Americans 'unsure of their size' as quarantine sparks need for new wardrobes due to weight changes
Size fluctuations are prompting an increase in returns
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As many cities enter into Phase 4 of reopening around the country, people are beginning to resume some semblance of normal life.
However, one leftover from the lockdown lifestyle is the quarantine bodies.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Size fluctuations have people heading to makeover their wardrobes – though it’s not all quarantine 15. According to a limited sample from Fit Match, a startup firm that’s rolling out 3D technology to scan customers bodies at malls, 15 percent of 100 women surveyed in Texas gained more than five pounds, while 20 percent lost more than five pounds. Only one-third of women did not have any weight change.
Body measuring app Perfitly LLC shared similar stats about fluctuations in weight, citing a 20 percent increase in its 50,000 users redoing their avatars in April and May. Typically, a spike like that is seen after the holidays. (iStock)
CEO Haniff Brown called the data “pronounced,” noting two-thirds of customers typically don’t have any weight change in such a short amount of time, the Associated Press reported.
Body measuring app Perfitly LLC shared similar stats about fluctuations in weight, citing a 20 percent increase in its 50,000 users redoing their avatars in April and May. Typically, a spike like that is seen after the holidays.
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“Because it is a huge spike, we think it is because of the weight gain,” CEO Dave Sharma said to the Associated Press. “They are sitting around, they don’t go to the gym, and they don’t go for jogs.”
Allison Weiss Brady from a Philadelphia suburb and Michael Ladin of Oak Park, Ill., were on opposite ends of the quarantine body spectrum, with Brady coming out 20 pounds light and Ladin 10 pounds heavier.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Retailers face more than $800 million in expenses from the additional returns in the second quarter, in part because of sizing issues but also because of buyers’ remorse and shipping delays. (iStock)
The pair represent the larger American population who are coming out of the lockdown in need of new clothes. The change in body type has caused retail returns to double from March as customers try to figure out what size they are.
Retailers face more than $800 million in expenses from the additional returns in the second quarter, in part because of sizing issues but also because of buyers’ remorse and shipping delays.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Anecdotally, we’re seeing shoppers come back into stores unsure of their size,” said Marc Rosen, executive vice president and president of Levi Strauss Americas, in a statement to the Associated Press. “For most, it’s been a long time since they’ve tried on a pair of jeans, and they may be up or down a size.”
Guido Campello, co-CEO of luxury lingerie brands Cosabella and Journelle, said his two brands have been adding more generous cuts of some of its most popular styles in bras and sleepwear in recent weeks because of interest from its 2,100 store accounts.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}However, Americans looking to get back to the gym are not out of the woods yet, with states like California closing down again as coronavirus cases continue to spike in certain areas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.