$2,001
Average annual spending on apparel and services per U.S. consumer unit in 2024.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures, 2024 (December 19, 2025)U.S. apparel reference
U.S. apparel shopping and returns statistics
Current numbers on household apparel spending, online returns, and textile waste. Every figure is paired with a dated source, so it is easy to verify and cite.
Last updated September 22, 2026
At a glance
Useful context for the clothes people buy, return, and keep in rotation.
This reference brings together public U.S. data and major retail research. The figures are organized by the date of the underlying source, because apparel shopping changes fast and good context should show its age.
Apparel spending
What U.S. households spend on apparel
2.5%
Share of the average consumer unit’s total annual spending that went to apparel and services in 2024.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures, 2024 (December 19, 2025)2.0%
Year-over-year decrease in average apparel and services spending from 2023 to 2024.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures, 2024 (December 19, 2025)Online returns
Why returns remain part of the shopping decision
$849.9B
Projected value of retail returns in the United States in 2025.
Source: National Retail Federation and Happy Returns, 2025 Retail Returns Landscape (October 15, 2025)19.3%
Estimated share of online sales expected to be returned in 2025.
Source: National Retail Federation and Happy Returns, 2025 Retail Returns Landscape (October 15, 2025)82%
Share of consumers who say free returns are important when shopping online.
Source: National Retail Federation and Happy Returns, 2025 Retail Returns Landscape (October 15, 2025)9%
Share of all returns the report found to be fraudulent.
Source: National Retail Federation and Happy Returns, 2025 Retail Returns Landscape (October 15, 2025)Textile waste
The end-of-life picture for clothing and textiles
17M tons
Textiles generated in the U.S. municipal waste stream in 2018.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Textiles: Material-Specific Data (2018 data, current EPA page)14.7%
Overall textile recycling rate in the United States in 2018.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Textiles: Material-Specific Data (2018 data, current EPA page)13%
Estimated recycling rate for clothing and footwear in 2018.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Textiles: Material-Specific Data (2018 data, current EPA page)11.3M tons
Textiles sent to U.S. landfills in 2018.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Textiles: Material-Specific Data (2018 data, current EPA page)Sources and methodology
Where these numbers come from
Each statistic above is reported as published by its named source. Household spending figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey. Online return figures come from the National Retail Federation’s 2025 returns study. Textile figures come from the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2018 materials data.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures, 2024, December 19, 2025
- National Retail Federation and Happy Returns, 2025 Retail Returns Landscape, October 15, 2025
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Textiles: Material-Specific Data, 2018 data, current EPA page
Cite this page
1228Teez. “U.S. Apparel Shopping and Returns Statistics.” Updated September 22, 2026. https://1228teez.com/apparel-shopping-statistics
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