A study from The Consumer Collective shows GLP-1 users taking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy spend $449 a month on fitness, nearly four times the $120 spent by non-users.
The study, “How America Spends on Fitness,” is based on an online survey taken in July of 500 U.S. adults, including 123 users and 377 non-users.
The study found GLP-1 users are more likely to pay for a gym membership (81 percent, against 43 percent of non-users) and spend more on personal training, supplements, and recovery. They also report walking more, doing more cardio, and eating more protein.
At the same time, GLP-1 users say they’re eating out, snacking, and drinking alcohol less than before starting the medication.
GLP-1 users also report spending more at the grocery store even as restaurant and snack spending declines, “pointing to a shift toward higher-quality food rather than simply eating less,” according to The Consumer Collective, a Brooklyn-based consumer insights and retail strategy consultancy.
Apparel is a related spending driver: 63.4 percent of GLP-1 users report buying new clothes due to weight changes, and more than two-thirds have dropped at least two sizes.
A quarter of respondents report having taken a GLP-1 medication at some point, and 15 percent are currently taking one. Millennials have the highest GLP-1 usage rate among generations, at 29 percent.
Weight loss is the primary reason cited (61.8 percent), followed by diabetes and prediabetes management.
Beyond GLP-1 use, the report finds that health motivations are outpacing appearance-driven ones across the board. Of all respondents, 70 percent of consumers say their focus on health is higher than it was a year ago, and sleep (87 percent) and mental wellbeing (86 percent) now rank above physical fitness (68 percent) and healthy eating (66 percent) as top consumer priorities.
The Consumer Collective’s study joins several recent studies that have arrived exploring the potential impact of GLP-1 drugs.
A survey from Tinuiti, a digital-marketing agency, taken in July found that of respondents who have taken GLP-1 medications, approximately 40 percent plan to spend more on apparel over the next year. The survey found that three out of every four GLP-1 users who have lost weight are restocking their wardrobes specifically because of weight loss.
A recent PWC study based on a survey conducted in May found spending on the apparel category increasing 9.9 percent within a six-to eight-month period after users start taking the drug. The impact on fitness was found to be more mixed, with cardio activities experiencing healthy increases from GLP-1 adoption, but group fitness and strength training seeking little benefit.
A Circana survey from earlier this year revealed that 55 percent of active GLP-1 users have purchased new clothing or footwear, driven primarily by changing sizes. Moreover, a quarter of users report that they have updated their wardrobes to refresh their appearance.
A Wells Fargo study from earlier this year found GLP-1 users spent over 40 percent more on clothing annually than non-users, replacing a greater share of their wardrobes and expressing stronger intent to keep spending. Bottoms and bras were cited as the highest-priority purchases. The study concluded that on a relative basis, footwear does not benefit from size changes associated with weight loss while GLP-1 users were replenishing their casual apparel wardrobes at a faster rate than athletic apparel.
A study from Bernstein Research, based on a survey taken last November, concluded the growing adoption of GLP-1 drugs could boost annual apparel spending to $13 billion as users splurge on new apparel to support shrinking sizes during their weight-loss journeys. Athletic apparel brands, off-pricers and online personal styling services (e.g., Stitch Fix) were expected to be the big beneficiaries of the trend.
Image courtesy Pure Gym
