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The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, with its flashing lights and hip-hop music, attracts a big TV audience every year as millions tune in to gawk at leggy blondes strutting down the runway in lingerie.
But this year, the show—which was shot Thursday in New York and will air nationally in December—may take on even more importance. Analysts say the TV spectacle will play a critical role in rekindling consumers' desire to spend on lingerie, which was hit hard during last year's recession.
"In these times the show becomes more important," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group research firm. "They do a great job of bringing attention, excitement, fanfare, desire and passion into the equation."
Intimate apparel sales plunged nearly 7 percent at their lowest point during the recession, as battered consumers cut discretionary spending out of their budgets, Cohen said.
After women's suiting, lingerie was the hardest-hit sub sector of apparel because it made sense for women to cut back on items that are seen by so few people, said Kimberly Greenberger, an analyst at Citigroup.
"I think that intimate apparel got hurt because some of the more fun, seasonal, flirty intimate apparel just felt a little frivolous for the time that we were in," she said.
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