Clothing prices are getting slashed – part of a long-term trend of discounting - The Globe and Mail

Oct 19, 2024

A shopper walks through Eaton Centre in Toronto on June 5.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail

If you’re looking for new shirts, pants or boots, you’re in luck: the apparel industry is slashing prices.

As of September, clothing and footwear prices have dropped 4.4 per cent over the previous year, according to Consumer Price Index figures published on Tuesday. This isn’t a new phenomenon for the clothing industry, but part of a decades-old trend of discounting.

Since the turn of the century, nominal prices for clothing and footwear have dropped 7.4 per cent, according to Statistics Canada’s calculations. The trend is wildly different for general consumer prices, which have jumped 72 per cent over the same time period.

If anything, these numbers understate the degree to which clothing is getting progressively cheaper. In inflation-adjusted dollars, clothing and footwear prices have plunged by 46 per cent since 1999.

There are various explanations for why clothing is so cheap, including the rise of fast-fashion brands and the shift in garment production to low-wage markets overseas. But what’s good news for consumers is terrible news for the environment; the clothing industry is a major polluter. And because there’s a proliferation of $10 T-shirts and $30 sweaters, consumers are buying more clothes and revamping their wardrobes more frequently.

There’s another reason for recent discounts: some apparel companies are struggling in this sluggish economic environment, leaving them with plenty of inventory to offload.

Over the first seven months of the year, clothing retailers have posted $16.8-billion in sales – down slightly from the same period in 2023, according to Statscan figures. When adjusted for inflation and Canada’s soaring population growth, the decline in apparel sales is more pronounced.

Decoder is a weekly feature that unpacks an important economic chart.