How Americans Spend on Clothing?

We live in precarious economic times. While the unemployment rate is at a historic low, the
inflation along with factors is keeping Americans from spending their hard-earned money.

A report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics gives an important overview of how average
American households spend their money. It showed that 3.1% of the total expenditure (valued
$1,833) went into apparel and services.

But that is just a brief overview of the entire situation. When you dig deeper, there are several
trends that speak volumes on how average Americans spend on clothing. To get the clear
picture, it’s first important to understand how the spending patterns have changed when it
comes to fashion.

Shoppers Are Spending Less Percentage of their Income on Clothes

When one looks at American shopping statistics, some interesting trends are revealed. Risk
management firm Deloitte spent a year analyzing government data, communicating with
industry leaders, surveying around 4000 customers and examining more than 200 billion credit
card transactions through its consumer-insight division.
Almost across all age groups, the percentage of money spent on clothing has decreased. In
1987, buyers dedicated around 5% of their discretionary spending to their wardrobe. But in
2017, the same number dropped to 2%.

The comparison of how much percentage Americans spent on clothing between 1987 and 2017
becomes more interesting when you factor in the rise of eCommerce. Although it’s easier to buy
clothes than it was 30 years ago –people are still dedicating less portion of their income to
fashion.

Despite average Americans spending per year decreasing on clothes, the global eCommerce
fashion market is thriving. You can avail fashion accessories through Senreve discount code.
Global Fashion Ecommerce Market is Expected to Grow to $873 Billion
Statista reported the global fashion market to be around $533 billion in 2018. Footwear made up
25% of the market with bags and accessories having a 10% share. Understandably, apparel
had the majority portion with 65%.

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The fashion industry as a whole is expected to hit $873 billion by 2023.

While the internet is flooded by online retailers targeting different niches, few familiar names
continue to dominate the market.
Amazon Sells More Apparel than Any Other Website
When you think about Amazon, fashion is not the first thing that comes to your mind. Of course
–the company has come a long way since it was an online book store in a garage. Still, the
website isn’t renowned for hosting trendy and fashionable apparel also many stores like
Vilebrequin offers discount on fashionable apparel you can also avail by using Vilebrequin
promo code.

But according to a survey Internet Retailer, Amazon is website where Americans spend most on
clothing.

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Most People Buy Apparel from their Smart Phones
Recent online shopping statistics reveal another great piece of information. Not only does
mobile provides the most traffic to fashion sites (65.4%) but most sales (57.1%) –higher than
the overall average.

The population under the age of 34 in both the United States and the United Kingdom spend on
clothing through their smartphones.
But for a number of mobile shopping are in it for the experience. Ragtrader reports 67% of
shoppers to use their smartphones to window shop for fun. 77% of these online window
shoppers make impulse buys.
The growth of mobile shopping is quite extraordinary. It’s estimated that by 2021, mobile will
dominate the 54% of all sales.
Mobile has become such a force that it drove the majority of the traffic on the cyber week 2019
(November 25-29). Most of the transactions during this period also happened through cell
phones.
On a similar note, the orders on Thanksgiving coming through mobile as a whole were up by
11.5% this year.
Despite the growing influence of fashion eCommerce, believe it or not, there is a contingent of
shoppers that have never bought clothes online.
14.9% of US buyers Don’t Buy Clothes Online
While ordering clothes with a few clicks is a hip thing to do for many, it’s not how many
American like their money spend on clothing. As per Internet Retailer, 14.9% of Americans don’t
spend on clothes online as opposed to 6.4% who don’t buy from brick and mortar stores.

Meanwhile, 20.4% of fashion-lovers get their fix from an online retailer at least once a week.
The majority (30.5%), however, orders online once or twice a week.

Interestingly, 34% of shoppers pay a visit to their favorite stores once or twice a year.
Comparatively, 36.1% buy offline every 2-3 months.
One can assume the major reason some customers prefer in-store is because they do not trust
online retailers. These customers prefer to try on the apparel themselves before spending any
money. These Americans spend on clothing inside stores rather than in front of a Laptop
screen.
It’s interesting to note this in light of the fact that overall trends favor online commerce over brick
and mortar. For instance, the online sales grew on Black Friday 2019 for eCommerce sites but
fell for conventional retail stores. Because many stores like Mirta offers discount every year on
Black Friday. You can also buy handmade bags by availing Mirta discount code.
It would also be fair to point out that Desktop computers are a preferable option for many
shoppers. When you look at the conversion rates on the shopping season, the desktop has a
clear lead on other devices.
But any analysis on American spending statistics would be incomplete without highlighting an
important factor–the generation gap.

Millennials Make Twice As Many Fashion Purchases Online than Boomers

How much average an American spends on fashion is greatly influenced by their age group.
Although Millennials are accused of ‘killing’ everything under the sun, they’ve taken a liking to
online fashion stores.

But what really constitutes a Millennial? Well, Millennials are the generation sandwiched by
Generation X and Generation Z.

 Baby Boomers are born between 1946-1964

 Generation X is middle of 1965-1980
 Millennials or Generation Y are born between 1981-1996
  Generation Z are born between 1997-2015

Studies shows 84% of Baby Boomers prefer brick and mortar stores while getting clothes.
Among other causes, the hassle of returning faulty items is cited as the common reason why
boomers are not spending on clothing on sites like Amazon.

But according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the hip Millennials love ordering their apparel
from the internet. The generation spends twice as many as boomers on online clothing but they
spend less per transaction.

It’s interesting to note that the amount Americans spend on clothing per transaction increases
with age:

 $101 for Millennials

 $160 for Generation X
 $173 for Boomers

Generation X spends most on clothing per year with $2,300. This makes average cost of
clothing per month around $192 for this generation. Millennials follow Zoomers with $1,950 per
year and finally –Boomers spent the least amount at $1,390.

A study conducted by Tinuiti concludes that Millennials and Gen Z –who have the shopping
power of over $200 billion–, dominate when it comes to buying online. 57% of Millennials and
63% of Gen Z prefer buying from the internet while the latter gets item directly from the brand’s
website.
Millennials are also big into saving money. This is perhaps the reason why the overwhelming
majority of them planned on shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2019.

While age has a significant influence on a person’s online habits, gender plays an important role
too. Women’s spend on clothing is much more than men and it seems this trend will continue
well into the future.

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Men Shop More Frequently Online But Buy Fewer Clothes

A study from Business Insider Intelligence shows that men shop online on a more frequent
basis than women. According to the report, 40% of men from ages 18 to 31 would prefer to ‘buy
everything online’. Only 33% of women shares the same sentiment with many still prefer the
classical in-store approach.
How Americans spend on fashion cuts through generation. 86% of male teens are reported to
have shopped online compared to 76% teen girls.

But things get a bit interesting when you compare American spending habits statistics based on
gender.
American women’s money spending habits are almost unsurprising. Clothes make up 40% of
the products women order online. Books, grocery and medicine are other items they get from
the web. Meanwhile, men order more heavy-duty items such as furniture and electronic
equipment. The amount men spend on apparel failed to register in this particular study.

So how much does the average man spend on clothes per month? Well, Credit Donkey
estimates that an average person spends $161 per month on clothes with women spending
76% more than men per year.

Technology plays a major role in how both American men money spending habits and women’s
choice of fashion is determined. And this is why it’s important to understand the significance of
the tools that assist online shoppers.

