Fashion Retail Statistics 2026: Spending, Sales, and Industry Trends

The U.S. fashion and apparel industry represents over half a trillion dollars in annual consumer spending. This report compiles the latest government-sourced data on clothing and footwear expenditures, retail sales trends, and per capita spending patterns.

Key Findings at a Glance

U.S. personal consumption expenditures on clothing, footwear, and related services reached $554.0 billion in 2024 (BEA via FRED, DCAFRC1A027NBEA).
Per capita spending on clothing and footwear was $1,559 in 2024, up from $1,524 in 2023 (BEA via FRED, USPCEPCCLTH).
Consumer spending on clothing and footwear surged 47.6% from 2020 to 2024, recovering from pandemic lows (BEA via FRED).
Footwear spending alone hit $116.2 billion in 2024 (BEA via FRED, DFTWRC1A027NBEA).

Total Consumer Spending on Clothing and Footwear

Year	PCE: Clothing, Footwear & Services	Year-over-Year Change
2024	$554.0 billion	+3.5%
2023	$535.4 billion	+4.1%
2022	$514.3 billion	+5.8%
2021	$486.1 billion	+29.5%
2020	$375.3 billion	(pandemic low)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis via FRED, series DCAFRC1A027NBEA. Annual, not seasonally adjusted.

Footwear Spending

Year	PCE: Footwear	Year-over-Year Change
2024	$116.2 billion	+1.9%
2023	$114.0 billion	+3.3%
2022	$110.3 billion	+4.3%
2021	$105.8 billion	+29.9%
2020	$81.4 billion	(pandemic low)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis via FRED, series DFTWRC1A027NBEA. Annual, not seasonally adjusted.

Per Capita Spending

Year	Per Capita: Clothing & Footwear	Year-over-Year Change
2024	$1,559	+2.3%
2023	$1,524	+3.0%
2022	$1,479	+4.8%
2021	$1,411	+29.8%
2020	$1,087	(pandemic low)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis via FRED, series USPCEPCCLTH. Annual, not seasonally adjusted.

Retail Sales: Clothing and Accessory Stores (2025)

Monthly retail sales at clothing and clothing accessory stores (NAICS 448) provide a higher-frequency view of the industry:

October 2025: $26.1 billion, up 7.9% year-over-year (U.S. Census Bureau via FRED, MRTSSM448USN; Global Textile Times).
August 2025: $28.2 billion (back-to-school peak).
February 2025: $19.2 billion, a record high for that month (Trading Economics / FRED).
Monthly sales at clothing stores have consistently exceeded $23 billion in 2025, indicating stable demand.
U.S. total retail and food services sales in November 2025 reached $735.9 billion, up 3.3% year-over-year (U.S. Census Bureau, Jan 2026).

Quarterly Trends (Through Q1 2025)

Q1 2025 PCE on clothing and footwear (nondurable goods): $533.7 billion annualized, seasonally adjusted (BEA via FRED, DCLORC1Q027SBEA).
Q4 2024: $528.8 billion.
Q3 2024: $523.4 billion.
The steady quarterly increases reflect a market that has fully recovered from the pandemic trough.

Household Spending Benchmarks (BLS)

Average annual apparel and services spending per household was $2,001 in 2024 (BLS Consumer Expenditures, 2024).
In 2023, average household spending included $655 on women's clothing, $406 on men's clothing, $208 on women's footwear, and $147 on men's footwear (BLS Economics Daily, Feb 2025).

Additional Market Data

The average American household spends about $1,434 annually on apparel and services, roughly 2.3% of total household budget (Rawshot / BLS data).
Online retail accounted for 20.8% of all apparel sales in 2023 (Rawshot / Census data).
The U.S. apparel market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 9.3% from 2023 to 2027 (Rawshot / industry forecasts).
40% of consumers have cut back on clothing spending due to inflation (Rawshot survey data).

Post-Pandemic Recovery

The fashion retail sector experienced one of the sharpest drops and recoveries of any consumer spending category:

2020 drop: Total spending on clothing, footwear, and related services fell to $375.3 billion, a decline of roughly 22% from 2019 levels.
2021 rebound: Spending surged 29.5% year-over-year to $486.1 billion.
2024 level: At $554.0 billion, spending is now well above pre-pandemic levels in nominal terms.
Per capita: From $1,087 in 2020 to $1,559 in 2024, a 43.4% increase over four years.

If you found this data useful, please cite as: "Fashion Retail Statistics 2026," makemyreceipt.com, February 2026.

Methodology and Sources

All data in this report comes from official U.S. government statistical agencies:

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA): Personal Consumption Expenditures data, accessed via FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). Series: DCAFRC1A027NBEA, DFTWRC1A027NBEA, USPCEPCCLTH, DCLORC1Q027SBEA.
U.S. Census Bureau: Monthly Retail Trade Survey, accessed via FRED. Series: MRTSSM448USN.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): Consumer Expenditures, 2024 and Apparel data in fashion.

All figures are in nominal (current) dollars unless otherwise noted. Data retrieved January-February 2026.

Last updated: February 2026.