5 Current Footwear Trends Impacting Your Bottom Line

Shoe Store Sales And Total Footwear Spending Grow

U.S. shoe stores hit nearly $3 billion in sales in January. That's a near-record that hints at a record year ahead for shoe store sales! Spending on footwear reached a seasonally-adjusted, annualized $77.3 billion in January, up 2.2% year-over-year. That's the 21st straight gain! FDRA members can see the Footwear Sales Report here (once you log-in you can click on any link in this email to access reports)

Men's and Women's Footwear Prices At Retail Drop

FDRA's latest US Retail Footwear Price trends report shows a surprise -1.5% drop in men's footwear prices in February. Women's prices were also down. This is crimping prospects for retailers to gain more pricing leverage this year at a crucial time as shoe store wages rise sharply. FDRA members can see the Footwear Price Report here

Higher Wages = Tighter Footwear Margins In Stores

FDRA's latest Shoe Store Employment Recap shows average hourly earnings in shoe stores jumped a year-over-year 5.8% in the latest month--the fastest in a year and a half--an early sign of tighter margins ahead.  In fact, the jump in average hourly earnings paid by shoe stores in this latest month outpaced gains in all other key retail sectors. FDRA members can see the Shoe Store Employment Report here

Imports Up, But Your Tax Bill Is Going to Hurt Badly

Footwear entering the US climbed again in January thanks to sneakers (up 5.5%). But there is no love from Uncle Sam as footwear duties rose at an even higher rate. FDRA estimates the industry's duty bill in 2017 is going to be just shy of $3 billion. FDRA members can see the fashion, athletic, children's and boot import report here

Shoe Cost Relief As Synthetic And Rubber Costs Drop

Oil prices have great implication on prices for a range of materials used in footwear manufacturing. As oil prices fall we are seeing relief for synthetics, rubber and distribution costs. Good news to balance the rising cost of textiles used in shoes as cotton hit a new 32 month high. FDRA members can see the latest Footwear Material Cost Report here

Footwear executives will be presenting on these and other issues at FDRA's Footwear Business Summit on May 11th in Washington, DC. Topics include production shifts, the state of retail, athletic and fashion consumers, as well as brand protection.  Learn more & register here

You can also keep up on current trends and issues each week on