Chatbots Continue to be Important for Online Shoppers

Throughout 2018-19, 60% of customers used chatbots to have their queries answered.
Interestingly, Millennials prefer chatbots to other methods of customer support.

Speed and efficiency of chatbots are said to the main reasons behind their rise. Whilst speaking
to speak to service agents, it hardly takes about 10 minutes before the patience of the
customers wears out. In stark contrast, a chatbot is able to reply within a few seconds meaning
that customers don’t have to wait for information.
Voice assistants are also playing an important role in online retail. 20% of searches on Google
are made via voice assistants. This year, its estimated voice searches will soar to 50%.

Things You Probably Didn’t Know About T-Shirts

 Cotton, the most common T-shirt material, has been grown by humans for over
7,000 years. The first evidence of cotton use was found in the city of Mehrgarh, one
of the earliest South Asian farming settlements in the world.
 China and India are currently the two largest producers of cotton in the world, with
a total combined production of production total of 61 million bales annually. The
United States is currently the largest exporter of raw cotton, with sales of $4.9
billion annually. The worldwide cotton market is estimated to total at $12 billion.
 Cotton is stronger wet than dry, and can absorb more than twenty times its own
weight in water.
 Textile printing has actually existed for far longer than the T-Shirt. The oldest
method of textile printing, woodblock printing, dates to 3rd century China. It relied
on a relief design carved into a block of wood, dipped into ink and pressed down
onto fabric.
 Over their history, T-shirts have been made from a variety of materials, including
alligator leather, cotton, yarn, polyester, gold, and even human hair.
 Every year, over 2 billion T-shirts are sold worldwide.
 It’s believed that the T-shirt originated from a type of all-in-one underwear known
as the “union suit,” patented in 1868 in New York. Many workers took to cutting
these outfits in half to keep cool in hot weather.
 Though we don’t know who invented the T-shirt as it appears today, tees were first
marketed in 1904 by the Cooper Underwear company as “bachelor undershirts.”
They were considered undergarments, and not something you could wear on their
own.
 T Shirts also weren’t considered particularly fashionable back then – they were
chiefly worn for utility, such as acting as sweat absorbers for a college football team.
 T-Shirts became a part of the United States Navy’s uniform in 1905, which required a
buttonless, white cotton undershirt. It was also adopted into the United States Army
a few years later, during World War 1.
 The word “T-shirt” was first used in 1920 by author F. Scott Fitzgerald in his
novel, This Side of Paradise. It didn’t become popular until many years later – in the
1930s, T-Shirts were labeled “skivvies” and “jimshirts.”
 T-Shirts were originally marketed as undershirts for bachelors who didn’t know how
to sew or replace buttons.
 Shirts back in the 1930s were much lighter than today’s shirts, at only 1.5 to 2
ounces (as opposed to the 5-8oz weight of the average shirt today). (Source)
 The first promotional shirt was produced in 1939, for The Wizard of Oz.
 The oldest printed shirt in the Smithsonian institute was part of New York Governor
Thomas E. Dewey’s presidential campaign, and reads “Dew-It with Dewey.”
 Plastisol was invented in 1959, and proved to be more durable and stretchable than
the ink used in T-shirts up to that point. It allowed more variety and complexity in
designs.
 For a long time, T-Shirts were a male article of clothing, with a tight fit and wide
neck designed to show off the male figure.
 Marlon Brando first wore a T-shirt unadorned in his movie, A Street Car Named
Desire. It generated a ton of controversy, and caused a nationwide spike in T-shirt
sales. Brando is also credited with popularizing jeans with his role in The Wild
One. James Dean is another celebrity credited with popularizing T-Shirts as more
than undershirts.
 Rumor has it that Clark Gable’s topless appearance in the movie It Happened One
Night in 1934 caused a decline in T-Shirt sales. There is no evidence to suggest this
rumor is true.
 Tropix Togs was the first company to decorate T-shirts with pop culture icons and
slogans in the early 1950s. This ended up popularizing custom T-Shirts, which are an
essential part of pop culture and business branding to this day.
 Rock and Roll bands further popularized T-shirts during the 60s, promoting their
music through custom screen printed shirts.
 In the late 60s Tie-Dye T-Shirts became a central element of the hippie movement.
Somewhat ironically, this was done at the behest of Rit Dye advertising mogul Don
Price.
 Rit’s masterstroke was making hundreds of shirts and giving them away at
Woodstock. Because of this, they became a part of the counterculture style – and
Rit’s company made bank off rebellion against corporate America.
 The 70s was the first time T-Shirts really entered into popular culture, necessitating
new modes of mass production as they continued to grow in popularity during the
1980s. The 80s also marked the birth of the wrinkle-free T-Shirt, an incredible
invention for slobs everywhere. (Source)
 The 70s also marked the birth of the “I <3 New York” campaign, a T-Shirt branding
campaign kicked off by the Commerce department to shift the city’s image from a
dirty, decadent, crime-ridden hole to a bustling tourist destination. It worked – the
shirt revitalized the industry and became one of the most-mimicked designs in
history.
 The Salvation Army receives several million T-shirt donations every year. It auctions
them off by the pound and exports them to disadvantaged third-world countries.
 T-Shirt recycling keeps over five billion tons of textile waste out of landfills annually.
 T-shirts are the primary product sold by websites like Shirtpunch, which give indie
designers the ability to showcase their wares. What makes Shirtpunch and its ilk
unique is that each design is only sold for a total of 24 hours, before being replaced
by a new one.
 The Guinness World Record for the most T-Shirts worn at any given time is 257, and
was achieved by a fellow in Sri Lanka by the name of Sanath Bandara. The shirts
together weighed over 200 pounds.
 The world’s most expensive T-shirt design costs a jaw-dropping $400,000. Although
it’s made of organic cotton, it also has a set of 16 diamonds sewn into the fabric,
which together amount to 9 carats. Not exactly the kind of shirt you’d wear to your
brother-in-law’s barbeque, is it?
 Datta Phuge, nicknamed “The Gold Man” (for obvious reasons) owns a shirt made of
more than 3 kilograms of solid gold. It’s worth $250,000. He also owns five cars, and
countless pieces of gold jewelry. Phuge employs a security guard to ensure that no
one tries to nick the shirt from him.
 The world’s largest T-shirt is approximately 306 feet long and 206 feet wide, and
was unveiled in Navegantes, Santa Catarina, Brazil in October 2014.
 There are 35,000 cotton farms in the United States. Together, they employ enough
people to fill four football stadiums.
 To make a full circle around the world, you’d need about 56 million medium-sized T-
Shirts.
 62% of Americans claim to own ten or more shirts. That’s enough shirts to circle the
globe 34 times if lined up next to one another.
 Yarn is one of the most inefficient T-shirt materials: it takes six miles to make one.
To contrast, it only takes one acre of cotton to make 1,200 shirts.
 It takes 2700 liters of water to make a single T-Shirt. That’s enough water to allow
one person to drink for 900 days.
 The second most popular fabric for T-Shirts is polyester fiber. It creates a soft,
comfortable, lightweight texture when woven together with cotton.
 91% of Americans have a favorite T-Shirt in their wardrobe.
 The average T-Shirt goes on a fascinating global journey over the course of its
production. Take Planet Money, whose shirts over their lifecycle go from the cotton
fields of the US to spinning factories in Indonesia to garment factories in Bangladesh
or Colombia.
 In 1977, $8 million dollars worth of Farrah Fawcett T-Shirts were sold.
 Coca Cola was the first brand to ever promote itself using T-Shirts.
 TShirtOS, the world’s first programmable T-Shirt, has an LCD screen woven into the
front. It can display everything from graphic designs to photos to status updates on
social media. It’s currently still in the prototype stage, and not yet available for sale.
 June 21 is International T-Shirt Day, a global celebration of what is arguably the
world’s most iconic article of clothing. (Source)
 The world record for the most T-Shirts folded in a single minute is 23, and was set by
Graeme J. Cruden of Manchester in 2009.
 The fastest anyone’s ever passed 10 shirts along a chain of 100 people is 15 minutes
0.69 seconds, set by Domestic and General at Epsom Downs Racecourse in 2014.
How’s that for an obscure record?
 At least once per week, 89% of T-Shirt wearing Americans put on a T-Shirt.
 T-Shirts are more than just casual wear. They’re also produced by several world-
renowned luxury brands, including Gucci, Chanel, D&G, Prada, Armani, Versace,
Guess, Valentino, and Fendi.
 A man by the name of Jason Sadler made himself a millionaire by simply wearing T-
Shirts for a living. Brands pay him to wear their T-Shirts, and he wears a different
shirt every day. His business venture has enjoyed so much success that he’s actually
hired additional employees to wear shirts with him.
 In 1984, the BBC banned the song “Relax” by Frankie Goes To Hollywood for being
too sexual. Record label owner Paul Morley defied the BBC by putting the song’s
words on a line of T-Shirts in capital letters. The “FRANKIE SAYS RELAX” tee was
worn by everyone from Jennifer Anniston to Homer Simpson, and has actually
outlived the band that it was originally based on.
 The T-Shirt business is apparently extremely lucrative – independent designers and
salespeople on Teespring regularly make more than six figures.
 From 2009 to 2014, the T-Shirt industry grew more than 24.2%.
 There are many different printing processes for custom-designed T Shirts:
 Screen printing involves the creation of a mesh screen which has ink
pressed through it onto a blank shirt.
  Digital printing effectively uses a giant version of an inkjet printer to dye
the fabric directly.
 Heat transfer irons a design from a special type of paper onto a shirt.
 Airbrushing uses a small spray gun.
 There are actually several different types of T-Shirt as well, and they vary in terms of
sleeve length, embellishment, and neck shape. You might actually be surprised to
learn that Tank Tops are considered a type of T-Shirt.
 T-Shirts are also available in more than just your standard array of sizes – you can
actually get custom-tailored tees made for you at most tailoring outlets. Believe it or
not, this is what Jennifer Anniston does with her T-Shirts.

