We went shopping at Victoria's Secret, Pink, and Aerie and saw the huge divide in the lingerie market firsthand (LB, AEO)

• The women's underwear market is undergoing rapid transformation in the US. Longtime industry leader Victoria's Secret is increasingly finding itself under pressure as new brands enter the market and chip away at its market share. 
• Its parent company, L Brands, reported fourth-quarter earnings last month and announced that dozens of Victoria's Secret stores would close this year.
• Meanwhile, American Eagle'sAerie brand has achieved explosive growth and is opening stores. 
• We visited Victoria's Secret, Pink, and Aerie to see how the shopping experience compared. We found one to be far superior, signaling a new era for the lingerie market. 

The women's underwear market is going through a period of rapid change, and longtime industry leader Victoria's Secret is increasingly coming under pressure as new brands chip away at its market share. 

Read more: These up-and-coming lingerie brands should terrify Victoria's Secret

American Eagle's Aerie is one of those competitors, and it's becoming a bigger threat every day as it continues to grow at a rapid rate. 

We visited Victoria's Secret, Pink, and Aerie to see how the shopping experience compared at each of these stores. Here's what we found:

SEE ALSO: Aerie is homing in on Victoria's Secret's biggest weakness

Our first stop was at a Victoria's Secret store in Manhattan's busy Soho shopping district.

Our first impressions were pretty good. There was a lot of inventory on display, but it was neatly laid out.

There were also no sale signs. Wall Street has been very critical of discounting in recent years. One analyst said he believed Victoria's Secret's sister brand Pink was on the "precipice of collapse," because of the level of promotions being run there.

In a recent call with investors, CFO Stuart Burgdoerfer addressed this but said that it will "take a little bit of time" to reduce promotional levels.

As well as scaling back on promotions, Burgdoerfer said in the company's most recent earnings call that it is looking at all aspects of the brand's marketing. "We are taking a fresh, hard look at everything," he said. "Everything is on the table."

Victoria's Secret has frequently been criticized for its overtly sexual in-store ads and its racy runway shows, especially in the wake of #MeToo.

Read more: These photos of Victoria's Secret commercials over the years reveal why the store is struggling in the #MeToo era