Shoe prices slowed moderately in April — in tandem with a general slowdown in overall consumer retail prices — according to the latest data from the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA).
Retail footwear prices rose 1.4 percent in April compared to the prior year, short of March’s fastest growth rate in sixteen months. Men’s footwear prices, which grew 4 percent, were responsible for most of the uptick. Women’s footwear prices rose 1.1 percent and children’s footwear prices dropped 1.9 percent.
The higher prices on men’s footwear, which is up 2.5 percent year to date compared to the same period in 2023, confirms the FDRA’s prediction that men’s shoe prices will continue to rise in 2024, chief economist at FDRA Gary Raines told FN. Meanwhile, the cost of imports for men’s footwear is down 8.6 percent year-to-date and is on track to hit its steepest annual drop in over 35 years.
“Over the long term, men’s retail footwear prices tend to trend in step with — even in response to —average import costs for men’s footwear,” Raines told FN in a statement. “But so far this year an unusually wide divergence between the two has erupted, with the average import cost sharply lower but the average retail price higher. For this divergence to narrow, either men’s footwear prices would need to ease over the balance of the year or import costs would need to climb.”
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This latest rise in footwear prices comes as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that overall retail prices increased slightly in April from the previous month. Prices rose 0.3 percent in April from March, and 3.4 percent from the prior April, which was slightly less than the 3.5 percent increase in March. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the core CPI rose 0.3 percent in April and 3.6 percent from the same month in 2023.
President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he is maintaining tariffs imposed by his predecessor, President Donald Trump, on more than $300 billion worth of Chinese goods such as footwear and apparel imports. These tariffs often contribute to higher shoe prices for consumers at retail. This decision followed a statutory four-year review of Section 301 China tariffs, which went into effect in 2018 after a United States Trade Representative (USTR) probe found that certain China’s trade practices and policies were either discriminatory or burdened U.S. companies and workers.
In response to the decision, shoe industry trade groups spoke out against the burdensome tariffs.
“The President, much like his predecessor, seems to have an insatiable appetite to tax American families on the items they have to buy like footwear, clothing, and other basic goods,” FDRA’s president and CEO Matt Priest said in a statement. “These tariffs have had a significant impact on U.S. consumers, particularly working families and minority communities, costing an additional $20 billion since 2019.”
American Apparel and Footwear Association president and CEO Steve Lamar said in a statement that the extension of tariffs on a wide range of apparel, footwear and accessories is a “real blow to American consumers and manufacturers alike.” He called the tariffs “regressive taxes” paid by U.S. importers and U.S. manufacturers that are ultimately passed along to U.S. consumers.