Global fashion industry statistics - International apparel

Job opportunities in fashion

Fashion industry market share: 4 percent

Fashion industry market value: 406 billion dollars

 General data
Population: 327 million

Labor force: 161.0 million

Unemployment rate: 3.8%

GDP per capita (PPS): 62,500 US dollars

Market share of the fashion industry: 4 percent

Domestic market value of the fashion industry: 406 billion dollars

Employment in fashion-related industries: 1.9 million

New York: Fashion capital

New York City population: 8.55 million

New York City labor force: 4.2 million

Employment in fashion-related industries (NYC only): 185,000

Wages in the fashion industry (NYC only): 11 billion dollars

Fashion industry tax revenue (NYC only): 2 billion dollars

source: NYCEDC (US Census Bureau)

Employment

In the United States an estimated 1.8 million people are in employed in the fashion
industry, among whom 232,000 in manufacturing textiles for apparel and other
fashion items. (JEC Democratic, Bureau of Labor)

Average annual wages in fashion range from 26,440 dollars, for textile bleaching and
dyeing machine operators, to 84,600 dollars for marketing and sales managers in
fashion.

About 79 percent of all US employees in fashion work for apparel retailers. The
average annual wage at such companies is 26,650 dollars. However in certain
occupations the average wages are a lot higher. Marketing and sales managers at
apparel retailers have the highest average annual wage of 84,600 dollars.
Accountants and auditors receive an average annual pay of 69,960 dollar and buyers
and purchasing agents get paid 56,550 dollars, on average.

A smaller amount, 145,000 employees accounting for 8 percent of all employees in

fashion work in apparel wholesale and merchandising. The average annual wage in
this sub industry is 52,350 dollars. However, some jobs pay less than the averag e
wage. Graphic designers, for instance, receive wages around 48,320 dollars, whereas
merchandise displayers and window trimmer receives 35,680. Jobs in production,
planning and expediting, with average wages of 47,680, and in installation,
maintenance and repair, with average annual wages of 43,430, also pay less than
average within apparel wholesale merchandising.
Another 8 percent, 143,000 people are employed in the apparel manufacturing
industry where the average annual wage is 34,110 dollars. However, there is a large
range within this sub industry of fashion. Whereas computer occupations, such as
information analysts, are paid the highest annual wage of 73,220 on average, textile
bleaching and dyeing machine operators only receive 26,440 per annum. The wages
for tailors, dressmakers and sewers are also in the low range with 27,510 dollars, on
average. Maintenance and industrial machinery is paid around the average of this sub
industry with annual wages of 36,610 dollars. Other jobs in the high compensat ion
range are in fabric and apparel pattern making and market research and marketing.
Respectively these occupations pay an average annual wage of 52,150 and 64,830
dollars.

Apart from the jobs listed before, the United States has room for around 18,000
fashion designers. Their average annual wage is 73,690 dollars, meaning that they
receive over 30 dollars per hour.

Apparel manufacturing

 14.5 million in 1990

 13.1 million in 1995
 13.0 million in 2000
 24.8 million in 2014

Textiles

 19.7 million in 1990

 16.8 million in 1995
 13.5 million in 200
 33.0 million in 2014

Textiles and Clothing

 34.2 million in 1990

 29.9 million in 1995
 26.5 million in 2000
 57.8 million in 2014
 Fashion companies

Some of the world’s largest fashion companies are based in the United States.
Moreover, the currently largest fashion company globally, Nike, is American. Nike is
an athleisure- and lifestyle brand with annual revenues of 30.6 billion and a market
value of nearly a 105 billion dollars. Nike offers its products worldwide and its
largest markets are the United States, accounting for 46 percent of the total revenues,
and Western Europe (19 percent). Most of Nike’s income, nearly 94 percent, comes
from the Nike brand. The remaining 6 percent comes from Converse, which is a
subsidiary of Nike. The brand’s best selling division is footwear, accounting for 64
percent of Nike’s income.

With a market value of 54.5 billion dollars and 2015 annual sales of 30.9 billion
dollars, TJX Companies is the second largest fashion company in the Unit ed States.
TJX operates the majority of its stores in the United States and is best known for its
fast-fashion brand T.J. Maxx. Its US sales account for 86 percent, with 26.7 billion
dollars. The company is also active on the Canadian and European market w ith its
brands T.K. Maxx, HomeSense, Winners and Marshalls.

The third largest fashion company in the United States is VF Corporation. VF owns
several brands including Lee, The North Face, Timberland and Napapijri. In 2015 VF’s
annual revenue rose to 12.4 billion dollars with most of its revenues coming from the
Outdoors and Action Sports division. The brands The North Face, Vans and
Timberland had combined sales of 7.4 billion dollars, accounting for nearly 60
percent of VF’s total income. Currently, VF corporation has a market value of 27.6
billion dollars.

