Inflation is hitting many common items hard and the clothing industry is no exception — prices for the average clothing items rose by 0.8% from May to June and 5.2% from 2021.
While this is lower than the 9.1% consumer price index increase last month, the rise in clothing prices is being felt both by fashionistas and individuals who have large families to dress.
Long considered the cheapest option for new clothing, fast-fashion brands like H&M (HNNMY) , Inditex (IDEXY) 's Zara and Fast Retailing FRCOF's Uniqlo have all recently upped prices to make up for the rising cost of materials, labor and shipping.
How Much Did Those Jeans Cost Three Months Ago?
For many, the most frustrating part of rising prices is the way they often seem to come on as a surprise — some companies have raised prices more than once in the course of a few months, leaving some to find that the rain jacket they put off buying jumped by a few or more dollars after just a few weeks.
Against this backdrop Old Navy has committed to not raise prices on any of its denim products from July until the end of September. Old Navy, a subsidiary of The Gap (GPS), said the promise extends to casual clothing brand jeans, jackets as well as other denim items such as skirts and chambray shirts.
Prior to any sales or discounts, a typical pair of fitted men's jeans at Old Navy commands $59.99 while a women's summer denim dress sells for $49.99.
Old Navy
A company spokesperson confirmed to TheStreet that the offer applies to all the items that were available on the site prior to it going into effect.
It also locks in the regular ticket price rather than the sale one, which will fluctuate depending on factors like availability and popularity of certain items.
"Old Navy is expanding its back-to-school price promise and announcing that it will not raise prices on ANY denim through the end of September, an extension of the price lock on kid’s essentials previously announced in April," the company said in a statement.
The promise comes at the heels of a recent Deloitte study that found that families are planning to spend a record $34.4 billion for back-to-school clothing and other items for children in grades K to 12.
That adds up to roughly $660 per student while, per the adage that kids will never stop costing you money, college clothing spending will add up to an average of $1,600 or a collective $28.3 billion.
"Retailers that remain conscious of this determination, while being mindful to address shoppers' ongoing economic concerns, could earn trust and position themselves strongly," Nick Handrinos, U.S. leader for retail, wholesale, distribution, and consumer products at Deloitte LLP, said of the study.
Will You Take Retail's Word For It?
After a spring of constant price hikes, there have been several signs that price hikes could be coming to an end at least for clothing. Walmart (WMT) has also been reported to cut prices on certain apparel styles due to a surplus of inventory from the spring and summer.
The easing prices and discounts could, then, be less about clothing brands being nice as much as the first sign that the higher prices were one factor that contributed to the surplus of clothing many companies are currently left with.
Others include over-ordering in fear of supply chain disruptions and less need after the post-pandemic shopping boon led some consumers to buy more than they needed.
"You have too many goods and too many stores chasing too few shoppers with too few dollars," Burt Flickinger, managing director for Strategic Resource Group, recently told CBS News.
