Shoe prices saw the first decline in a year in August, according to the latest data from the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA).
Last month, retail footwear prices downshifted in step with overall inflation, shrinking 0.9 percent year-over-year.
According to the FDRA, men’s retail footwear prices rose again in August, up 2.2 percent, but were more than offset by lower prices for children’s and women’s footwear. Women’s shoe prices retreated 2.4 percent, the steepest decline in forty-two months, while prices for boys’ and girls’ footwear sank for the sixth straight month, off a comparable 2.6 percent, the sharpest drop in forty-one months.
“Given these latest numbers, retail footwear prices so far this year are up 0.7 percent from the same first eight months of last year,” Gary Raines, chief economist at FDRA, told FN. “This modest rise comes as year-to-date men’s prices are up 2.2 percent and women’s are up 0.6 percent, while children’s footwear prices are down 1.4 percent.”
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August’s decline in footwear prices comes at the same time the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that overall retail prices slowed by the most in three and a half years – reaching its lowest level since February 2021.
The bureau’s latest Consumer Price Index (CPI), a broad measure of goods and services costs across the U.S. economy, saw prices increased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, remaining unchanged from July. Prices were also up 2.5 percent over the last 12 months.
Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the core CPI rose 0.3 percent in August, after rising 0.2 percent the preceding month, and increased 3.2 percent over the same time last year.
Indexes which increased in August include shelter, airline fares, motor vehicle insurance, education, and apparel. The indexes for used cars and trucks, household furnishings and operations, medical care, communication, and recreation were among those that decreased over the month.
