18 Oct New Report: Footwear Spending Jumps in Rural Areas – Broader Fashion Retail Implicaitons
For Immediate Release (October 16, 2017)
Contact: Andy Polk (202-744-7453)
MEDIA AVAILABILITY CALL TOMORROW: FDRA President and CEO Matt Priest and FDRA’s Chief Economist will comment on this report, current footwear retail trends ahead of the holiday season and take questions from the media. This call will begin Tuesday at 2pm (EST). To join the call please dial into (202) 750-2353 (no pin code required).
Footwear Spending Jumps in Rural Areas as Footwear Ecommerce Grows – Points to Implications for the Broader Fashion Retail Marketplace
US consumers are challenging the idea that the power centers of footwear spending are in cities
Today, the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) – the footwear industry’s business and trade association – released its latest Footwear Consumer Spending Report showing that Americans in rural areas are spending a record average amount on shoes. The report’s findings could have implications for the broader fashion marketplace:
“The rising spending power of rural areas clearly shows the growing and empowering reach of footwear e-commerce,” said FDRA President and CEO Matt Priest. “The data also tells us that the glass ceiling of purchasing shoes online is starting to break as we see people who are normally averse to buying footwear over the internet begin to increase their e-commerce footwear purchases. Digital online shoe-fitting innovations and advances in user-friendly websites by retailers have made purchasing shoes in rural areas more convenient than having to drive many miles to shop for shoes with limited product selection. The brands and retailers who have a strong e-commerce strategy to meet customers no matter where they live – especially when it comes to speed of delivery and flexibility in returns – will become the biggest winners in the changing retail landscape. This report is not unique to footwear but will also impact other products as people in rural areas continue to increase their online shopping purchases.”
The Full Interactive Report Can Be Found Here
Top Three Highlights of FDRA’s Footwear Consumer Report:
· Households that were less affluent, often rural, Asian, and from the Northeast saw the biggest gains in average spending on footwear in 2016.
· 2016 consumer spending on footwear grew 4.2% to a record $79.5B, the seventh straight record year. 2017 is set to be another record, north of $80B.
· Rural households’ average footwear purchases surged to a near-record $383, an amount comparable to that from suburban and urban shoppers.
Looking for more resources as you write stories on footwear & retail?
FDRA just launched its data center and interactive map of the footwear industry – showing footwear jobs across the country by corporate headquarters, warehouses, regional offices, manufacturing facilities, and retail outlets. In all, FDRA reports there are currently 333,626 American footwear workers working in an industry that accounts for $80 billion in consumer spending annually. Click here to visit Shoeconomy and use it as resource for any stories on the footwear industry. You can also click here to see the latest shoe store and wage report that shows ecommerce now chipping away at brick-and-mortar shoe stores.
Contact info@fdra.org anytime for data and insights into the footwear marketplace.
Who is FDRA?
Representing over 80% of the entire footwear industry, FDRA is the industry’s business and trade association, providing innovative products, training and consulting. It’s members include the majority of U.S. footwear manufacturers, brands, retailers and importers to global footwear companies.