At the end of last year, David’s Bridal noticed something curious in the company’s data. Rush orders for alterations had doubled.
“This is somebody who's waited because they are on GLP-1s or on a fitness journey, and now they're scrambling trying to get their dress very, very quickly,” Kelly Cook, CEO of David’s Bridal, said in an interview.
After digging further, David’s Bridal realized the average dress size was coming down. It previously was between 12 to 14, but the average was quickly turning into 6 to 8 or 8 to 10.
So, in order to better serve its audience, the company this spring introduced its Fit Guarantee, a promise to “guarantee the fit no matter what,” Cook said.
And the pledge isn’t just about David’s Bridal’s own apparel offering. Shoppers can bring in gowns purchased anywhere — from department stores to small boutiques — and still get the correct fit.
The Fit Guarantee is an example of how retailers are responding to rapidly changing consumer behavior due to GLP-1s.
And, as it turns out, GLP-1 users may be forcing positive changes across retail operations, from sizing to returns.
GLP-1s: Retail’s response
Use of GLP-1s is forecast to rapidly expand in the coming years, increasing from $42.6 billion in 2024 to $137 billion by 2030, according to Coresight Research data.
Furthermore, the percentage of U.S. adults who are currently taking a GLP-1 for weight loss is 11%, up from 3% only two years ago, according to September research by Gallup.
“I don’t think in our lifetime we’re going to see many behavioral shifts like we are with GLP-1s,” Dean Neiger, co-founder and CEO of Maeva, a DTC metabolic wellness company, said in an interview. “When you look at the changes that GLP-1s are pushing through, it’s really unbelievable.”
The cultural transformation is showing up in a variety of ways. The world’s 100 most valuable food brands are facing a $73 billion risk due to the medication, leading to major implications for companies like snack manufacturers.
“I don’t think in our lifetime we’re going to see many behavioral shifts like we are with GLP-1s."
Dean Neiger
Co-Founder and CEO, Maeva
Meanwhile, retailers are reconfiguring stores, stocking end caps with products that are specifically designed for GLP-1 users, and food chains are coming out with protein-centric products, Neiger said.
But, where the ramifications are especially tangible is with apparel. And some retailers are stumbling to find answers that both support revenue goals and simultaneously serve clients.
David’s Bridal’s Fit Guarantee, for example, in part came about as a response to other wedding retailers making brides sign waivers regarding their weight loss. GLP-1s have pushed brides to find their dress closer to their wedding day, in turn pushing bridal retailers to carry more inventory, increase rush orders and provide quick turnaround times on tailoring.
Prior to the pandemic, the lifecycle of someone receiving a proposal and getting married was between nine and 12 months. After, it became 16 to 18 months.
“What we learned was, without that guarantee, the timing of buying the dress and when she gets married was starting to shrink as she bought the dress closer to the wedding,” Cook said.
Within a week of introducing the Fit Guarantee, the timeline “retracted and went back to normal — prior to GLP-1s,” Cook said. “So within seven days we saw it go back. It first went back two weeks, then it went back three weeks. And we thought, OK, now what we’re doing is we’re selling her dress in the normal time frame and we’re holding it. And whenever she’s ready to alter it, we’ll be here to guarantee the fit.”
GLP-1 usage has also impacted men’s apparel retailer DXL, which estimates as much as 25% of its customer base is using the medication. As a result, shoppers are delaying clothing purchases while their weight is fluctuating, then-CEO Harvey Kanter told analysts this spring.
“We didn’t think it was going to be impacting the business as much at the level we think today it is,” Kanter said, adding that GLP-1 users are moving around in sizing, not just going down. The fluctuation in sizes is therefore creating “volatility.”
“Typically, weight loss of any kind up or down is a friend of ours. But I think right now, we’re in a pattern where they’re losing weight and they’re on a journey, and they’re trying not to buy clothes until they’re done with that journey,” Kanter said.
In its most recent earnings, executives including interim CEO Lionel Conacher mapped out a turnaround plan for the company as sales declines continued into the second quarter.
“A majority [of shoppers] tell us that they intend to come back to DXL once they reach a stable size,” James Olsson, Destination XL’s newly appointed chief growth officer, said in September. “We believe being the authority on fit means staying with this customer through that transition, not just at a single point in time.”
Circana refers to the impact of GLP-1s as the “body transformation economy” as shoppers change sizes and lifestyle habits. During the first year of GLP-1 use, households buy more active shorts, jeans, casual pants, bras and dresses, reflecting changing routines, Circana found.
“As consumers rebuild their wardrobes, they’re reassessing what fits, what flatters, and what feels aligned with their lifestyle,” Kristen Classi-Zummo, apparel industry adviser at Circana, said in a statement this spring. “Brands that plan for both the physical and emotional elements will lead. This isn’t a trend — it’s a structural change for the apparel industry.”
GLP-1s: Sizing and returns
As GLP-1 usage continues to grow, retailers can proactively respond to their audience’s needs through streamlined communication about sizing.
“What a lot of companies struggle with is inconsistency in sizing, and really that is a matter of discipline,” John Mercer, head of global research at Coresight Research, said in an interview. “You have to set your standards and roll out the tools that allow your company to consistently meet those standards.”
Companies do not need to change their fits or silhouettes, Mercer said. Instead, retailers should focus on a core, fixed set of how they size their fits.
“What you are getting is trading between different sizes by consumers,” Mercer said. “It doesn’t really call for companies to change that fundamental fit.”
Currently, around 70% of U.S. GLP-1 users have dropped at least one clothing size, and a combined 42% have sized down by two or more, per Coresight Research.
Weight loss due to GLP-1s is also causing users to return apparel at higher rates. Shoppers are increasingly bracketing, or purchasing the same item in multiple sizes with the intent to return what doesn’t fit. Sixty-five percent of GLP-1 users participate in bracketing, according to a recent report by ReturnPro. Among those who do bracket, 83% hold on to extra sizes in anticipation of continued weight loss.
Men on GLP-1s are a driver of apparel returns, and bracket their purchases at nearly double the rate of women, according to that report. Men are also more likely to say their return frequency has increased.
Returns are an increasing problem for retailers. The average online apparel return rate in the U.S. last year was over 23%, according to Coresight Research. That rate roughly translates to over $47 billion in returned merchandise.
“Each return incurs expenses in reverse logistics, such as shipping, restocking, repackaging and quality inspection, often exceeding the margin on the original sale,” Coresight Research wrote in its “Shifting the Size and Fit Paradigm” report. Sizing and fit issues are the top reason for online apparel returns.
As a response, retailers should be providing robust product information and potentially include things like videos and fitting tools, per Mercer.
“Product data pages and the tools that you get on those should absolutely work the hardest to maintain or build some kind of confidence and reduce returns,” Mercer said.
But, when retailers come up with solutions that both streamline operations and provide exceptional service, shoppers can notice the effort.
For David’s Bridal customers, the stress of wedding planning is one reason the company wanted to address changing behaviors due to GLP-1s.
Bridal shoppers are “already incredibly stressed, very emotional, very anxious. So we put our heads together and we said, look, regardless of where you are on a health journey, or you're taking the GLP-1 — or whatever your choice is — what's the one thing that we can do to serve her relative to this issue that takes the issue completely off the table so she doesn't have to worry?” Cook said regarding the company’s Fit Guarantee.
“This one thing we got really right,” Cook said.