Close to VF Corporation, with a market value of 25.3 billion dollars is L Brands. L

Brands is the parent company of Victoria’s Secret and has most of its sales of 12.15
billion dollars, a near 93 percent, domestically. In fifth place of United States’’ largest
fashion companies is sports brands Under Armour. The 20-year-old brand managed
annual revenues of 4.0 billion dollars in 2015, with 3.45 billion dollar in North
America alone. Under Armour is currently valued at 17.8 billion dollars on the New
York Stock Exchange.
 Consumer expenditure

In million US
dollars

In percent
 Imports & Exports(2016)
Exports of textiles and clothing: 22.9 billion dollars

The United States are not one of the largest exporters of fashion-related products in
the world, however it still supplies a fair share of several textiles for fashion purpose
to overseas markets. The largest export products among textile and clothing of the
United States are:

Raw cotton: 4.41 billion dollars, 19 percent

Nonwoven textiles: 1.77 billion dollars, 8 percent

Cotton yarn of over 85 percent: 1.13 billion dollars, 5 percent

Artificial filament tow: 1.04 billion dollars, 4.5 percent

Synthetic fila ent yarn: 1.03 billion dollars, 4.5 percent

Exports of footwear and headwear: 1.14 billion dollar

Footwear, with leather body: 306 million dollars, 27 percent
Parts of footwear: 263 million dollars, 23 percent

Other headgear: 139 million dollars, 12 percent

Footwear, with textile body: 85.4 million dollars, 7.5 percent

Other footwear of rubber of plastics: 76.9 million dollars, 7 percent

Other footwear: 74.7 million dollars, 6.5 percent

Imports of clothing: 105 billion dollars

The United States are the largest importer of fashion-related products in the world. It
mostly imports manufactured apparel.

Sweaters, pullovers, sweatshirts, etc.: 14.1 billion dollars, 13 percent

Women’s suits, not knit: 9.37 billion dollars, 9 percent

Men’s suits, not knit: 8.2 billion dollars, 8 percent

Women’s suits: 5.63 billion dollars, 5 percent

T-shirts: 5.2 billion dollars, 5 percent

Imports of footwear and headwear: 28.8 billion dollars

Footwear, with leather body: 12.2 billion dollars, 42 percent

Other footwear of rubber or plastics: 6.64 billion dollars, 23 percent

Footwear, with textile body: 4.7 billion dollars, 16 percent

Hats, knitted or crocheted: 1.34 billion dollars, 5 percent

Sources

 Import and export data: OEC

 Largest companies Info: FashionUnited top 100
 Population and Labour Data: World Bank | www.wto.org
 Job opportunities in fashion

Fashion industry market share: 4 percent

Fashion industry market value: 406 billion dollars

General data
Population: 7,260.7 million

Labor force: 3,384.1 million

Unemployment rate: 5.8 percent

GDP per capita (PPP): 16,300 US dollars

Value of the global fashion industry: 3,000 billion dollars (3 trillion dollars), 2 percent of
the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Retail value of luxury goods market: 339.4 billion dollars

Value of of the menswear industry: 402 billion dollars

Value of the womenswear industry: 621 billion dollars

Bridal Wear market: 57 billion dollars

Childrenswear market: 186 billion dollars

Sports footwear market: 90.4 billion dollars

Fashion Companies

To cater to the large, 3,000 billion, textile and garment industry new companies are
entering the market daily. Most of these companies remain rather unknown to the
consumer audience, better known are the individual brands that are part o f these
global fashion companies.

LVMH, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, a French luxury conglomerate is currently the
largest fashion company worldwide. LVMH’s annual revenues reached 42.6 billion
euros in 2017 and the company is valued around 122 billion euros. The company
operates a chain of independent stores and shops-in-shops for fashion brands such as
Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Dior. LVMH does not only stand for high -end fashion, but
provides for every aspect of a luxury lifestyle, from champagne (Moët) to sailing
yachts (Royal Van Lent).

US-based athleisure- and lifestyle brand Nike is the second largest fashion company
worldwide. In 2017 Nike’s revenues amounted to 34.4.6 billion dollars and a market
value of nearly a 105 billion dollars. Nike offers its products worldwide and its
largest markets are the United States, 46 percent of the total revenues, and Western
Europe (19 percent). Most of Nike’s income, nearly 90 percent, comes from the Nike
brand. The remaining 10 percent comes from Converse, which is a subsidiary of Nike.
The brand’s best selling division is footwear, accounting for 63 percent of Nike’s
income.

Spanish fast-fashion giant Inditex - with a market value of nearly a 92 billion dollars -
is the third largest fashion company worldwide. Inditex owns brands like Zara,
Pull&Bear and Stradivarius. The Spanish company is valued at 75 billion euros and its
2017 annual revenue was 25.34 billion euros. Inditex has stores is every major city in
Europe, which also account for the majority of the company’s revenue.

Imports & Exports (2016)

Total export of clothing: 1.29 trillion dollars

The most exported apparel products are non-knit women’s suits, knit sweaters, knit
T-shirts and non-knit men’s suits.

Non-knit women’s suits: 108 billion dollars, 8.4 percent

Knit sweaters: 79.2 billion dollars, 6.1 percent

Non-knit men’s suits: 74.1 billion dollars, 5.7 percent

Knit T-shirts: 68 billion dollars, 5.3 percent

Knit women’s suits: 28.2 billion dollars, 3.9 percent

Light rubberized knitted fabric: 60 billion dollars, 4.7 percent

Synthetic filament yarn woven fabric: 44.2 billion dollars, 3.4 percent
China is the largest exporter of apparel in the world, followed by India and

Total trade of footwear and headwear: 139 billion dollars

Over 40 percent of all traded footwear are leather footwear. Other products that are
traded in large amounts are rubber footwear and textile footwear.

Leather footwear: 56.7 billion dollars, 41 percent

Rubber footwear: 30.2 billion dollars, 22 percent

Textile footwear: 22.3 billion dollars, 16 percent

Footwear parts: 7.77 billion dollars, 5.6 percent

Knitted hats: 4.8 billion dollars, 3.3 percent

Other footwear: 3.9 billion dollars, 2.8 percent

Other headwear: 2.82 billion dollars. 2 percent

Also in footwear and headwear, China accounts for the largest share of all export with
71.1 billion dollars. Therefore it account for over 50 percent of the total world trade.
Vietnam and Italy are the second and third largest exports of footwear and headwear,
exporting respectively 13.6 billion dollars and 12 billion. The top 3 exports account
for 69.6 percent of the total exports in this segment. Rounding off the Top 5 largest
exporting regions of footwear and headwear are Indonesia with exports of 5.59
billion dollars and Germany with 3.78 billion dollars.

Country facts and figures

How many pieces of clothing are sold world wide? How many people work in the
international fashion industry? What is the total sales of clothing in the world? This is
the FashionUnited page with Facts and Figures about the global and US fashion
industry. For facts and figures of the fashion industry in other countries and regions,
see below.

The International fashion market is a leading industry well known for key players,
such as Inditex, LVMH, H&M, Nike, VF Corporation, Richemont, Adidas, Fast Retailing,
Abercrombie & Fitch, Prada, Gap, Dior, Urban Outfitters, Burberry.

