More women are staying single longer, and that's great news for Nike and Lululemon

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More women are staying single longer.

• Morgan Stanley estimates that 45% of prime working-age women will be single by 2030, up from 41% in 2018.
• This growing cohort is expected to drive spending growth on categories including clothing, shoes, personal care, restaurants, and luxury and electric vehicles.
• Nike and Lululemon are among the companies that will benefit the most from this shift. This is partly because single women - and single men, for that matter - tend to spend more time exercising than their married counterparts.
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Women are staying single longer, and that's great news for companies like Lululemon and Nike, according to a new report from Morgan Stanley analysts.

Morgan Stanley estimates that 45% of prime working-age women will be single by 2030, up from 41% in 2018.

This growing cohort will have a significant impact on the economy by helping to fuel gains in categories where they outspend married individuals, the report said.

These categories include clothing, shoes, personal care, restaurants, and luxury and electric vehicles, according to the report.

Nike, Lululemon, and other athletic clothing and shoe brands are among those that stand to benefit the most.

This is partly because both single women and men tend to spend significantly more time exercising than their married counterparts.

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On a weekly basis, single men spend about eight hours exercising and single women spend more than five hours exercising, according to data cited in the report. Married men, by comparison, spend under six hours weekly on exercise and married women spend about four hours weekly on exercise.

"More singles means more people exercising more frequently, buying more athletic goods, and replacing them more often," the Morgan Stanley analysts wrote.

Other companies that could benefit from the growing population of single women are Nordstrom, TJ Maxx, Old Navy, and Ross Stores, the report stated.

"The growth in the number of single women, combined with a trend toward higher earnings for single women, should benefit names with high exposure to women," analysts wrote.