The athletic boom continues.
Cowen and Co. analyst John Kernan wrote Thursday that both Adidas and Under Armour saw “impressive” gains in desktop and mobile traffic in July, even as other nonathletic brands struggled.
“The consumer’s shift in shopping to mobile, particularly at the expense of [brick-and-mortar] store traffic, is reshaping retail and presents enormous opportunities and challenges for brands,” Kernan writes.
Adidas’ July desktop traffic grew 78 percent, and its mobile traffic increased 23 percent. Under Armour’s desktop traffic increased 62 percent year-over-year, and mobile growth was 22 percent.
Mobile and desktop traffic for Finish Line and Dick’s Sporting Goods have also been improving, Kernan pointed out. Dick’s saw a 42 percent gain in mobile traffic — although its desktop traffic struggled to turn positive, slipping 4 percent. As for Finish Line, its mobile numbers gain was 41 percent, while desktop traffic edged up 6 percent.
Nike stayed steady with a 21 percent rise in desktop visits and a 13 percent rise in mobile.
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Meanwhile, challenges appeared to hit Foot Locker Inc.’s digital growth in July. The specialty athletic retailer saw its desktop traffic increase just 3 percent while its mobile traffic declined 16 percent during the month — its first decline since August 2015.
Still, trends in the space remain strong into August.
Total U.S. athletic footwear point-of-sales were gained 15 percent year-over-year during the second week of August — driven by a 23 percent increase in unit sales and a 6.5 percent decline in average selling prices, Citi Research analyst Kate McShane wrote Thursday.
