Across Nairobi, this cosier option has become one of December’s biggest retail drivers and few know this better than Caroline Murimi, the owner of Carole Home Solutions, an outlet that stocks everyday household staples.
‘I have been in business for seven years now, but I started stocking Christmas pyjamas and other festive items about four years ago,’ says the entrepreneur. ‘This decision was based on a gap I saw – there was demand for these items, but the supply was lacking.’
With the Christmas pyjamas being capital-intensive and the time frame of selling out your stock being very short, she understands why some people would shy away, but business has been on an upward streak ever since she took the risk.
‘People have embraced photo shoots and the idea of creating memories, and there is also the factor of seeing other families looking good in coordinated fits and wanting the same for themselves.’
This shift has made it so that the once niche curiosity is now an urban essential seeing buyers this year, making orders and purchases earlier than ever.
‘Kenyans used to be last-minute shoppers but it seems like they’re catching up with early planning,’ Ms Murimi notes. ‘A lot of people would usually come in December, but this year, for some reason, they started ordering as early as November 1st.’
The best sellers
Her best sellers are the red polycotton family sets, which she says are light enough to sleep in, but also durable enough to last all year.
For the children, her sets go for around Sh1,500 while the adult’s set averages at around Sh1,900. Sales, she reveals, are mostly driven by social media – Tik Tok and Instagram.
Still, the logistical headache is real.
‘We barely sleep in December. I get three to four hours a night just so I can ensure that I clear my entire stock,’ she admits.
‘But it’s also challenging when we clear our stock and the demand is still there. You can’t really predict the demand in a year, but it’s frustrating when some sizes sell out and customers are forced to compromise. It makes you wish that China was closer so you can just go and restock some more.’
Someone else with a front-row seat to the festive fad is Edwin Mokaya, co-founder of Keliam Kids Baby Shop. While the shop mainly sells baby furniture, children’s clothes, and maternity essentials, they also stock Christmas fits: pyjama sets, festive t-shirts, and thrift rompers, when the festivities come around.
This addition crept its way into their shelves slowly at first, then all at once after they noticed how long their customers took trying to choose lounge/night wear sets for each member of the family.
‘That’s when we realised there was a gap, both for matching family sets and for adult pyjamas because we were initially stocking for children only,’ says Mr Mokaya.
He says the festive trend is being pushed by young parents, especially those celebrating a baby’s first Christmas – a milestone that often comes with a themed photo shoot. If the baby has siblings, demand goes up. But it is not limited to families alone. He also attests to seeing groups of friends and chamas hopping onto the trend.
‘And social media, particularly TikTok, plays the biggest role in the momentum of this trend,’ the businessman mentions. ‘I think this is where the matching pyjama idea really grew because it allows families to share more real-life family moments.’
Naomi Makori, also a co-founder of the baby shop, adds that the willingness of Kenyans to splurge a little more toward the end of the year plays a big role in driving sales.
‘People spend without much thought in December,’ she observes. ‘If mummy wants coordinated fits for the entire family, that’s it, they are buying them.’
Their brand-new cotton two-piece sets range between Sh2,700 to Sh3,500, while their thrifted rompers, which fly off the shelves as soon as they land, start from as low as Sh450 all the way up to Sh1,200.
‘These rompers are unique, cosy, top-notch when it comes to quality, and very cost-effective,’ says Ms Makori. ‘It’s not a surprise that they sell out so fast.’
Something else that moves quickly are their Christmas-themed t-shirts which are priced from Sh300.
‘For these we only have smaller sizes for children aged 0 to 5 years, and they mostly sell towards the end of October when schools are about to close,’ Ms Makori says. ‘I think it’s because most schools have end-year school activities and they tend to go for anything Christmas-themed for those.’