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Slowdown in US footwear price increases

Jun 17, 2024 United States

US footwear price increases decelerated in May, in line with overall consumer retail prices, according to the latest data from the FDRA. In general, however, they are still rising

According to the latest data from the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), footwear retail prices decelerated in May for the second month in a row, but were still up by 1.1% as compared to the same period of last year. This news coincides with the Bureau of Labour Statistics reporting that overall retail prices also declined slightly for the second month.

Looking at the data by segment, men’s footwear saw the biggest increase last month, with prices up by 2.1% year-on-year, followed by women’s footwear, which rose at a slightly lower rate of 1.4% year-on-year. On the other hand, it should be noted that boys’ and girls’ footwear prices fell by 1.1% as compared to May of the previous year.

Gary Raines, Chief Economist at the FDRA, told Footwear News that footwear prices have risen year-on-year for the ninth consecutive month and 35 of the last 38 months. However, prices so far this year are only 1.0% higher than in the first five months of last year, supporting the organisation’s outlook that footwear prices for the year could see a relatively modest increase.

“We estimate that currently there’s about a two-in-three chance that retail footwear prices in 2024 will rise from 0.4% to 1.6%, giving retailers some assurance of relatively stable prices ahead for footwear. Of course, with each passing month, this forecasted range should narrow”, he said to the news media.

Image Credits: nytimes.com

United States FDRA Footwear Organisations Prices