Weight-Loss Drugs Reshape Fashion Retail as GLP-1 Users Drive Clothing Market Shift

“I’m now at a point where I’m going to buy even more clothes,” says Hayley Grice, 50, from Shropshire, who has dropped seven dress sizes since starting the GLP-1 weight-loss medication Mounjaro two years ago. “I’m very happy with my physique right now.”

Grice, the financial director of a business she founded with her husband, underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2009 but regained most of the weight. She had spent her adult life between UK dress sizes 26 and 28 (US sizes 22 and 24).

“When you are morbidly obese, you dress in what you can, what will fit,” she says. “You can’t really choose the latest fashion or whatever your style is.” Now a UK size 12, she shops at standard retailers rather than online plus-size specialists.

“I would have shied away from colour, I would have shied away from anything that drew attention to me,” Grice adds. “And now I don’t care — if I like it, I’ll wear it.”

The widespread adoption of weight-loss drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro is disrupting not only food habits but spending patterns across the board — particularly in wardrobes.

In the US, where one in five adults (21%) have tried GLP-1 drugs, expenditure on groceries, alcohol, and apparel has shifted noticeably. Britain appears to be on a similar trajectory: 5% of adults, or nearly 3 million people, are currently on the drugs, while 9% have taken one at some point, according to new research from consultancy PwC. That figure is expected to rise to 13% by the end of next year — about 7 million people.

“A single class of medication is already influencing how millions of people in Britain eat, drink, exercise and shop,” says PwC. “GLP-1s are doing far more than reducing appetite. They are creating a new consumer.”

About 60% of GLP-1 users are women; 6% come from lower-income households compared with 20% from the wealthiest; and 83% of potential users said they would be more likely to take GLP-1s if they were available as a pill, according to PwC.

One in 10 women aged 35–54 are using the drugs, while usage peaks among 25- to 44-year-olds at 13%, says Tamara Sender Ceron, who leads fashion retail research at market intelligence firm Mintel.

Research from market analytics company Circana shows that those on the drugs eat less, switch to healthier foods, and cut alcohol intake. They also buy more clothing than before, along with skincare, hair products, sportswear, games, toys, and gadgets to monitor their health progress.

Uptake in Britain is expected to accelerate with this week’s arrival of GLP-1s in pill form, as UK pharmacies brace for a surge in requests for the once-daily Wegovy tablet — currently available only on private prescription.

The first oral GLP-1 medication launched in the US in early January and has proved highly popular. Eli Lilly followed with a rival tablet, Foundayo (orforglipron), in early April. Both are cheaper than injected weight-loss medications.

Dr Craig Primack, of US telehealth company Hims & Hers, said: “This is a whole new set of people that … weren’t using any weight-loss drugs, and now they’re comfortable with that.”

Prices for the Wegovy pill at UK online pharmacies range from £69 for a month’s supply of the 1.5mg starting dose to £269 for the 25mg maintenance dose. The equivalent injection costs between £79 and £250 per month, while Mounjaro ranges from £54 to £300 monthly.

Potential patients are warned that GLP-1 drugs can cause side effects including nausea, diarrhoea, constipation, and vomiting, and may lead to more serious complications such as kidney damage.

Melody Ewert, 45, from Minnesota, has been taking GLP-1 drugs for nearly a year and is also spending more on clothes as her size decreases. She tried the Wegovy pill for three weeks but says she did not feel like herself and her period stopped, so she switched back to Eli Lilly’s Zepbound injections at a monthly cost of $450.

“I have been shopping mostly at thrift stores and the sales racks for clothes,” she says. “I am still actively losing weight so I don’t want to buy a whole new wardrobe until I’ve reached my goal of 150lb (68kg). Bras and underwear are something I’ve had to buy most often because I can wear a shirt a bit big but wearing undergarments big doesn’t work.”

She adds that she now wears more colours instead of black, and more layers as she feels less hot.

Wegovy led to an average 21kg (46lb) loss over 72 weeks in a clinical study — equivalent to four dress sizes. Even a more conservative estimate would significantly lift sales at clothing chains, aiding struggling high streets and malls.

Stephen Fitzgerald, a former commercial director at Marks & Spencer, says an average weight loss of 5kg, with a 4cm–5cm reduction in waist size, equates to one full size change.

“There are predictions that 10–15% of the UK population could be taking these drugs by 2030,” he says. “The effect on apparel retailers should be significant.”

In the UK, 42% of GLP-1 users spend more on clothing, particularly activewear for the gym and occasion wear for events such as weddings, according to PwC.

Jacqueline Windsor, the consultancy’s UK head of retail, says shoppers want fit flexibility, a “transition wardrobe,” and have become “body proud” — opting for more tailored clothes to showcase their new shape.

Shapewear could grow in popularity among those losing weight rapidly, addressing sagging skin and loose areas. Beauty and hair brands have launched ranges specifically for GLP-1 users to combat “Ozempic face” — a gaunt appearance — and thinning hair.

Anne Critchlow, analyst at Berenberg bank, suggests the shift from the baggy, boxy silhouettes of the Covid and post-pandemic years — when lockdown weight gain was common — toward a more body-conscious, nipped-in, structured aesthetic is no coincidence. Berenberg analysts estimate a 1% boost to the overall UK clothing market from GLP-1s in each of the next three years. Mid-market retailers such as Marks & Spencer, Next, and Zara, which appeal to older and more affluent customers, are likely to benefit most.

Meanwhile, the plus-size segment has taken a hit. Simon Wolfson, chief executive of Next, has told analysts that sales of very large sizes have fallen, while plus-size retailers on both sides of the Atlantic have reported sharp declines.

At M&S, in some womenswear categories such as jeans, 65% of sales now come from smaller sizes (6–12), whereas historically it was only 40% — partly because the retailer is targeting younger shoppers.

Plus-size retailers feel the pinch

Plus-size retailers on both sides of the Atlantic have reported steep sales declines. London-based BeigePlus, which sells designer fashion for women in UK sizes 16–28, has suffered a 20% drop in sales over the past two years. “The impact has been nothing short of catastrophic,” says chief executive Hennie Fearnley.

While she is happy for anyone who improves their health and life, “from a commercial perspective, these drugs are reshaping the plus-size fashion market at remarkable speed.” Meanwhile, plus-size shoppers worry about the decline in inclusive sizing and the reassertion of skinny culture.

For those losing weight, shopping for new clothes is both a necessity and a newfound pleasure.

“This is actually a big deal in people’s lives,” says PwC’s Windsor. “If you’ve been overweight or struggled with your weight and you lose two to three sizes, it is a new you, a new identity … For retailers, it’s serving a customer who feels maybe for the first time really good about themselves.”

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