MW This Wegovy user spent $5,000 on a new wardrobe after losing 80 pounds - and she's not alone
By Charles Passy
Clothing brands are among the businesses benefiting from the GLP-1 boom as users treat their slimmer selves
Tori Allen says she's thrilled to have lost 80 pounds since she went on Wegovy, one of the GLP-1 drugs that more and more people are using to treat diabetes or lose weight.
But slimming down comes with a price, albeit one that the 39-year-old Chicago resident said she's more than willing to pay. Specifically, Allen has had to buy new clothes - some $5,000 worth - to fit her trimmer frame. Plus, there's a psychological component to her recent fashion fervor.
"I look better, so I want to reward my body," Allen told MarketWatch.
And Allen isn't the only GLP-1 user shifting her spending habits. Many people on these weight-loss drugs - which include Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and Mounjaro - report that they're shelling out more for clothes and a variety of other goods and services to fit their changing lifestyles. At the same time, some also say their grocery and dining-out budgets have been slashed, a natural result of taking a medication that can significantly curb one's appetite.
The growing impact of GLP-1 drugs on the American economy could be as significant as the changes being wrought by the artificial-intelligence boom, according to Prashant Agrawal, the founder and chief executive of Impact Analytics, a software-as-a-service company. "It's going to be a big shift," he said.
Naturally, it's all due to the fact that so many people are on these medications now. According to a 2024 poll from KFF, a leading health researcher, about one in eight adults have taken them.
'I look better, so I want to reward my body.'Tori Allen, who's lost 80 pounds on Wegovy
And while the cost for these medications remains high - they can easily run $1,000 a month without insurance - sales have still been strong. Danish drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk $(NVO)$ (DK:NOVO.B), which makes Ozempic and Wegovy, is now Europe's largest company by market capitalization, largely due to the popularity of the GLP-1 medications. (Even larger is U.S.-based Eli Lilly & Co. $(LLY)$, the maker of Zepbound and Mounjaro.)
Mansur Khamitov, an assistant professor of marketing at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, said it's important to understand there will be winners and losers in various retail categories because of the drugs. But either way, "the impact is undeniable," he said.
Some clothing brands could be among the winners, as research firms that track consumer spending are already finding. For example, Impact Analytics found that sales for smaller-sized women's shirts increased by 12.1%, based on a survey of New York retailers. Perhaps not surprisingly, sales for larger sizes declined. But experts generally say that when people are dropping the pounds, they're also apt to drop money on new clothes, if not a completely new wardrobe, out of sheer necessity.
The GLP-1 effect isn't good for every sector, however. Conversely, numerous reports have shown how those on the GLP-1 drugs are spending less on food. A case in point: A recent joint survey from the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and market researcher Numerator found that there's a 6% decline in grocery spending in households where at least one member is on a GLP-1 drug.
Numerator Chief Economist Leo Feler warns that this could be just the start of a growing trend - pointing to how GLP-1 medications, which are injectable, will likely become easier to take (oral versions are poised to be the next big thing) and less expensive.
Beyond the consumer reports are compelling stories from those on the medications about what they're buying - and not buying.
Marie Watkinson, a resident of Long Island, N.Y., who owns a spa-event company, is a telling example. Since going on Mounjaro more than a year ago, she's shed 75 pounds. She's also cut roughly $550 a month from her family's grocery budget, noting her husband is also on a GLP-1 medication. Hers is a family of three - her son included - but she said they used to eat like a family of five.
"It was all food all the time," she said.
Watkinson has also cut back on restaurant spending - ordering delivery for lunch is a thing of the past - and drinking alcohol. "We have this gorgeous wine fridge in our kitchen that stays empty," she said.
But Watkinson hasn't necessarily saved money in the end. That's because she's spending on other things - not just clothes, but also weekly massages and facials. As she explained: "I felt like crap for so long. Now I'm investing in myself."
That's in line with what some experts and analysts have observed. They point to skincare and haircare products and fitness gear as being among the categories that stand to get a financial boost from the GLP-1 trend. It's all because those using the drugs are likely to embrace a new and healthier lifestyle.
'I felt like crap for so long. Now I'm investing in myself.'Marie Watkinson, who shed 75 pounds using a GLP-1 drug
The story can go beyond that in some odd and unexpected ways. Rich Friedman, a 64-year-old resident of Wilton Manors, Fla., who's lost about 30 pounds since going on GLP-1 medication, said he's spending less on gas these days because he's walking more instead of driving. As he explained, he's now in better shape to do so.
"I find that losing weight feeds off itself," he said.
Some companies, especially in the food industry, have downplayed the idea that GLP-1 drugs will hurt their sales - even though some have faced declines in their stock prices at times attributable to such concerns.
In November, Hershey Co. $(HSY)$ CEO Michelle Buck spoke during an analyst call of a "mild year-on-year [sales] impact" because of the medications, adding that "it's in line with what we expect, and we are carefully monitoring that behavior."
Of course, companies can find ways to combat any shift in eating habits - and some are already doing so.
For example, Nestlé (CH:NESN) (NSRGY) has introduced Vital Pursuit, a line of what it bills as "delicious, high-protein meals with essential nutrients" that "provide dietary support for GLP-1 users and consumers focused on weight management."
But it isn't just major companies that are making adjustments. PKN, a brand of nut-based milk made with pecans, recently launched a "Zero" version with no added sugar. The product was created in part to respond to demand from GLP-1 users looking to avoid sweetened beverages, according to the company.
Allen, who bought the new wardrobe, said she's not spending less on food, but she is changing the mix of what she buys, with a greater focus on protein-packed items.
She also said she's found other ways to reward herself for her weight-loss success. She recently spent $10,000 on a European vacation, visiting Amsterdam, Budapest, Vienna and Prague as part of a whirlwind trip.
"I'm more physically able to do that adventure," Allen said.
-Charles Passy
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January 26, 2025 14:47 ET (19:47 GMT)
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