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NEW YORK - December 18, 2025 - Based on a new Voice of the Customer (VoC) analysis of 55,287 U.S. men’s denim reviews and discussions across Amazon, Target, Walmart, Macy’s and official brand stores (Q4 2022 - Q4 2025), the category appears to be settling around a familiar trio - fit, style and comfort - while loyalty is increasingly decided by something less glamorous: predictability. As brands plan 2026 assortments amid higher return sensitivity and “not as described” frustration, the strongest signal is clear: shoppers reward brands that reduce risk at the moment of purchase.
The study, conducted by Clootrack, introduces a directional switching momentum view called Net Flux (incoming minus outgoing brand switches expressed in customer language). Net Flux indicates directional movement in preference, not audited sales or market share. In the dataset, American Eagle, Gap and Old Navy showed the strongest net gains.
In figure 1, the bubble chart shows the category’s key experience themes by positivity (%) and volume of opinions.
Clootrack applies a four-level unsupervised theme hierarchy to drill from broad drivers to specific, actionable fixes.
1) Fit is the top driver - but loyalty is won by predictability.
Fit leads the category conversation (~21.8% share) with strong positivity (~80.7%). Customers describe “good fit” in precise terms: leg silhouette control, thigh/seat room, reliable waist fit, more rise/inseam options, and stretch that flexes without losing shape.
2) The loyalty breaker is sizing predictability (not comfort).
Sizing sentiment is low (~43.6% positive) and waist fit is similarly low (~42.7%) with growing attention. Shoppers consistently cite the same risk factors: variation across washes/colors, measurement guides that don’t match delivered product, and inconsistent online sizing. In practice, this shows up as churn and returns when shoppers can’t trust what will arrive.
3) “Trust triggers” are emerging right before checkout.
Two smaller themes show outsized impact because they introduce doubt at purchase:
4) Product information accuracy is now a measurable performance lever.
Customers repeatedly flag mismatches and confusion in key product details (including closure type), alongside function/QC issues. “Truth-in-spec” is increasingly tied to conversion confidence and “not as described” returns.
Using Net Flux, Clootrack found American Eagle, Gap, and Old Navy gained the most net switchers in the dataset. For Gap specifically, inbound switching was driven by reasons customers cite directly: Fit (41%), Price (26%), and Quality (~20%).
“What’s different here is connecting switching momentum to the fixable drivers customers explicitly cite - not just what they complain about,” said Shameel Abdulla, CEO of Clootrack.
The data points to three priorities for 2026 planning:
Report availability: Full theme hierarchy, verbatims, and drill-down cuts (persona, price tier, fit type) available on request.
Clootrack is an AI-powered Voice of the Customer analytics platform with AI Super Agents that help enterprises convert fragmented customer feedback into actions tied to business KPIs such as NPS, churn, returns, revenue, and operational efficiency. Using patented unsupervised thematic analysis, Clootrack analyzes 100% of structured and unstructured VoC data across first- and third-party sources. Insights are delivered through explainable AI Decision Briefs that clearly show what is happening, why it is happening, and what teams should do next, with 98% overall analysis accuracy.
Corporate Communication
Clootrack Software Labs Inc
+1 302-204-1872
pr@clootrack.com
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