https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/glp-1%e2%80%99s-effect-on-retail-returns Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:36:33 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/glp-1%e2%80%99s-effect-on-retail-returns#post-2414942 Wed, 10 Jun 2026 08:48:55 +0000 Jenni NZ 2414942@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Surely perhaps people own too many clothes if they need to constantly buy for sizes that are constantly changing? Could just wear things a little loose for a bit ? I have prescribed Ozempic (actually the brand Wegovy, here, drug name semaglutide) several times since it became available here on 1 July 2025, almost a year ago. Weight loss seemed slow but steady especially when the dose was being built up gradually over several months. Some side effects too. Not subsidised here so expensive, but several people had enough discretionary income to pay for it. I guess they just prioritise that instead of other things. We can’t prescribe it just willy-nilly to anyone, they have to be over a certain BMI. According to the rules it was approved under.<br /> I would certainly not be suggesting (not that I discuss fashion at work unless I am getting a compliment on clothing or shoes) that they should ditch all their larger clothes because many people gain weight again if they stop.<br /> It’s an interesting thought though and I wish I could read the Wall Street Journal! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/glp-1%e2%80%99s-effect-on-retail-returns#post-2414928 Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:38:08 +0000 bj1111 2414928@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>@LJP, In the US, they are covered for individuals with body mass index of &gt;30 or &gt;27 if with an associated medical condition like diabetes or high cholesterol. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/glp-1%e2%80%99s-effect-on-retail-returns#post-2414924 Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:28:42 +0000 Suz 2414924@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow, <b>Jaime</b> -- that is incredible. It's the kind of thing I had wondered.&nbsp;</p> <p><b>Angie,</b> you're right - and I am sure most retailers are trying really hard. It would be interesting for them to do an inter-industry comparison to see<br />&nbsp;which companies do best with all facets of returns (i.e. who has the fewest -- and try to figure out why; who has the best return to waste ratio; and so on.&nbsp;</p> <p>Of course the real answer to waste is for us all to stop buying so much. Guilty as charged, I guess..... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/glp-1%e2%80%99s-effect-on-retail-returns#post-2414919 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 23:32:07 +0000 Angie 2414919@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>We are very spoiled with lenient return policies in the US! :)&nbsp;</p> <p>I'm not sure if providing garment measurements is the answer. You'd need measurements of every size, first of all. Quite the undertaking! Also, interpreting measurements is not straightforward. Still plenty of room for guesswork and error. And that's assuming people are diligent enough to measure themselves, and do that properly!&nbsp;</p> <p>Hope retailers figure it out, because what is available online far surpasses what is available in brick 'n mortar stores.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/glp-1%e2%80%99s-effect-on-retail-returns#post-2414916 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 23:29:25 +0000 Jaime 2414916@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I will tell you that GLP-1s have radically increased the amount of large sized clothes that get donated in bulk. I have never seen anything like it. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/glp-1%e2%80%99s-effect-on-retail-returns#post-2414914 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 22:26:46 +0000 Suz 2414914@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow, <b>unfrumped</b>, that is fascinating, and exactly what I wanted to know. It seems I wasn't completely off base! Thanks for summarizing the piece.&nbsp;</p> <p>Also, what <b>Sal</b> said about returns. If they want to reduce the number of returns or figure out ways to make it less wasteful, they can, I think, by including accurate garment measurements, showing people how to measure (maybe with videos), talking about different types of fit and labelling the fit of the specific garment (gear manufacturers often do this and I have seen it more widely elsewhere, too) and offering different types of return (mail, in store, drop-off point) perhaps for different charges. That's also something a lot of retailers do now, I guess, so maybe it doesn't reduce the waste...I wonder what the answer to that might be.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/glp-1%e2%80%99s-effect-on-retail-returns#post-2414913 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 22:19:58 +0000 Sal 2414913@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have so many thoughts about this topic but mostly really off topic so I won't share them.</p> <p>I can agree that if you are losing weight quickly it must be hard to know what size you are, and with fits being so so different that makes it extra challenging.</p> <p>It's a really hard time for retailers - and managing returns is expensive and can be wasteful.&nbsp; I think being more consistent with sizing and information for how to get it right would be a good start to reduce their returns.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/glp-1%e2%80%99s-effect-on-retail-returns#post-2414910 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 22:04:28 +0000 LJP 2414910@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I read this one too - and I can absolutely see it happening. What I want to know is how *everyone* is affording these drugs? &nbsp;They aren't covered by any insurance policy I know - or maybe it's different in the US ? &nbsp;I mildly obsessed with this right now, clearly . Wishing it wasn't so prohibitively expensive .</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/glp-1%e2%80%99s-effect-on-retail-returns#post-2414899 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 18:55:10 +0000 unfrumped 2414899@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Apropos a sidebar in suz’s post, the WSJ did an article a few days ago on clothing retailers correlating a steady increase in crease in customers ordering multiple sizes ( with corresponding increase in returns) with GLP-1 use. The idea is that weight loss is so steady and often fast that size changes almost weekly. I don’t think they said this explicitly, but idea seemed to me also to be that a customer on such weight loss no longer has a reference point for his/her size—which of course would be worse if retail sizes were very inconsistent even within a specific style. And we all know that the body measurements given aren’t always reliable, plus how a give “ size” is calculated to fit, let alone that people don’t always even measure themselves. </p> <p>Anyhoo, several retailers were saying it was enough to change profit margins, causing them to rethink return policies, start adding restocking fees, add suggestions/Rec’s on website for how to estimate size. </p>