Athletic footwear sales show slight rise in 2001
The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) released figures recently showing that sales of athletic footwear in the US rose about 2% in 2001 compared with 2000. According to the SGMA, athletic footwear sales in 2001 amounted to $15.4 billion compared with $15.1 billion in 2000. Figures generated by The NPD Group, which conducted the research, showed that consumers paid an average price of $38.36 for a pair of sneakers in 2001, a 3.5% increase over the 2000 average price of $37.05.
According to the report, running shoes captured about 29% of the consumer dollars. Sales in this segment of the market were listed at $4.5 billion, an increase of 3.8% over the $4.4 billion spent in 2000.
The basketball category, however, showed the largest share gain with sales amounting to $2.8 billion in 2001, an increase of 11.8% over the $2.5 billion in sales reported for 2000. This category now accounts for 18.3% of the total spending for athletic footwear.