For the real-time market value and other stock information on these companies, refer
to the FashionUnited Top 100.
France

Population: 66.2 million

Labor force: 30.05 million
Unemployment rate: 9.9%
GDP per capita (PPP): $ 42,726

Domestic market value of fashion: $ 43.3 billion

Employment in fashion: 340,000

Fashion Statistics: France

Germany

Population: 80.9 million

Labor force: 42.0 million
Unemployment rate: 5.3%
GDP per capita (PPP): $ 47,627

Domestic market value of fashion: $ 83,6 billion

Employment in fashion: 340,000

Fashion Statistics: Germany

The Netherlands

Population: 16.9 million

Labor force: 9.0 million
Unemployment rate: 6.9%
GDP per capita (PPP): $ 52,139

Domestic market value of fashion: $ 16.5 billion

Employment in fashion: 87,910

Fashion Statistics: The Netherlands

Spain

Population: 46.8 million

Labor force: 23.3 million
Unemployment rate: 22.7%
GDP per capita (PPP): $ 29,863

Domestic market value of fashion: $ 31.1 billion

Fashion Statistics: Spain

United Kingdom

Population: 64.5 million

Labor force: 33 million
Unemployment rate: 6.3%
GDP per capita (PPP): $ 46,297

Domestic market value of fashion: $ 94.1 billion

Employment in fashion: 555,000

Fashion Statistics: United Kingdom

See also:

 Apparel industry statistics - Colombia

 Fashion industry facts - France
 Modebranche facts and figures - Germany
 Textile and apparel sector statistics - Netherlands
 Clothing industry facts and figures in the United Kingdom
 Apparel and textiles industry facts - India
 Fashion statistics - Spain
 Fashion retail industry statistics - Belgium
 Apparel industry facts - Canada
 Fashion industry facts and figures - Russia
 Textile industry facts and figures - Switzerland
 Garment retail facts and figures - Australia
 Fashion industry facts and figures - New Zealand
 Retail and textile industry facts and figures - Mexico
 Apparel facts and figures - Peru
 Clothing industry facts and figures - Argentina
 Fashion industry facts and figures - Chile
 Apparel industry facts and figures - China
 Clothing industry facts and figures - Italy
 Clothing industry facts and figures - Japan
 Bangladesh Garment Industry statistics - Bangladesh
 Chinese textile and garment statistics, export champion of the world
- China
 Vietnam’s garment industry is having its best time - Vietnam
 Statistics fashion industry Indonesia - Indonesia
Volume and Consumption: How Much Does
The World Buy?
The global apparel retail market is currently worth $1.34 trillion in retail sales per year. If
footwear and jewellery are included, that value rises to around $2 trillion. 1

To put this into context, the amount of money that consumers spend on clothes,
footwear and jewellery each year is the equivalent to the combined gross domestic
product (GDP) of the 126 poorest countries in the world – or just slightly larger than the
size of the Italian economy2.

This huge amount of money spent on fashion results in mountains of clothes and shoes.
It is estimated that around the world, about 107 billion units of apparel and 14.5 billion
pairs of shoes were purchased in 2016. That equates to every person on the planet
buying roughly 13 garments and two pairs of shoes 3, although buying patterns vary
considerably between countries.

These figures are set to grow. The amount of items produced for the apparel market is
expected to increase by 13% by 2021 – equating to roughly 13 billion extra units. 4 Given
that this outweighs the estimated 8% increase in value for the market, this increase
points to a continuing ongoing shift in production towards more lower-value items.

Which countries consume the most?

Just ten countries dominate the market for retail purchasing: China, US, India, Japan,
Germany, UK, Russia, France, Italy and Brazil. Together, these markets account for
three-quarters of the clothes and more than two-thirds of the shoes sold each year.
Figure 1: Number of apparel units purchased per country, 2017 (Source: Market Research
Provider, Euromonitor International)

China is particularly dominant – the quantity of garments sold there is more than the
other nine countries in the list combined.

On average a US consumer purchases one mid-priced item of clothing per week.

There is a huge variation in the purchasing habits and spending power among the
consumers in the different countries, as shown in Figure 2 below. This reflects the
economic circumstances of each country as well as potentially different shopping
cultures. However, the country averages tend to hide disparities of purchasing power
within different societies.

US consumers appear to be the keenest shoppers: on average a US consumer

purchases one mid-priced item of clothing per week.
By comparison, in the UK, which has a similar GDP per capita to the US, consumers
buy on average 20 fewer garments per year (33 compared to 53) but spend about 70%
more per item. Japanese consumers buy roughly half the amount of US consumers and
spend 31% more on each item.

Although China as a country has the largest amount of purchases due to its large
population, an average individual consumer in China spends just under a quarter of the
amount than an average US consumer – and buys 23 fewer items per year.

Figure 2: Apparel purchasing habits - a sample from across the globe, 2016 (Source: Market
Research Provider: Euromonitor International)

References

1. Market research provider, Euromonitor International

2. Calculations based on World Bank GDP data available at data.worldbank.org
3. Market research provider, Euromonitor International
4. Market research provider, Euromonitor International
how much each state spends on
clothing
The state spending the most money on clothing is not the one you would guess. While
New Yorkers spent on average 764 dollars on clothing per person in 2018, those in West
Virginia beat out all other states with a per-person expenditure of 2,735 dollars.
Menswear accessories brand JJ Suspenders recently analyzed data from the 2012 U.S.
Economic Censue, the 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditures Report
and the Statista Apparel industry report to determine how much each state is spending
on apparel per capita.
While Hawaii spent the least on clothing with 547 dollars per person, the northeastern
United States is also among the most frugal. Joining New York State in the region are
New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C., each
with numbers under 1,000 dollars per resident.

California and Florida are also on the list of low-spenders, with their per person totals
equaling 1,148 dollars and 947 dollars respectively.

After Idaho, the top four highest spending states in 2018 were Idaho (2,719 dollars per
person), Wyoming (2,659 dollars per person), Montana (2,555 dollars per person) and
South Dakota (2,495 dollars per person).

Female shoppers leading the race in spendings on clothing

American women, unshockingly, spend significantly more than men when it comes to
stricktly clothing, beating them out by 35 percent of the total market. However, this
percentage is not even including sportswear, swimwear, underwear, and hosiery.
Menswear made up just under 26 percent in the clothing market in 2018.

The figures in the study were basxed on sales per capita, or spending per indivdual
shopper. This avoids innacuracy of using total sales volume (state-to-state comparison),
which is dependent on the number of people living in that state, and California clocking
in first with over 20 billion dollars.

Sources: US Economic Census, 2012, Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditures

Report, 2017, Statista Apparel industry report

Average Cost of Clothing Per Month Will Surprise

Spending $161 per month on clothing and services is average for adults. Middle-age adults spend about
$50 more per month. They also make more money, so they have more to spend.

SPENDING ON CLOTHING How much does the average adult spend on apparel and services per month?

The average adult aged 25-34 spends $161 per month on clothing. Adults aged 35-44, however, spend
slightly more, at $209 per month. This makes sense since the mean income for adults aged 35-44 is 26%
higher than adults aged 25-34. People who only use a clothing subscription service for new clothes may
end up paying more or less, depending on their preferences. Learn more about one of the most well-
known services in our Stitch Fix review. How much does the average family spend on clothing per year?
The average family spends $1,800 per year on clothing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics includes
financially independent people and singles living together sharing expenses as a family. How often do
you buy new clothes? How much does the average person spend on entertainment per year? The
average family spends $2,900 on entertainment per year. This means a total of $4,700 on average is
spent on clothing and entertainment. This is 4.5% of the average consumer unit's income after taxes.
Learn: How to Invest Money SPENDING BY GENDER How much does the average man spend on clothing
per year? Men aged 16 and over spend an average of $323 per year on clothing. Surprisingly, the men
spending the most are between 45-54 years old. They spend $121 more per year than men aged 35-44.
How much does the average woman spend on clothing per year? On average, women aged 16 and
overspend 76% more than men of the same age. Women spend around $571 per year. Women aged 45-
54 also spend the most, though, at $793 per year.

