Despicable Me franchise.
Balenciaga
In September 2021, luxury fashion brand Balenciaga took fashion marketing to a new level by partnering with Fortnite, one of the most popular video games globally with over one million players at any given moment.
Balenciaga designed digital outfits, known as “skins,” that players could buy within the Fortnite in-game store. The skins were inspired by real-life garments that incorporated Fortnite’s cartoon-like aesthetic. The campaign was the first of its kind to merge digital and real-life experiences. It targeted Fortnite’s Gen Z user base and made the Balenciaga brand relevant and culturally significant to a new generation.
Capture the attention of streetwear customers with these marketing strategies
Streetwear is a competitive branch of the fashion industry. Brands who stand out don’t just sell products—they create communities around their products, selling the complete lifestyle and status symbol.
Use these streetwear marketing strategies to meet customers where they are. From inducing scarcity with product drops to experimenting with the metaverse, do it all with Shopify's all-in-one ecommerce platform for scaling stores.
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Streetwear marketing FAQ
How do I promote my streetwear?
You can promote your streetwear brand by launching limited product drops, documenting your production process on TikTok, proving your commitment to sustainability, blending online and offline experiences, and collaborating with streetwear creators.
How can a streetwear brand stand out?
To stand out, a streetwear brand should partner with content creators, sell a lifestyle instead of just products, back up sustainability claims, tap into nostalgia, and use experiential retail to build deeper connections with consumers.
Who buys the most streetwear?
Gen Z are the largest demographic for streetwear, making up 70% of all customers. They are typically working professionals who are active on social media and have disposable income to spend on fashion.
