How GLP-1 Users Feel About Beauty and Fashion Brands

Morning Consult is hosting an exclusive Fashion & Beauty Roundtable on May 12. Powered by our real-time consumer intelligence, this session brings together senior executives from marketing, communications, and strategy departments to explore and unpack evolving consumer trends in fashion and beauty and what they mean for your brand. To get more information, contact James Cowling-Vega.

For more brand research into GLP-1 users, download our report The GLP-1 Consumer and explore more of this cohort's demographics, digital habits and standout brands.

GLP-1 users are a distinctly purchase-motivated audience across every category. GLP-1 users have a higher purchase consideration score on almost every brand by 10–20 percentage points higher than the general population. This implies that these users are in a heightened commercial mode.

Body transformation can create cascading purchase occasions: new clothing sizes, renewed self-care investment, and increased athletic activity. Mass retail and sportswear anchor all cohorts, but beauty is where GLP-1 audiences most dramatically diverge, with meaningful differences by age and income. Traditional and legacy sportswear brands (like Nike and Adidas) are seeing a purchase consideration bump amongst GLP-1 users. We see that effect on some in-person stores, as well.

In this table below, we rank purchase consideration amongst different audiences to demonstrate this effect.

What follows is an audience-by-audience analysis of brand consideration patterns, benchmarked against the general U.S. adult population.

Interest in Beauty and Personal Care Surges Across All GLP-1 Users

Beauty and personal care show the sharpest lifts across all GLP-1 users. Body transformation triggers a self-care investment cycle: Accessible and daily-use products benefit first, with more prestige brands following as habits deepen.

• Bath & Body Works jumps from #7 among all respondents to #2 among GLP-1 users, making it the standout mover across the entire GLP-1 population
  
  
• Drugstore beauty scores broad gains amongst GLP-1 users: CoverGirl +20.9pp, Maybelline +17.8pp, L'Oréal +16.1pp over the general population baseline
  
  
• Nike Jordan uniquely breaks into the GLP-1 top 20 (+16.7pp), which is a fitness identity signal as users embrace an active lifestyle
  
  
• Gap and Old Navy surge as body size changes translate directly into wardrobe refreshes
  
  
• Workwear brands (Carhartt, Wrangler) hold consideration but do not accelerate 

What to do with this insight: Lead with self-care and wardrobe reinvention in your messaging. The GLP-1 audience is already in purchase mode. The question is whether your brand is positioned as part of the new identity they are building, or the old one they are leaving behind.

Athletic Identity and Expressive Beauty Dominate for Under For GLP-1 Users

Younger GLP-1 users are the most brand-aspirational cohort. They lean into fitness culture and expressive beauty, treating body change as an identity signal and not just a health outcome. These consumers are not buying necessity; they are buying self-expression.

• Nike (47.0) and Adidas (43.6) post peak athletic scores across all GLP-1 audiences. Fitness identity is central to this cohort

• Streetwear breaks through: Vans (34.6), Converse (32.4), and Nike Jordan (32.5) all enter the top 15

• Sephora (29.6), e.l.f. (31.0), and CoverGirl (31.5) lead on expressive and inclusive beauty positioning

• Color-forward brands like Urban Decay (23.3) and Fenty (23.7) significantly over-index versus older GLP-1 cohorts

• Fruit of the Loom notably lags at 25.7. Basics are being replaced by branded alternatives as these consumers upgrade their wardrobes
  

What to do with this insight: For under-40 GLP-1 users, the purchase trigger is identity, not utility. Athletic brands that speak to aspiration and streetwear culture are capturing the largest share of this cohort's wallet. Beauty brands should lead with color and self-expression over skin-health positioning.

Heritage, Comfort, and Functional Care Brands Lead Amongst Older GLP-1 Users

Older GLP-1 users prioritize practical wardrobe refreshes and skin-focused care over trend or aspiration. They invest in trusted, established brands. Not new identities. This is the most value-driven GLP-1 cohort, and the least responsive to editorial or pop-culture positioning.

• Hanes (45.9) and Fruit of the Loom (42.0) rank #3 and #5

   

• Levi's reaches its peak score of 44.2 across all audiences here. Jeans are the most size-sensitive wardrobe item, and this cohort is acting on it

   

• Olay (33.9) posts its highest score across all audiences. Skin health decisively outranks color cosmetics for this group

   

• Dr Teal's, IT Cosmetics, and Clinique all over-index versus younger cohorts. Functional and dermatologist-adjacent brands win

   

• MAC (11.7), PUMA (15.3), and Urban Decay (13.1) all hit their floor scores here. Editorial and trend-driven positioning does not land

What to do with this insight: Over-40 GLP-1 users reward reliability. Comfort, trusted formulas, and practical fit are what convert. Brands in this window should resist the temptation to reposition toward aspiration; this cohort's spend is deliberate and purpose-driven.

Higher Income GLP-1 Users Are Trading Up

The highest-scoring cohort in almost every category. Where motivation meets financial capacity, consumers trade up — from drugstore to prestige beauty, from mass to premium activewear. High-income GLP-1 users are the segment most actively converting consideration into purchase.

• Sephora reaches 39.6 (+32pp vs. all respondents), ULTA 37.5, Clinique 34.2, and Fenty 37.4

• lululemon (29.4), Patagonia (31.0), and Athleta (27.5) emerge meaningfully only at this income level. Motivation plus income unlocks the premium tier

• Gap surges from 4.8 (all respondents) to 43.0. Branded mid-tier fashion captures the affluent wardrobe refresher

• Macy's uniquely enters the top 10. The only department store to do so, capturing multi-category beauty and fashion in a single destination

What to do with this insight: High-income GLP-1 users do not want a mid-market compromise. They want either accessible value or genuine premium. Brands that straddle tiers risk losing this cohort to prestige alternatives. The opportunity is to signal authentic quality and earn the trade-up.

Methodology

Data in this memo comes from Morning Consult Intelligence's continuous tracking surveys of U.S. adults. All figures reflect data collected between January 1, 2025 and April 13, 2026. Brands with a sample size of 150 or more are included.