Weight-loss pills threaten to reshape Britain’s consumer economy

British businesses face a potentially significant shift in consumer behaviour as a growing number of people say they would choose weight-loss tablets over injections, raising questions about everything from supermarket demand to clothing sizes.

More than a third of Britons — 34 per cent — would consider taking weight-loss medication in pill form rather than through injections, according to research commissioned by RSM UK.

The proportion rises to 43 per cent among millennials and 42 per cent among Generation Z.

The appetite is particularly pronounced among higher earners. Some 58 per cent of people earning more than £80,000 a year said they would consider taking the tablets.

The findings come as Eli Lilly’s daily weight-loss pill, Foundayo, has secured UK regulatory approval, following the authorisation of a tablet version of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy earlier this year. The drugs belong to the rapidly expanding GLP-1 class, which is already beginning to influence eating and spending habits.

RSM’s survey found that almost a quarter of respondents had used, or were currently using, weight-loss injections. Among those users, 45 per cent said they were eating smaller portions, 39 per cent were snacking less and 32 per cent were drinking less alcohol.

For consumer companies, the implications could extend well beyond food.

Jacqui Baker, head of consumer markets at RSM UK, said GLP-1 drugs could trigger a “much broader shift in consumer behaviour”, forcing retailers to rethink stock levels, product sizing and demand forecasting.

The impact may not necessarily mean lower consumer spending, however. Baker said expenditure could instead be redistributed towards categories benefiting from changing lifestyles, including vitamins, supplements and health and wellness products.

The pharmaceutical shift is still at an early stage, with Foundayo yet to be made available through the NHS and subject to assessment by NICE.

But expectations that tablets could ultimately be cheaper and easier to administer than injections could accelerate adoption.

For retailers, the risk is that a pharmaceutical development becomes a commercial shock — changing not simply how much consumers eat, but what they buy, how they shop and where their money goes.