Amid Soaring Footwear Prices, Almost Half of Consumers Plan to Spend Less On Shoes This Spring, FDRA Finds

Inflation and hefty shoe prices are having a direct impact on how consumers make their footwear purchases. A national spring survey of consumers from the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America released today found that almost half (48%) of footwear consumers plan to spend less on shoes this spring than last year. The survey, which was conducted by Emerson College Polling in partnership with the Fashion Footwear Association of New York (FFANY), also found that 49% of shoe shoppers are putting off footwear purchases because of inflation. Consumer prices rose by 8.5% in February compared with a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly report. This number was up from the 7.9% growth in February and represented the highest inflation rate since the 12-month period ending in December 1981. Within footwear, prices are also hitting record highs. Footwear prices grew 6.6% in March, year over year, according to FDRA data. This marks the third-fastest year over year increase in about 33 years, trailing behind February’s 7% increase and May’s 7.1% increase. Men’s footwear was up 5.1%, women’s was up 5.8% and kids’ was up 11%. The spike in kid’s footwear marks the second highest spike in 33 years. Within footwear, the rising prices can be

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