CLOTHING A FAMILY

How much does the average family spend on shoes per year? The average family spends around $388
on shoes per year. However, the 35-44-year-olds spent the most in this category. How much does it cost
to clothe a family of four? The average household spends around 3.8% of their income on clothing.
Families bringing home the average $64,175 annually spend around $2,440 on clothing per year. This
tends to vary based on the ages of the children. Younger children are often less expensive to clothe
while teens have more expensive tastes. Tip: Have a little fashionista in the house? Get more bang for
your buck at his or her favorite store by taking advantage of generous cash-back apps. How large is the
apparel industry? Globally, the apparel industry is worth an amazing $2.4 trillion.

WOMEN AND CLOTHES

What is the average value of the clothes in a woman's closet?

Women have an average of $1,000 to $2,500 of clothing sitting in their wardrobe. Even though this
seems high, 9% of women have more than $10,000 sitting in their closet! How much of the average
woman's wardrobe is never worn? More than 50% of women claim 25% of their wardrobe sits in the
closet collecting dust. This equates to around $600 thrown out the window. On the other hand, some
turn to selling apps to put some cash back in their wallet. Learn which selling app even picks up your
clothes for you in our guide here. How many women own more than 25 pairs of shoes? We know
women love their shoes and the statistics prove it. 32% of women own more than 25 pairs of shoes.
That's almost a different pair of shoes for every day of the month. How much of the average woman's
closet is more than 5 years old? A whopping 73% of women update 25% of their closet every 3 months.
Just over 15% of women don't have any clothes older than 5 years in their wardrobe. How much more
expensive is women's clothing than men's? On average, women pay 8% more than men for their
clothing. The highest difference is in shirts. Women's tops cost 5% more than men's shirts. Jeans were a
close second, costing 10% more for women than men's jeans.

THE COST OF SHOES

What is the most expensive shoe brand? S

hoe fanatics are willing to break the bank on their shoes. Valentino shoes, an Italian brand, cost an
average of $975 per pair for both men and women. Are men or women's high-end brand name shoes
more expensive? Clothing might be more expensive for women, but men pay more for name-brand
shoes. On average, men's designer shoes cost $190 more than women's shoes. How many shoes does
the average person buy per year? The average person buys 7.8 pairs of shoes per year. For family of
four, that means 31.2 pairs of shoes per year. How much money does the average woman waste on
unworn shoes? According to a study conducted by One Poll, 52% of women have shoes in their
wardrobe that they never wear. The top reason was the shoes were so uncomfortable that women
could not even walk in them. Many of these women even knew the agony the shoes caused when
buying them but still went ahead with the purchase. What type of shoes do women impulse buy most
often? Surprisingly, the top impulse buy is the flip-flop. This could be attributed to their much lower cost
than most other shoes. What's the top reason women have unworn shoes in their closet? The shoe
addiction tends to make women buy shoes they don't even have an occasion to wear them. Of the 52%
of women with unworn shoes in their closet, many of them thought they would find an occasion to wear
a specific shoe but have yet to find it. BEST TIME TO SHOP When is the best time to buy kids' clothes?
Clothing kids can get costly, but buying those clothes in August can give you the most bang for your
buck. Back-to-school sales often save you money on the essentials. If you can predict your child's size for
next year, though, end-of-season sales save the most money. Clearing the shelves for the next season
brings the lowest prices. Back-to-school shopping take a bite out of your monthly budget? Don't miss
our guide on how to put a little extra cash in your pocket. When is the best time to buy winter clothes?
Planning ahead is the key to saving money on winter clothes too. Spring clothing makes its debut in
February. Retailers start making room for the debut in December and January. You'll likely see the
lowest prices in January, which still gives you several months of wear time in most regions.

Staggering Statistics About Our Shopping Habits

1. The average woman makes 301 trips to the store annually, spending
close to 400 hours a year shopping. This amounts to 8.5 years spent
shopping during a typical lifespan. (NY Daily News)

2. Americans spend more on shoes, jewelry, and watches ($100 billion)

than on higher education. (Psychology Today)

3. Shopping malls outnumber high schools in America. ( Affluenza)

4. 33% of Americans shop online at least once per week. 69% shop online
at least monthly. (Mintel)

5. While 50% of online shoppers will increase the size of their orders just to
hit the free shipping minimum. (Mintel)

6. An estimated two-thirds of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP)

comes from retail consumption. (The Balance).

7. On average, an American between the ages of 18 and 65 has $4,717 of

credit card debt. (TIME)
8. 63% of Americans do not have enough savings to cover a $500
emergency. (Forbes)

9. When asked about hobbies, girls (age 13-18) identified shopping as their
favorite pastime. (Adweek)

10. And 96% of adults and 95% of teens admit they participate in some
form of retail therapy. (Yahoo)

11. More than a third of adults and teens said shopping made them feel
better than working out. (Yahoo)

12. The average American throws away 65 pounds of clothing per year.
(Huffington Post)
13. The $8 billion home organization industry has more than doubled in
size since the early 2000’s—growing at a staggering rate of 10% each
year. (Uppercase, note: link no longer available)

14. Americans now spend more money on dining out than groceries. ( Fox
News)
15. The average American woman spends 190 hours each year shopping
for clothes, shoes, or window shopping. That same survey found that these
same women spend 95 hours shopping for food—this task occupies only
half the time of shoe, clothes and window shopping. (Forbes)

16. 50% of Americans will go shopping on Black Friday. (Syracuse)

17. Worldwide, total retail sales were more than $22 trillion in 2014,
according to a report from eMarketer.com. And total annual U.S. retail
sales have increased an average of 4.5% between 1993 and 2015,
according to the U.S. (The Balance)
Additional findings about demographics and specific types of t-shirts:
 People are more likely to keep shirts they acquired as a sports spectator than as a sports
participant. From the total sample, 27% keep a shirt from their favorite pro or college sports
team, while just 17% have a shirt from a team they were on.
 Men are more likely than women to have a shirt from a pro or college sports team (30% vs.
24%). But the genders differed by only 3.5% when it came to having a shirt from a sports
them they were on (19% of men and 15.5% of women).
 The second most popular shirts overall were from businesses or employers, held by 30% of
all respondents. Business shirts are preferred by those in the highest income bracket (35%
vs. 27% at all other income levels), by those in the South (35%, compared with 24%, 26%
and 30% for the Northeast, Midwest and West, respectively), and by whites (31% vs. 23.5%
of non-white respondents).
 Those who have done post-graduate work are most likely to have shirts from their alma
mater. These types of shirts were their second choice by only 3 percentage points (43% vs.
46% for vacation shirts). Post grads are the only demographic group to seriously challenge
the vacation shirt preference and also are twice as likely as those with a bachelor’s degree to
have a shirt from a fraternity/sorority.
 Concert shirts are most popular with the younger set: The youngest three age groups beat
the average (46.5% of those 18-24, 30.5 of those 25-34, and 34 percent of those 35-44,
compared with 27%of the overall population).
 Shirts from a church event were most popular among women (15% vs. 8% of men),
respondents from the South (16% vs. 7% of those from the Northeast), and non-whites (17%
vs. 11% percent of whites).

