Fifth of Brits are Plus Size - but clothing selection is thin on the ground

However, it seems retailers not stocking clothes in plus-sizes should be paying attention to this growing consumer sector... The latest research from Mintel reveals nearly a fifth, equating to one in five Brits (20% of men and 17% of women), currently wear plus-size clothing* - but a massive 80% of plus size women feel that too few stores offer enough choice for the non-mainstream sizes.

Indeed it seems that sizing is far more of an issue for women than men. Today, women (28%) are twice as likely as men (14%) to admit that they have an awkward body shape and have trouble finding clothes that fit them. Women (12%) are also twice as likely as men (6%) to admit that they "struggle to find retailers that sell fashionable clothes for their size. Overall, nearly half (46%) of plus-size men and eight in ten (78%) plus-size women are unhappy about the lack of retailers providing sufficient choice for shoppers of different sizes. A further two thirds (66%) of plus size women would like to see larger models in clothing photographs and two thirds (65%) would like to see larger mannequins.

Plus-size womenswear market increases in value

Mintel estimates that the plus-size womenswear market increased in value by 47% over the last five years, from £2.7 billion to reach a new high of £4 billion in 2011. The plus-size market continues to grow strongly with plus-size womenswear outperforming the rest of the womenswear clothing market over the last five years (47% compared to 15%).

Michelle Strutton, senior FMCG analyst at Mintel, said: "The commercial viability of grabbing a share of the evolving plus-size clothing market is being recognised by some retailers, hence the fashion offer catering to larger sizes has expanded over the last couple of years. However, a lot of the progress has been limited to online specialists and many high street fashion outlets remain inflexible in their sizing policies.

Among plus-size shoppers, discontent continues to prevail over limited choice and the difficulty in finding clothes that fit."

"With less than a third of women finding it easy to buy clothes that fit, it can evidently be a struggle for most women to get the correct size, cut and style for their highly variable body shapes. If retailers made shopping for clothing more straightforward by standardising their clothing sizes or, at the very least, displaying size guides in-store to help the selection process, it would promote higher levels of expenditure - which is particularly important considering the current tough trading conditions on the high street." Michelle continues.

Resilient

Furthermore, the plus-size market has proved to be resilient in the enduring difficult economic landscape. Mintel predicts that the plus-size womenswear market will increase by 43% between 2011 and 2016 to reach £5.7 billion. Over the last five years the plus-size menswear market has grown by 7% - the same rate as the total menswear market - to reach £1.9 billion. Over the next five years, Mintel forecasts that the plus-size menswear market will expand by 13% to £2.2 billion.

Supermarkets are the number one destination for plus-size consumers when shopping for clothes, with over half of size 18 and above women (56%) and six in ten (61%) men wearing XL and bigger clothing purchasing garments from these retailers. This is up from 41% of plus size women in 2005 and trebling the amount of plus size men (up from 21%) shopping at these outlets in 2005. However, limited choice on the high street means that over four in ten plus-size women turn to specialist retailers and this increases to over half (53%) of women wearing size 20 and above clothing. Some 70% of women and 47% men say they feel clothes sizes lack consistency and differ between brands and retailers. Overall - six in ten (59%) consumers are dissatisfied by the lack of uniformity in clothes sizes between different retailers and brands.

Backing the prediction

The research backs up Mintel Inspire's "The Big Issue" trend prediction, examining how brands have a chance to counter or cater to this trend, or perhaps find a way to rise above the argument via balance, choice and transparency.

Richard Cope, principal trends analyst at Mintel Inspire, said: "As the UK becomes more obese as a nation, with levels predicted to rocket over the next few decades - despite the recent plateau - size will become an even more important issue in society. Many plus-size consumers are hungry for more trend-led fashion options in larger sizes, and this demand will continue to rise.

It is no longer acceptable to marginalise and ignore this growing customer base, which has traditionally been underserved by fashion retailers. Brands can opt to actively accommodate larger-sized consumers or brands can 'join the fight' against obesity by promoting weight loss or even refusing to cater to bigger bodies. However, brands can transcend the argument by avoiding judgment calls and emphasising things both sides can agree upon, like health, choice and access."

Despite this, almost a quarter of women (24%) buy clothes in a size 12, making this the most popular dress size for women in the UK today - and the majority of women (59%) wear garments within the 10-14 size range. Young women studying at university wear the smallest dress sizes, with nearly seven in ten (68%) university students wearing a size 10 or less. Furthermore, consumers wearing clothing in sizes 4, 6 and 8 are most likely to complain that their dress size sells out more frequently that other sizes (54% of those in that size bracket compared 42% of female consumers overall).

Source: Mintel Oxygen