Discount Decades: Tariffs Reshape Apparel and Footwear as Off-Price Retailers Extend Their Lead

Published – October 2026

Discover why performance in the US apparel and footwear discount channel is polarizing, as off-pricers extend their lead while cross-border fast-fashion players and weaker operators fall behind.

Read this report to discover answers to these and other questions:

• How are off-pricers continuing to compound gains while Shein and Boohoo reverse course?
• How sharply does store growth diverge within the discount channel and which discounters are expanding fastest?
• How does co-location with full-price retailers vary across discounters’ real estate strategies?
• What do shopper demographics reveal about the distinct customer bases across the discounter group?
• Beyond tariff exposure, what other risks do discounters face, as illustrated by Boohoo and Old Navy?

Data in this research report include: US apparel and footwear market size and growth; discounters’ US sales and revenue growth, with forecasts through 2030; discounters’ share of US apparel and footwear spending; operating margins; US store counts; co-location with non-discount apparel and footwear chains; store maps; shopper age, income and ethnicity profiles by retailer.

Introduction

Market Scale and Opportunity

Apparel and Footwear Discounters: Coresight Research Analysis

1. Quantifying Discounter Gains: Revenue Growth, Market Shares and Operating Margins
2. Physical Expansion
3. Who Shops at the Discounters
4. Strategies for Success
5. Exceptions to the Rule

What We Think

• Implications for Retailers
• Implications for Real Estate Firms
• Implications for Technology Vendors

Notes and Methodology

Abercrombie & Fitch, Academy Sports + Outdoors, AliExpress, Amazon, American Eagle Outfitters, Associated British Foods (Primark), Burlington Stores, Caleres, Debenhams Group (formerly Boohoo Group), Designer Brands (DSW), Dick’s Sporting Goods, eBay, El Puerto de Liverpool, Gap Inc. (Old Navy), H&M, Lululemon Athletica, Macy’s, Nordstrom Inc. (Nordstrom Rack), PDD Holdings (Temu), Ross Stores, Shein, Target, TJX Companies, Urban Outfitters, Victoria’s Secret & Co.

US Apparel and Footwear Market Size (Left Axis; USD Bil.) and YoY Change (Right Axis; %)

Selected Apparel and Footwear Discounters: US Sales (USD Bil.)

Selected Apparel and Footwear Discounters: Annual Revenue Growth Rates (%)

Selected Apparel and Footwear Discounters: Share of US Apparel and Footwear Spending (%)

Selected Apparel and Footwear Discounters: Operating Margins (%)

TJX, Ross Stores, Old Navy, Burlington, DSW, Primark and Nordstrom Rack: Total US Store Count

Apparel Discounters: American Eagle Outfitters, Victoria’s Secret, Dick’s Sporting Goods, H&M, Lululemon Athletica, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Abercrombie & Fitch and Urban Outfitters Stores Within One Mile and Three Miles (Total Count and Average per Discounter Store)

Number of Non-Discount Apparel and Footwear Stores* Within One Mile of Each Discounter, by Chain

Non-Discount Apparel and Footwear Stores Within One Mile of Each Discounter, as % of Each Non-Discount Chain’s Total US Store Base

TJX Store Map

Ross Stores Store Map

Burlington Store Map

Nordstrom Rack Store Map

Old Navy Store Map

Primark Store Map

DSW Store Map

Which Apparel Discounters Shoppers Purchased Items from in the Past Three Months, by Age (% of Respondents in Each Group)

Which Apparel Discounters Shoppers Purchased Items from in the Past Three Months, by Income (% of Respondents in Each Group)

Ethnic Split by Retailer Used for Apparel and Accessories Purchases in the Three Months Preceding Each Survey (% Breakdown of Each Retailer’s Shopper Base)