Yahoo Finance WFH triggers pyjamas sales boom – and retailers are adding pockets for phones
Marks & Spencer and John Lewis are putting pockets on pyjama bottoms so that shoppers have somewhere to keep their phones, as working from home has triggered a huge boost in sales of nightclothes.
Others use their pyjama pockets for handkerchiefs, their Kindles or even biscuits, while logging in remotely.
It comes as more are wearing their pyjamas for longer, with John Lewis figures showing a 20pc increase in sales of nightwear since 2021.
Louise Duncan, a personal stylist who previously designed nightwear for Next, said that people using their pyjamas to work from home, rather than just sleeping in them, was behind the rise in the number of pockets.
She said: “Especially with Zoom conversations and whatever other systems might be used, people just wear a nice top and then you don’t know what’s going on below. So to have those less formal pieces, especially the bottom half, with pockets is definitely something that would be utilised when you are not actually going to bed.”
Queralt Ferrer, fashion design director at John Lewis said: “Just as we saw with dresses, customers are now singing the praises of pocketed PJs.
“Perfect for a phone, lip balm or card holder, pockets offer practicality to a cosy look that some are choosing to wear all day.”
Mr Ferrer said the work from home dress code had evolved to include the nightwear, promoted by fashion influencers and stylists.
He added that John Lewis were looking to widen the range of offerings next year.
A survey of more than 1,000 employees and 500 employers by employment company Indeed found that one third of workers wear pyjamas during their shift hours.
Employees are wearing nightwear for 46 working days of the year on average, with one in 12 donning the casual clothing every day.
But bosses said that pyjamas are the most inappropriate thing to wear to work, followed by messy or unwashed hair.
The retailer has seen a rise in demand for “posh pyjamas”, including a 94pc increase in sales for brand Chelsea Peers.
The pyjama company’s set cost up to £55 for a satin or cotton set, and offer matching coverings for dogs for £20.
Marks & Spencer added pockets to their classic woven pyjamas in 2019, and all of their jersey bottoms have pockets across both menswear and womenswear.
All of the retailer’s woven pyjamas and lounge pants for men feature a functional button fly, to reduce the risk of accidental flashing as more wear them out and about.
David Stoneman-Merret, of Marks & Spencer said: “We know customers are increasingly wearing pyjama and loungewear styles around the house, not just to sleep in, so we’ve ensured our pockets are big enough to conveniently fit a mobile phone.”
Peter Barnett, of Barnett Manufacturing, which specialises in nightwear, said customers were asking for pockets for phones, including on boxer shorts.
He said: “We are putting more pockets on, even on boxer shorts.
“For people who go to sleep in boxer shorts, they get up in the morning and the first thing they do is turn their phone on. You don’t want to walk around with it in your hand so you bung it into the pocket of your boxer shorts.”
Pandora Stormonth, of pyjama company PJ Pan, which launched in the UK in 2012, said while her company has always put pockets on men’s pyjamas, their womenswear does not feature pockets.
She explained: “Right at the beginning we did some market research and the results suggested that women felt it was more flattering not to have pockets, but I think with the world of mobile phones things have changed a bit now.”
Mrs Stormonth said adding pockets to women’s pyjamas would increase the manufacturing cost.
Pyjamas rocketed in popularity during the pandemic, as more workers started working from home. In the last three months of 2020, there were more than 200,000 searches for pajamas on the shopping app Liketoknow.it, and sales of sleepwear increased by six per cent, according to market research firm NPD Group.
Casey Kelleher, an author, said she wears pyjamas when working from home, and explained that pockets in the loungewear mean that she can carry her phone around the house.
She said: “Lots more people relaxed with clothing during the pandemic.
“There’s definitely more of a trend with people wearing loungewear. Pockets are always a plus, as I’m usually carrying a phone and earphones around with me.”
It’s not just for work that pyjamas have become more acceptable. John Lewis is selling a £44 sparkle set which Mr Ferrer described as “perfect to wear in or out over the festive season”.
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