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Wall Street is wobbling, same-store sales are taking a downward spiral and execs, retailers and analysts are scrambling to make sense of it all. But in the midst of this economic fluster, one thing remains rock steady -- the fickle consumer.
Unsure about whether to spend or save, shoppers are caught in a state of flux, splurging on the latest must-have one minute and tightening their purse strings the next. Just as consumers are rattled by the shaky economy, the footwear industry is struggling to adjust their businesses to consumers' unpredictable spending habits.
Over the past year, NPD Fashionworld, a division of the Port Washington, N.Y.,-based The NPD Group, has tracked market information on industry sales, market share and demographic trends within the footwear industry. NPD Fashionworld includes a point-of-service research service as well as a consumer panel service that monitors consumer purchasing from a panel of more than 800,000 individuals, age 13 to 55+.
For the next few pages of this market report, FN culled information provided by The NPD Group and solicited comment from leading industry experts to determine the latest trends and purchasing habits of footwear consumers. Together we discovered some interesting facts.
Not only are male consumers inching their way toward buying just as many pairs of shoes as women, but they're finally breaking out of the black and into the red.
The back-to-school season is the period when the most performance and active/casual shoes are purchased all year. So it makes sense that retailers are now racing to stock their shelves with laceless tennies -- one of this season's hottest trends. "If it slips on, the kids will buy it," vowed one children's footwear retailer.
More shoes are now being bought over the Internet than via store catalogs, but retailers are relying on the combination of their Web sites, catalogs and brick-and-mortar stores to make a successful business.
And while this season's hottest trend may be perched atop a 5-inch heel, consumers still place comfort as their top priority. But that, of course, could change next season.
Male Order
For most men, there's no contest between the latest DVD player and a pair of fashionable shoes. So it makes perfect sense that, according to NPD Fashionworld, sales of women's...