World Data Lab

Category

Clothing & Footwear

Built for apparel teams deciding which markets to open, how far the price range needs to stretch, and which age bands it is really cut for.

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COICOP 3

Clothing and footwear in numbers, 2026 to 2036

USD 2.86T

Spending in 2026

USD 4.32T

Spending in 2036

+USD 1.45T

Added by 2036

4.19%

Annual growth to 2036

USD 351

Per person a year

4.0%

Share of the global wallet

nominal USD, current prices

We map and forecast clothing and footwear spending across cities.

World

 

 

We can identify the future city markets for clothing and footwear.

Annual consumer spending on clothing and footwear, 2000 to 2040.

2000
  1. Tokyo: USD 34bn in 2000
  2. New York City: USD 20bn in 2000
  3. Los Angeles: USD 15bn in 2000
  4. Osaka: USD 14bn in 2000
  5. Seoul: USD 10bn in 2000

We analyse which demographics will contribute most to that growth.

By spending tier

Spending in 2026Added by 2036Rich30.1%48.1%Upper middle15.0%16.5%Core middle26.2%22.7%Lower middle23.1%12.3%Poor5.6%0.4%
  • Rich: 30.1% of spending in 2026, 48.1% of the spending added by 2036
  • Upper middle: 15.0% of spending in 2026, 16.5% of the spending added by 2036
  • Core middle: 26.2% of spending in 2026, 22.7% of the spending added by 2036
  • Lower middle: 23.1% of spending in 2026, 12.3% of the spending added by 2036
  • Poor: 5.6% of spending in 2026, 0.4% of the spending added by 2036

By age band

Spending in 2026Added by 203665 and over11.2%18.5%45-6526.2%27.9%30-4521.7%17.7%15-3020.3%21.4%0-1520.6%14.5%
  • 65 and over: 11.2% of spending in 2026, 18.5% of the spending added by 2036
  • 45-65: 26.2% of spending in 2026, 27.9% of the spending added by 2036
  • 30-45: 21.7% of spending in 2026, 17.7% of the spending added by 2036
  • 15-30: 20.3% of spending in 2026, 21.4% of the spending added by 2036
  • 0-15: 20.6% of spending in 2026, 14.5% of the spending added by 2036

We break down clothing and footwear into subcategories.

Area is spending in 2026. USD 2.86T across 6 published lines of the model.

Garments

USD 1.99T · 69.7%

Shoes and other footwear

USD 597bn · 20.8%

USD 118bn

USD 92bn

  • Other clothing and accessoriesUSD 118bn
  • Cleaning, repair and hire of clothingUSD 92bn
  • Clothing materialsUSD 57bn
  • Repair and hire of footwearUSD 6bn

Five decisions an apparel team can settle with this data.

01

Market entry and prioritisation

The cities holding the most clothing and footwear spending today are not the ones adding it fastest. Across the forty largest markets in the model the spread runs from 1.1% a year to 9.7%, which is the difference between a market that transforms by 2036 and one that barely moves. We rank every city on the spending that is forming rather than the spending already there.

02

Pricing and affordability

Spending on clothing and footwear by rich consumers compounds at 6.12% a year, against 0.37% for the poorest. A cheaper range can hold its volume and still be defending a shrinking share of the growth, because the growth is not sitting where the volume is. We map spending power against your own price range in every market you sell in.

03

Category and portfolio strategy

Inside the category, clothing materials compounds at 6.14% a year while repair and hire of footwear manages 3.70%. Those are two different shelf decisions inside one category averaging 4.19%, and the average is what most portfolio reviews are still built on.

04

Segmentation and targeting

Spending on clothing and footwear by the over-65s compounds at 6.28% a year, against 3.11% for the under-15s. In New York City the over-65s already hold 10% of the category. A pipeline aimed at the wrong life stage is chasing the slower half of the market, and the gap widens every year to 2036.

05

Demand forecasting and sizing

The category adds $1.45 trillion between 2026 and 2036, and none of it arrives evenly. A capacity decision taken now rests on the market that will exist in ten years rather than the one visible today. We project every market and every year to 2050.

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Clothing & Footwear

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