U.S. fashion footwear sales still declining, casual shoes popular

Even as consumers began buying new clothing after 18 months of staying at home , sales of fashion footwear continued to fall.

The NPD Group's second quarter 2021 U.S. footwear industry sales report showed that total fashion footwear sales were $3.9 billion, a 6% decrease from $4.1 billion in the same period of 2019.

Beth Goldstein , executive director and industry analyst at Fashion Footwear & Accessories, said: "There has been too much focus on the rebound of fashion footwear after the epidemic. People forget that fashion footwear has been on a downward trend for several consecutive years, and the epidemic has only exacerbated this trend."

However, Goldstein said that the world is returning to normal, consumers want to return to social life, they are or are about to buy formal clothing, and the fashion shoe market is experiencing a rebound, which is an opportunity. But it is unrealistic to expect this growth momentum to continue.

While fashion footwear sales are declining, casual footwear sales are growing strongly. Total casual footwear sales increased 31% in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2019. Men's shoes were the leading category, with sales of $2.5 billion, while women's shoes totaled $1.5 billion. Children's casual footwear sales reached $1.1 billion.

Goldstein predicts that casual shoes will continue to grow in the short term before leveling off, which she attributes to the back-to-school season.

“Athleisure is the largest category, and after a soft back-to-school season last year, I expect this segment to recover beyond 2019 levels. Additionally, we continue to see consumers prioritizing outdoor activities.”

As people look to spend time outdoors and maintain physical and mental health, running, hiking and outdoor activities remain important activities for people, and sales of high-performance running shoes continue to rise. Since the beginning of the epidemic, the running shoe market has experienced rapid development and exponential growth. In the second quarter of this year, total sales of running shoes were US$2 billion, compared to US$1.6 billion in 2019.

At the same time, consumers are still sticking to comfortable, casual options such as slippers and clogs. Last week, casual shoe brand Crocs announced its own second-quarter earnings, with revenue growth reaching a record 93%. Among them, the Americas market grew strongly, with sales increasing by 135.6%. In the United States, casual footwear remains popular.

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