1. Women and men ages 18 to 34 are more likely than 35 to 64

year olds to engage in nearly every online shopping activity, with
40% of males and 33% of females in the younger age group
saying they would buy everything online if they could. The
preferences and dependencies millennials have are different from past
generations, alter your business strategy accordingly to connect with
Gen Y online. (source:eMarketer)
2. 37% of millennials claim to distrust big business. This is where
social media and its ability to highlight authenticity comes into play for
the connected generation. (source: Forbes)

3. 64% of millennials feel that companies should offer more ways

to share their opinions online. It’s all about engaging millennials in a
two-way conversation where they feel involved and in the process. If
your listening to consumer feedback, take down a note our two from
millennials. (source: Bazaarvoice)

4. 51% of millennials say consumer opinions found on a

company’s website have a greater impact on purchase decisions
than recommendations from family and friends. Analyzing crowd-
sourced information about a company has begun and will continue to
be viewed as more reliable than just taking in the feedback of your
social circle. (source: Bazaarvoice)

5. The purchasing power of millennials is estimated to be $170

billion per year. This shines a light into the growing influence this
generation will continue to have over the world’s economy.
(source: ComScore)

6. Millennial parents buy significantly more based on price than

they do on quality. Before being parents, millennial buying
decisions were 57% on quality, with children it drops to
50%. Many millennials prefer to save money after having children,
which is expected with the addition of a new expenses for the family.
Depending on your industry, experiment with targeting new millennial
families on savings as opposed to long-term quality.(source: Fort Mill
Times)

7. When shopping for products, 50% of millennial parents say

they try to buy products that support causes or charities. This
can be seen with companies like Warby Parker, Tom’s and Whole
Foods rising in popularity due in part to their widely known social good
programs. (source: Fort Mill Times)
8. A retailer’s ability to make a millennial smile is 33% more
important than it is to a baby boom. This ties back to the last
statistic illustrating that companies need to try more now than ever
before to win over the heat’s of consumers. (source: Casual Living)

9. 52% of millennials were more likely to make impulse

purchases than any other generation. There could be correlations
drawn to how fast our culture of consumption is moving as compared
to past generations, which could affect how quickly millennials make a
decision to buy when shopping. (source: TIME)

10. Close to half of millennial females shop for apparel more than
twice a month, versus 36% of older females. Millennial males
enjoy shopping, too, spending twice as much on garb per year as
non-millennial males.Gen Y men and women are more likely to buy
more apparel for many reasons, one being the cost and perceived
value of a clothing item like a t-shirt. It is more common today to buy a
$10 t-shirt that will last for a few months then a $100 t-shirt that will
last two years. The apparel market has been structured this way for
some time and certainly has an impact on this behavior.
(source: Market-Truth)

11. Millennials are 216% more likely to be influenced by in-store

touch screen displays. This says a lot about how the types of
devices millennials use everyday, like tablets, laptops and
smartphones, are influential and have an impact when it comes to
shopping and improving upon the shopping experience.
(source: Infographics Mania)

12. Millennial moms spend 4 hours more per week than the
average mom spends on social networks. They spend an average
of 17.4 hours per week on their social media networks. Millennial
moms are savvier which is a challenge and opportunity for marketers
to connect with them in a more meaningful way, which could have
major influences on their shopping habits. (source: Weber
Shandwick)
13. Millennial moms are asked 9.6 times per month on average
for product recommendations, as compared to all moms who are
asked 6.3 times per month for product advice. There is likely a
perception of more connectedness with a millennial mom and her
circle that could help give them more exposure to more products and
services, as well as a wider range of feedback from others.
(source: Weber Shandwick)

14. 60% of millennials say that it is convenient to have a

smartphone or tablet to research or purchase a product or
service on the go. More than 50% use their smartphones to
research products or services while shopping. The time to think
mobile first was yesterday. Every business should have a strategy for
how to reach consumers on mobile and this merely reinforces that
point. (source: Barkley)

15. 42% of millennials tend to shop for groceries once a week, as

opposed to once a month, twice a month, 2-4 times a week, 5-6
times a week or every day. This make sense for many millennials
living in big cities not restocking with a few weeks of meals, but
instead for a week at a time, due to the limitations of public
transportation and time in their busy week. (source: Barkley)

16. Similarly to other generations, a majority of millennials, that’s

27%, prefer mass retailers like Target or Walmart for their
shopping needs.Saving time, money and energy is as important to
millennials as it was to other generations, which illustrates there isn’t a
major change in this shopping preference. (source: Barkley)

17. 37% of millennials love shopping and 48% enjoy it. 50% of
millennial men and 70% of millennial women consider shopping a
form of entertainment and something to share with friends and
family. This relates back to the other statistics about how millennials
want retailers to make them smile as well as entertain them since
shopping is often seen as a form of entertainment among their social
circles. (source:Urban Land Institute)
18. 45% of millennials spend more than an hour a day looking at
retail-oriented websites. This further illustrates a huge opportunity
for businesses to better engage their customers online to capture the
interest of young and adult members of Gen Y. (source: Urban Land
Institute)

19. Millennials, ages 18-34, were more likely to share their

location to receive coupons from nearby businesses: 56%, vs.
42% of those 35 and over. 25% also said that they would give
away personal information to get more relevant advertising,
compared with 19% of the 35 and over group. Millennials are more
comfortable about releasing their personal info when it comes to
getting discounts or relevant advertising, which make sense for a
generation more connected than any prior. (source:USA Today)

20. Of survey respondents, 92% said that real-time product

availability would influence where they shop. This is a statistic that
brands should not ignore, since providing customers with the
availability of product online or in stores is possible, which according
to this survey, is an important factor that influences Gen Y shopping
behavior. (source:Accenture)

The largest proportion of people buying online once or twice is found among those aged 55-74
(42 %). The youngest age group (16-24) was the larger age group to shop three to five times
(37 %), but tends to shop more online one to two times (38 %).
Average American Spending per Day: All Ages

So, how much does the average American spend on a daily basis in different categories?
Overall, Americans spend the most on housing, followed by groceries, utilities, and health
insurance. Younger Gen Xers — ages 35-44 — spend the most out of all the groups on
housing and groceries, whereas older Gen Xers — ages 45-54 — spend the most on
utilities. Older baby boomers — those ages 65 and older — spend the most overall on
health insurance.

Here is the breakdown by spending category:

Average Daily Spending by Americans of All Ages

Groceries $11.95
Housing (Rent/Homeownership) $32.59
Utilities $10.51
Health Insurance $9.35
Charitable Donations $5.13
Education $4.08
Gasoline $5.39
Vehicle Insurance $2.65
Eating Out $9.22
Alcohol $1.53
Entertainment $8.78
Cellphone Service $3.06
Clothing/Apparel $5.02
Pets $1.95
Overall $164.55

Americans spend the least amounts overall on alcohol, pets and vehicle insurance. Gen
Zers — those under the age of 25 — spend the least amount on alcohol, followed by older
baby boomers. Gen Z also outlays the least amount on vehicle insurance and pet spending,
followed by millennials — ages 25-34 — in both spending categories.

