US footwear market sales continue to rise! But the growth rate slowed down in the third quarter

Since the global pandemic, the offline sales of the footwear market have been terrible due to the impact of epidemic prevention and control. However, due to changes in consumer consumption habits, consumers prefer to shop online, which has made online sales perform well and minimized losses.

A previous report released by market analysis firm NPD Group showed that total sales of performance footwear in the United States increased by 23% in the second quarter of 2021, while sales of casual footwear climbed at a slightly higher rate, but sales of fashion footwear were on a downward trend.

According to the latest data from NPD, in the third quarter of this year, the total sales of performance footwear in the United States continued to rise, and among all footwear, the growth rate was the largest, increasing by about 15%. However, in comparison, it was slightly lower than the growth rate in the second quarter.

Among them, sales of men's performance shoes increased by 14% year-on-year to US$1.2 billion; sales of women's performance shoes increased by 22% year-on-year to approximately US$700 million; and sales of children's performance shoes increased by 6% year-on-year to approximately US$400 million.

The popularity of casual style in the United States has also made casual shoes such as mules, cross-crocs and casual sandals continue to be popular among consumers. The sales of casual shoes increased by 11% in the third quarter, which is also far lower than the 31% increase in the second quarter.

Among them, the sales volume of men's casual shoes increased by 6% year-on-year to about US$2.3 billion; the sales volume of women's casual shoes increased by 21% year-on-year to about US$1.5 billion.

However, due to the impact of working from home, people's demand and desire for dressing up have declined, which also led to the poor performance of fashion shoes. Sales fell 8% in the third quarter, and sales volume and sales were still about 8% and 13% lower than the sales level in 2019.

According to specific data, sales of men's fashion shoes fell 3% year-on-year to $731.4 million, while sales of women's fashion shoes fell 12% year-on-year to $2.1 billion. However, it is worth noting that sales of children's fashion shoes increased by 16% year-on-year to $300 million, which also gave sellers of children's clothing a glimmer of hope.

In addition to performance shoes, sports shoes are also favored by consumers. As the epidemic has made people pay more attention to their physical health and increased the proportion of sports in their lives, people are also willing to spend money on sports equipment. In the first half of 2021, sales of sports shoes in the US market increased by more than 35% compared with the same period in 2020, and increased by about 23% compared with the same period in 2019.

It is understood that in addition to buying shoes from various brands' online stores, Amazon is also their first choice for buying shoes. According to a report by Wells Fargo, Amazon's sales of clothing and footwear exceeded $41 billion, including sales through third-party sellers, which is 20%-25% higher than Walmart.

Although the retail economy and offline entities are gradually recovering, Amazon's logistics and delivery advantages are still the most important consideration for consumers when choosing to shop. Therefore, relevant sellers can also focus on expanding their logistics advantages and attracting consumers to buy during the sales process.

NPD Group's vice president of sports senior industry advisor said that although the growth rate of sports casual shoes slowed down significantly in the third quarter compared with the trend in the first half of the year, running shoes continued to maintain strong sales performance and this trend is expected to continue until 2022.

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