Forty percent of shoppers who have lost weight on GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy plan to increase their apparel spending over the next year, according to a new report from Tinuiti. That compares with 25% of all respondents.

Tinuiti based its findings on a July survey of 1,000 US shoppers who regularly buy apparel. The data points to a cohort that spends differently across nearly every channel of the clothing market — resale, rental, trial services and off-price.

GLP-1 users are also more likely to resell clothing that no longer fits. Some 24% expect to resell online in the next year, versus 19% of respondents overall, while 33% plan to sell through physical secondhand stores, versus 20% of all shoppers.

The gap widens on rental and trial services. One-quarter of weight-loss drug users expect to rent clothing through companies such as Rent the Runway, compared with 12% of respondents overall. For apparel-trial services like Stitch Fix, 26% of GLP-1 users plan to participate, double the 13% rate among all respondents.

"Given that they may still be in flux and not necessarily know where their ultimate weight might land, those types of options are probably going to be pretty appealing," Andy Taylor, VP of research at Tinuiti, told Retail Brew.

Stitch Fix is already seeing the shift. CEO Matt Baer told investors during a March earnings call that mentions of weight loss in the notes customers write to Stitch Fix stylists before shipments have tripled over the previous two years.

"We are out in market and have been for a while explaining to consumers that are on a GLP-1 medication that, as their body transforms, they have the ability to work with a personal stylist to help ensure that they have everything that they need so that they can dress in clothing that fits at each stage of that weight loss journey," Baer said.

Off-price retailers also capture a disproportionate share of GLP-1 shoppers as their sizes change. Bernstein data cited in a March SGB Media article found GLP-1 users were more likely than nonusers to have shopped at TJ Maxx in the last year (60% versus 53%), Marshalls (55% versus 50%) and Burlington (47% versus 38%).

The spending opportunity comes with a returns problem. Sixty-five percent of GLP-1 users engage in bracketing — buying multiple sizes with the intention of returning what doesn't fit — at least occasionally, more than double the rate of consumers generally, according to a July report from returns management and reverse logistics company ReturnPro.

Stores may benefit. ReturnPro found 69% of GLP-1 users say size-and-fit uncertainty has made them more likely to shop in physical stores than online — a receptive audience as retailers invest more heavily in brick-and-mortar.

The scale of both the opportunity and the challenge is likely to grow. The percentage of US adults taking GLP-1 drugs for weight loss has nearly quadrupled since 2024, rising from 3% to 11%, according to a July Gallup report. If adoption continues to climb, so will the impact across apparel retail segments.

"I don't think this thing is really done playing out," Taylor said.