Click to See: How Do You Stack Up to the Average Income in Your State?
Average American Spending per Day: Under 25 Years Old (Gen Zers)
Average Daily Spending by Americans Under 25

Groceries

Housing (Rent/Homeownership)

Utilities
Health Insurance

Charitable Donations

Education

Gasoline
Vehicle Insurance
Eating Out

Alcohol

Entertainment
Cellphone Service

Clothing/Apparel
Pets
Overall

Americans under 25 years old spend the least in every category except for education,
gasoline, cellphone service, and clothing. Although Gen Z puts the second most
toward education spending — right after Older Gen Xers who are ages 45-54 — they spend
less overall on gasoline, cellphone service and clothing than every other age group aside
from older baby boomers. Gen Z men are more interested in spending money on products
— such as technology, electronics, jewelry and clothes — than their female counterparts
who are more interested in spending money on experiences, such as attending concerts,
going to the movies or eating out with friends, according to the State of Gen Z National
Research Study 2017 from the Center for Generational Kinetics.

Related: Gen Z Is Heading Into the Workforce — And That’s a Good Thing for
Everyone
Average American Spending per Day: 25-34 Years Old (Millennials)
Average Daily Spending by Americans 25-34 Years Old

Groceries $10.89

Housing (Rent/Homeownership) $34.78

Utilities $8.89

Health Insurance $6.19

Charitable Donations $2.60

Education $3.38
Gasoline $5.52

Vehicle Insurance $2.36

Eating Out $9.36

Alcohol $1.57

Entertainment $7.24

Cellphone Service $3.12

Clothing/Apparel $5.59
Pets $1.24
Overall $208.77

On a daily basis, millennials spend more overall than every other group, but they don’t
spend the most or least in any one category. After older and younger Gen Xers, they spend
the most on eating out and clothing. But those expenditures don’t always equal money well
spent. According to Charles Schwab’s 2017 Cents and Sensibility study, 70 percent of
millennials admitted to spending on clothes they don’t necessarily need and 60 percent of
millennials say they spend more than $4 on coffee. What millennials spend on average on
groceries each day is comparable to what baby boomers spend. But baby boomers spend
much less per day on eating out than millennials: $6.88 vs. $9.36, respectively.
Average American Spending per Day: 35-44 Years Old (Younger Gen Xers)
Average Daily Spending by Americans 35-44 Years Old

Groceries

Housing (Rent/Homeownership)
Utilities

Health Insurance

Charitable Donations

Education

Gasoline

Vehicle Insurance

Eating Out
Alcohol
Entertainment

Cellphone Service
Clothing/Apparel
Pets
Overall

Younger Gen Xers — ages 35-44 — average daily grocery spending of $14.05 is more than
all other age groups, which might lead you to believe that they spend much less than other
groups on eating out. The group’s average daily eating out expenditures, however, are also
the highest out of all age groups at $11.64. According to the Charles Schwab 2017 Cents
and Sensibility survey, 66 percent of all Gen Xers are likely to spend money eating out at
one of the hot restaurants in town, whereas only 40 percent buy coffee that cost more than
$4 each.

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Average American Spending per Day: 45-54 Years Old (Older Gen Xers)
Average Daily Spending by Americans 45-54 Years Old

Groceries $14.01

Housing (Rent/Homeownership) $39.04

Utilities $12.59

Health Insurance $9.39

Charitable Donations $6.08

Education $8.80
Gasoline $6.77
Vehicle Insurance $3.18

Eating Out $11.39

Alcohol $1.73
Entertainment $11.13
Cellphone Service $4.09

Clothing/Apparel $6.32

Pets $2.69
Overall $202.48
Older Gen Xers — ages 45-54 — have the second-highest overall daily spending average
among all of the age groups, right after millennials. The difference is that although
millennials don’t spend the most or least in any of the average daily spending categories,
older Gen Xers spend the most overall in eight out of 14 of them. Education spending alone
averages $3,213 per year for this group, which is by far the highest of all age groups.

Other average daily spending categories where Gen Xers top the charts are gasoline,
vehicle insurance, alcohol, entertainment, cellphone service, and pets. According to the
Charles Schwab study, only 29 percent of Gen Xers surveyed — both young and old —
admitted to spending money on taxis and Ubers, which might partially account for the higher
gas expenditures.

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Average American Spending per Day: 55-64 Years Old (Younger Baby Boomers)
Average Daily Spending by Americans 55-64 Years Old

Groceries $12.78

Housing (Rent/Homeownership) $31.82

Utilities $11.60

Health Insurance $10.45

Charitable Donations $6.46

Education $4.50
Gasoline $5.72

Vehicle Insurance 2.70

Eating Out $8.85

Alcohol $1.70
Entertainment $9.44

Cellphone Service $3.18

Clothing/Apparel $4.71
Pets $2.48
Overall $178.01
Younger baby boomers — ages 55-64 — rank among the top three age groups for highest
levels of average daily costs for alcohol, pets and entertainment spending, which are
considered non-essential expenses. They also rank second in average daily spending for
cash contributions. A separate GOBankingRates study found that baby boomers can
avoid ruining their retirement by cutting unnecessary spending on alcohol, eating out,
rideshares, coffee, clothing, and events — in half. For example, this age group could invest
$2,098 per year and have $35,143 in savings by age 65 if they earn a 7 percent annual
return.
Average American Spending per Day: 65 and Older (Older Baby Boomers)
Average Daily Spending by Americans 65 and Older

Groceries $10.45

Housing (Rent/Homeownership) $25.40

Utilities $9.79

Health Insurance $12.91

Charitable Donations $6.66

Education $1.06

Gasoline $3.53

Vehicle Insurance $2.75

Eating Out $6.88
Alcohol $1.26

Entertainment $7.22
Cellphone Service $1.84
Clothing/Apparel $3.27
Pets $1.50
Overall $135.73
The average daily expenditures for health insurance and cash contributions are higher for
older baby boomers — or those age 65 or older — than any other age group. However, gas,
education, clothing and cellphone service spending for older baby boomers are the lowest
among all age groups. A separate GOBankingRates study found that a big spending
category for this age group is rides hares, which could explain the lower gas costs. The
study also found that older baby boomers could save over $3,000 per year by eliminating
unnecessary expenses, such as rides hares and eating out, which they should consider
using to pay off any existing debts.

How Much Should I Spend on Rent, a Car and Other Expenses?

If you’re unsure about how much you should be spending on essentials (housing,
transportation, groceries, etc.) and non-essentials (restaurants, entertainment, alcohol, etc.)
consider using the 50/30/20 budgeting rule as a guide. According to this rule, here’s how
you should allocate your after-tax income:

 50% for your needs: housing, food, utilities, car payments, health insurance, etc.
 30% for your wants: dining out, shopping, events, hobbies, travel, etc.
 20% for your savings and debt repayments: credit card payments, regular
savings, emergency funds, retirement savings, etc.
Understanding the difference between your wants and your needs is crucial to following any
budget. Anything that you need to survive is a need, and anything that you can forgo
without seriously sacrificing your quality a life is a want.

Let’s assume that your monthly paycheck is $2,500 after taxes. Using the 50/30/20 rule,
your spending might look something like this:
Expense Monthly Spe
Needs

Rent $800

Utilities $50

Car Payment $100

Groceries $200
Health Insurance $50

Gas $50
Total (50% x $2,500) $1,250

Wants

Dining Out $100

New Clothing $100

Concert Tickets $200

Ubers and Taxis $50

Weekend Getaway $300
Total (30% x $2,500) $750

Savings & Debt Payments

Regular Savings $200

Emergency Savings $100

Retirement Savings $100

Credit Card Payments $100

Total (20% x $2,500) $500