Fashion brands could be stuck with US$5 billion in unsold plus-size clothes as GLP-1 drugs reshape Canadians’ shopping

For the roughly three million Canadians now using GLP-1 medications — alongside the millions more who wear plus sizes and aren’t on the drugs — this isn’t just a fashion story. It’s a preview of where prices, selection and deals could be headed.

Why are brands stuck with billions in unsold stock?

For decades, apparel companies planned inventory around a population that kept getting larger every year. That trend has reversed for the first time in 50 years, which points to GLP-1 adoption as the leading driver.

If current trends hold, the firm estimates more than 400 million apparel units a year could be misaligned with real demand by 2027 — representing close to US$5 billion in retail capital and lost margin. That mismatch cuts both ways: demand for extra-small and small sizes is climbing, while orders placed a year or two ago for larger sizes are landing on shelves at a rate that fewer shoppers are buying.

What it means for your closet and your budget

For Canadians who wear plus-sized clothing, the most visible effect is shrinking selection, but it isn’t spread evenly across the market. Trend-led retailers are cutting fastest. Anthropologie’s plus-size dress offerings fell from 10.5% to 9% year-over-year, while budget-focused Walmart added inventory for larger sizes this season, bucking the trend.

The upside, at least in the near term: brands rarely destroy stock they can still sell, so keep an eye out for clearance racks and outlet channels over the next several months for the sizes and styles that missed their moment.

In the longer-term, plus-size shoppers are already voting with their wallets on the resale market. On the platform ThredUp, purchase volume for large, extra-large and plus-size women’s apparel grew 17.4% this year — more than double the 6.8% growth rate for small and medium sizes.

Finally, if you use a GLP-1 medication and expect your size to keep changing, budget for wardrobe turnover the same way you budget for the prescription itself.

The bottom line

None of this means plus-size shoppers are out of options. It means the easy years — when major retailers were expanding size ranges by default — are behind them, at least for now. The brands still investing in extended sizing, and the resale market picking up where retail leaves off, are the places to look for the better deals and the better selection next.