Anna Maxwell

H&M lacks inclusivity in their online shop, with some clothing only offered up to size large.

Many retail clothing companies have taken different measures to include or not include plus-size clothing options in their stores and online. These decisions have come from recent changes in supply and demand. Retailers like Old Navy are not seeing enough demand for in-store plus-size options. This comes as a surprise, considering that the World Population Review found the average United States dress sizes to be between size 16 and 18. 

In 2023, stores like H&M added plus-size options to their in-store collections. However, the largest size in select H&M stores is still only 2X and the largest option online is 4X. This means that customers who need larger plus size options might still have to shop online to find inclusive clothing to purchase. Additionally, Vogue Business and Fashion Dive report that the amount of plus-size men on the runway was increasing through 2019 and 2021, but fell once again in 2022 and 2023.

Even though online shopping continues to gain popularity, one of the major hassles involved in finding clothes online is the difficulty of trying on outfits and returning them if they do not fit. A study by Joor revealed that in TikToks about plus-size clothing the most common complaints related to plus-size clothing is the lack of size ranges and issues in the making of garments. Consumers complained that companies simply add length and width to original clothing options, which causes the plus-size options to look like a “sack.” 

These concerns could mean that plus-size customers would want the basic opportunity to try on clothes in person and simply place them back on the rack if something did not fit. However, many do not get this option. Popular TikTok content creator Samyra highlights these issues in many of her videos when she shops at different stores looking for clothing to purchase. 

One shocking video showed Samyra looking in the plus-size section in Walmart, only to find sizes as small as a size 2 on the rack. She asked a worker where the plus sizes were and had to search far into the clothing section before finding actual options. Another video, which was filmed in Anthropologie, showcased how far away the plus size clothes were from what retail deems as “normal” sizes. The creator had to walk upstairs and go behind clothing racks just to find a section with larger sizes. 

This was yet another one of the complaints from TikToks in the Joor study: keeping plus-size in different areas of the store, which alienates many consumers. Famous brands such as lululemon are also lacking inclusivity. Samyra could only find a bra up to a size 12 in a store, and when looking at their website, most of their sizes only go up to a 20.  

This all seems rather concerning, considering that the average U.S. dress size is 16-18 and many clothing stores are not stocking their shelves to reflect the population. Even when looking through websites like H&M that are supposed to be more inclusive, there are very few options for plus-size clothing and many pieces of clothing are sold out in larger sizes. Although many brands are promoting inclusivity, they are not implementing it in stores or online.