A useful reference from Twisted Tee Co.
U.S. apparel shopping statistics
A clear, citable snapshot of how Americans shop for apparel, from online retail momentum to household spending. Every figure below links to its original public source.
Last updated October 27, 2026
The short version
Shopping is personal. The market is moving online.
Apparel is still a meaningful everyday purchase, but shoppers have more ways to find the pieces that feel like them. This page brings together recent public data that writers, retailers, makers, and curious shoppers can reference without digging through a stack of reports.
17.1%
of U.S. retail sales happened online
In the second quarter of 2026, seasonally adjusted retail e-commerce represented 17.1% of total U.S. retail sales.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, Q2 2026$340.2B
in U.S. online retail sales for one quarter
The Census Bureau estimated seasonally adjusted U.S. retail e-commerce sales at $340.2 billion in the second quarter of 2026.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, Q2 2026+12.2%
year-over-year growth in online retail
Second-quarter 2026 e-commerce sales rose 12.2% from a year earlier, compared with 6.7% growth in total retail sales.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, Q2 2026$2,001
average annual household spending on apparel and services
U.S. consumer units spent an average of $2,001 on apparel and services in 2024. The category includes clothing, footwear, and dry cleaning.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures, 20242.5%
of average household spending went to apparel and services
Apparel and services accounted for 2.5% of average annual consumer-unit spending in 2024, down slightly from 2.6% in 2023.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures, 2024$132.6B
in family clothing store sales
Family clothing stores reported $132.6 billion in 2024 sales. The figure is rounded from Census data reported in thousands of dollars.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Integrated Economic Survey, 2024What these numbers do and do not say
A wider retail picture, not a made-up custom-tee forecast.
These are U.S. retail and household-spending figures, not a forecast for one shop or a claim about custom tees alone. That distinction matters. They are useful for understanding the context around apparel shopping, while a great shirt still comes down to the design, the occasion, and the person wearing it.
At Twisted Tee Co., that is the fun part: personal names, school spirit, family jokes, and designs that feel a little more like home. Browse the collections or start a custom order when you are ready to make it personal.
Methodology and sources
How to use this page.
Figures are quoted or transparently rounded from the original U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases listed below. Source dates are shown with each statistic. We will review the page about monthly and update it when a key public release changes.
- U.S. Census Bureau: Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, second quarter 2026
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Expenditures in 2024
- U.S. Census Bureau: Annual Integrated Economic Survey, 2024 retail trade table
Cite this page
Twisted Tee Co. (2026). U.S. Apparel Shopping Statistics. Retrieved October 27, 2026, from https://twistmytee.com/apparel-shopping-statistics.