US athletic footwear sales up
Retail sales of athletic footwear in the USA rose 4% for the six-month period from October 2000 to March 2001, according to data released by National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA), with sales for the period reaching $6.78 billion.
Much of the growth was driven by increased casual shoe style sales such as gym shoe/sneakers and walking shoes. Although the average price dropped slightly in each category, unit sales rose 7% for gym shoes/sneakers and 9% for walking shoes. The sales increase in the less expensive gym shoes/sneakers category (average price $26.63) offset the declines in sales of some of the more expensive footwear. Sales of basketball shoes (average price $54.96) declined 12% , and aerobic shoes (average price $40.66), 16%.
During the six month period, sporting good stores accounted for 11.3% of the athletic footwear market compared to 13.1% in the previous year, and specialty athletic footwear stores posted a 12.8% share compared to a 14.5% share in 1999. Family footwear stores were the big gainers, with their market share increasing to 14.7% from 13% the previous year. Online/internet sales accounted for 1% of the total athletic footwear market, up from 0.8% the previous year.
The full report on the athletic footwear market will be part of the "The Sporting Goods Market in 2002," which will be available from the National Sporting Goods Association in May 2002.
