Shoe Prices Expected to End 2024 Higher for the Fourth Straight Year, FDRA Says
Stephen Garner
Senior Editor
Shoe prices were mostly flat in September from a year ago, but the category is expected to see an overall rise by the end of 2024 for the fourth straight year, according to the latest data from the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA).
Last month, retail footwear prices slowed in step with moderating inflation. According to the FDRA, little change came in September, as higher prices for men’s footwear, up 2.9 percent, offset lower prices for women’s shoes, down 2.2 percent, and children’s footwear, down 0.3 percent. September was the seventh straight month that kids’ footwear saw a drop in prices, the FDRA said.
“The modest change in footwear prices comes as little surprise, as growth rates in supply and demand are comparable,” Gary Raines, chief economist at FDRA, told FN. “That is, the value of imports of footwear—a proxy for supply—rose a scant 0.8 percent year-over-year in August and is up 1.0 percent year-to-date, while footwear spending rose a similar 0.7 percent year-over-year in August and is up 1.3 percent year-to-date. With imports and demand growing at comparable rates, prices similarly are little changed.”
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Raines added that the FDRA is expecting another year of overall price increases. “At this late point on the calendar, we can say with increasing certainty that retail footwear prices will climb for the fourth straight year, with rising prices for menswear offsetting lower prices for children’s footwear,” he said.
September’s modest movement in footwear prices comes at the same time the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that overall inflation was higher than forecast last month.
The bureau’s latest Consumer Price Index (CPI), a broad measure of goods and services costs across the U.S. economy, saw prices increase 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, remaining unchanged from July. Prices were also up 2.4 percent over the last 12 months.
Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the core CPI rose 0.3 percent in September, as it did the preceding month, and increased 2.4 percent over the same time last year. This is the smallest 12-month increase since February 2021, the bureau said.
Indexes which increased in September included shelter and food. Together, these two indexes contributed over 75 percent of the monthly increase in September. The indexes for recreation and communication were among those that decreased over the month.
