How Ozempic Users Are Spending, Feeling While Taking the Drugs

Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs have made waves over the last few years, and not just in the pharmaceutical industry. For example, CPG companies are serving these health-conscious consumers with protein-packed products, as increasing protein intake is recommended to support weight loss. Even with the help of prescription weight loss drugs, patients still have to make meaningful lifestyle changes to see results. 

More indirectly, apparel brands and resale companies are also benefitting from consumers’ shifting clothing sizes, necessitating new wardrobes and closet clean outs. Additionally, a new  Morning Consult survey shows that GLP-1 users’ behavior changes extend well beyond those directly tied to weight loss: users also report spending more on both invasive and non-invasive beauty services, travel and other experiences, and luxury goods while taking a GLP-1 medication.

GLP-1 drug users report experiencing a confidence boost while taking the medication

Many factors related to weight loss can impact a person’s confidence. Whether it’s due to feeling more in control, body changes, or the satisfaction of accomplishing a goal, it makes sense that current GLP-1 users report feeling more confident while taking the medication. Past users also felt more confident on the medication, though to a lesser degree than current users. Past users typically stop using the medication due to cost (which can be over $1,000 a month if paying out of pocket), or side effects, which tend to impact the GI system.

While improved self esteem is noteworthy on its own, there are other lifestyle changes that confident GLP-1 users are more likely to report than all users. For example, users who report feeling more confident on the drugs are more likely than all GLP-1 users to say they are exercising (63% vs. 50%) and cooking at home (57% vs. 46%) more while taking the medications.  They’re also more likely to say they socialize more on the medication compared with all users (50% vs. 38%). 

GLP-1 lifestyle changes and increased shopping go hand in hand

Weight loss drug users report spending more on impulse purchases, compared to when they aren’t using the medication. Nearly one-third (32%) of all users said they are spending “much” or “a little” more on impulse purchases while on the medication. Among those that feel confident using the medication, that share rises to 43%. 

Morning Consult Audience data also shows that GLP-1 users shop online at higher rates than the general population does. They are also more likely to make purchases through social media, where shopping integrations offer the satisfaction of a rapid see it, want it, buy it journey.

Age and income are also underlying factors here, as GLP-1 users tend to be a bit younger than the general population and are less likely to be low income, so they overlap with demographics that tend to shop more often. 

GLP-1 users spend more on personal care, clothing, luxuries and experiences

The changes GLP-1 drugs bring to users’ lives don’t just directly impact their spending at the grocery store and restaurants. Other categories benefit from the Ozempic boom, particularly from consumers who attribute confidence gains to the medication: these users report that they spend more in discretionary categories while on GLP-1s. 

Some of this is a natural byproduct of weight change: 35% of respondents said they spend “much more” or “a little more” on clothes while on a GLP-1 drug, which is often necessary to accommodate size changes. That number rises to 46% of those who feel more confident on the medications, and need new outfits to go with their new attitude. Users also report spending more on hair and skincare products, home decor, and luxury items. Those makeovers call for a night out on the town, as users also spend more on concert, movie and theater tickets, and even travel.

Taken together, this data suggests that the newfound confidence users derive from taking these drugs extends into all facets of their life, inspiring both physical changes through cosmetic procedures and services as well as changes in the way people choose to socialize and pursue entertainment. For patients who have dealt with struggles of too small airplane and concert venue seating, these drugs and associated weight loss facilitate access to experiences they may have previously avoided.