MW Weight-loss drugs are changing the way people dress. These companies stand to benefit.

By Bill Peters

As GLP-1 users lose weight, they'll likely be shopping for clothes in new sizes, translating into up to $13 billion a year in additional spending in the U.S., Bernstein analysts say

Retailers like TJ Maxx face concerns about stretched consumers, tariffs and rising gas prices but may see benefits as people using weight-loss drugs shop for new clothes.

Weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound have already changed the way people eat. Now they are expected to change the way people dress as they lose weight, with GLP-1 users potentially spending billions more each year to refresh their wardrobes, Bernstein analysts said.

Those changes could boost yearly spending on clothing by as much as $13 billion, the analysts said in a research note on Friday, bringing a bump in demand to brands like Nike and Lululemon and discounters like Burlington Stores.

"We expect that GLP-1 users will expand their apparel shopping basket size for 1-3 years, including both the multiple size changes during their weight loss journey as well as replacing their entire wardrobe (and perhaps shifting the styles and types of clothing as well) once they have reached their goal weight," the analysts said.

The Bernstein analysts' assessment may indicate one bright spot for retailers as they face concerns about stretched consumers, tariffs and gas prices that have risen sharply since the war in Iran started last month. Price increases for basics, like food and energy, over the past several years have forced many consumers to spend their money on what they need, rather than on more discretionary items like new clothes.

The analysts estimated that the number of U.S. adults using GLP-1s $(NVO)$( LLY) was somewhere between 10 million and 30 million. If users of those drugs lose 10% to 20% of their weight, they said that would amount to about 20 to 50 pounds lost for an adult with a body mass index of at least 35, or who weighed around 240 pounds.

As a result, any new additions to a person's wardrobe could be one to five sizes smaller - translating to an extra $3 billion to $13 billion a year in clothing spending in the U.S. and to a low-single-digit increase in the total amount of clothing sold. Since GLP-1 users tend to be wealthier than the general U.S. population, those gains could end up being even bigger, the analysts said.

They also said that outside survey data indicated that GLP-1 users were likelier to enjoy shopping and appeared to be "more optimistic aboutshopping" after using those drugs. Bernstein's own yearly shopper survey found that 71% of respondents using GLP-1s spent more in 2025 than in 2024, compared with 51% of people who didn't use GLP-1s.

The analysts said that as shoppers lose weight, they tend to buy cheaper clothing, given the cost of continually buying new clothes as they drop more pounds. Off-price chains like TJX $(TJX)$ - the parent of TJ Maxx and Marshalls - and Burlington Stores $(BURL)$ stood to benefit, they said.

People using GLP-1s were likelier to buy stretchy athleisure gear and tended to join workout clubs and take up activities like jogging and dog-walking, the analysts said. That could mean some good news for brands like Nike $(NKE)$ and Lululemon Athletica (LULU), both of which are trying to turn their businesses around. Styling services like Stitch Fix (SFIX) could also see an uptick in demand. The analysts noted that the platform uses a questionnaire that asks new users if they take GLP-1s.

The analysts also noted that GLP-1 users were more selective about routinely upgrading specific sections of their wardrobe.

"Rather than replacing an entire wardrobe multiple times, users tend to focus on necessities such as work clothes," they said. "The logic stands: no need to resize your oversized bedtime t-shirt, but you don't want your work jacket to look like it's wearing you."

-Bill Peters

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March 20, 2026 12:14 ET (16:14 GMT)

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