Old Navy Integrating Plus Sizing to Be More Inclusive

Old Navy is getting rid of its plus-sized section and making sizes zero to 30 available online and in all stores, the retailer announced Wednesday. Starting Friday, the Gap Inc.-owned brand is launching "BODEQUALITY," with no price difference between sizes, in an effort to make the shopping experience more inclusive.

“BODEQUALITY is not a one-time campaign, but a full transformation of our business in service to our customers based on years of working closely with them to research their needs," Nancy Green, Old Navy's president and CEO, said in a company press release. "I’m proud of the collaboration across our Old Navy teams to evolve the retail experience for women.”

With the move toward more inclusive shopping, Old Navy will be stocking all of the different sizes together and have mannequins wearing sizes four, 12 and 18. Online, models will appear wearing the same sizes.

Total Retail's Take: With the average American woman wearing a size 16-18 jean (according to this 2016 study), Old Navy's move toward size inclusivity should be celebrated. The move was certainly needed; the retailer told CNN Business that searches for "plus" on the Old Navy website were up 63 percent over the past year.

Other retailers such as Target, Nike, and Nordstrom have also moved to add more sizes in recent years. Old Navy has carried plus-size clothing of size 16 and above since 2004, but came under fire in 2014 for charging more for women's plus-sized clothing, but not for men's plus-size apparel.

While producing additional sizes comes with cost implications, the move could bring in more customers drawn to Old Navy's mission of inclusivity, offsetting the expense.