Number of the Day
Why Belt Sales Are Sagging, by the Numbers
You don’t need to hold your pants up if you aren’t wearing any
22.1%: That’s how much North American belt sales will decline in 2020, according to a Euromonitor International forecast cited by Quartz. The Covid-19 era has reshaped consumption habits, work patterns, and societal building blocks from transportation to real estate to food. Turns out it’s also been bad for belts.
And it’s not just North America. Sales of belts are tightening almost as much (21%) in Western Europe, and even more (24.1%) in Latin America. In the Asia Pacific region — the biggest belt market, Quartz reports; who knew? — sales are expected to fall about 13%. All of which seems like a logical side effect of how the work-at-home trend has impacted apparel sales more generally, dragging down formal duds and boosting athleisure. In a time of pervasive sweatpants, it was a cinch to predict that belt demand would buckle.
But with vaccines on the way, Euromonitor is predicting belt sales will hold up in the longer term, returning to pre-pandemic levels in most markets by 2024. Curiously, North America is the exception: Belt sales are forecast to keep sagging. Perhaps that implies more permanent remote work, or more relaxed office dress codes. We’ll be in suspenders, er, suspense, to find out.
Until then, stay loose.
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