The textile and apparel professional market saw a moderate recovery in June 2026. According to publicly available industry data, the national professional market manager sentiment index stood at 49.78, up 0.43 percentage points month-on-month, while the merchant sentiment index reached 50.07, a rise of 0.34 percentage points. Although the overall indices remain near the 50-point boom-or-bust line, the movement in sub-indicators suggests the market is slowly climbing out of its early-year weakness.
Market Operations: Traffic and Logistics Recover in Tandem
From the manager perspective, the total operating volume index remained flat at 49.03, while the logistics dispatch index and foot traffic index both rose by 0.64 percentage points to 49.03. The store opening rate index increased by 0.32 points to 49.35, and the rental index edged up 0.33 points to 50.65. These figures indicate that the physical operations of professional markets are improving marginally: more merchants are opening their doors, and both foot traffic and goods turnover are increasing.
Notably, managers' assessment of the business environment showed divergence. The current business environment index, while still high at 51.94, fell by 1.61 points from the previous month. This may reflect caution among market administrators about the sustainability of consumer demand.
Merchant Side: Sales Recover but Margins Shrink
Data from the merchant side better reflects the temperature at the consumer end. The sales volume index for June rebounded to 50.14, up 1.03 points from May—one of the most positive signals this period. The profitability index also rose by 0.89 points to 49.86, but remained below the 50-point threshold. Meanwhile, the average selling price index fell 0.22 points to 49.30, indicating that merchants are discounting to move inventory, resulting in a 'revenue growth without profit growth' scenario.
Cost pressures are also evident. The comprehensive cost index declined 0.19 points to 50.63. Although still above 50, the marginal weakening suggests some merchants are feeling the pinch of rising costs. The inventory index rose 0.21 points to 50.00, implying a slight easing of inventory pressure, likely due to higher sales rather than active restocking.
E-Commerce: A Key Stabilizer for the Market
E-commerce sales performance in June was particularly strong. The manager e-commerce sales index rose 0.64 points to 51.61, and the merchant e-commerce sales index increased 0.35 points to 50.49—both firmly above the boom-or-bust line. In terms of proportion, 22.58% of professional markets reported higher e-commerce sales, up 6.45 points from the previous month; on the merchant side, 9.79% saw growth, a rise of 8.42 points.
This trend indicates that offline professional markets are accelerating their transition to an 'online + offline' model. For buyers, e-commerce channels offer more flexible price comparison and procurement options. For merchants, e-commerce has become an effective tool to hedge against fluctuations in offline foot traffic.
Future Outlook: Optimistic Expectations for July
Despite mixed actual performance in June, forward-looking indices suggest optimism for July. Managers' expectation for the next period stands at 50.32, while merchants' expectation is higher at 50.84. The slight decline in managers' expectations may be due to seasonal factors, but the rise in merchant confidence indicates that frontline operators have faith in the summer market.
In summary, the textile and apparel professional market at the end of Q2 2026 is characterized by 'stable volumes, weak prices, and e-commerce filling the gap'. While the overall sentiment has not returned to a strong zone, clear signs of bottoming out are evident. For industry participants, the key is not to wait for a demand explosion, but to protect margins through product mix optimization and channel diversification.