NPD: Athletic Footwear Consumer Spending Climbs 3.1%

Consumer spending for athletic footwear rose 3.1% to $16.4 billion in 2004, according to research by The NPD Group. Consumers actually purchased 4.5% more pairs of athletic shoes in 2004 than the year before, but spent an average of 1.6% less for each pair.

The average price paid fell to $33.18 in 2004 from $33.71 in 2003. This was in line with the long-term trend for this category, which has experienced declining average prices for many years as retailers battle for sales and consumers are increasingly attracted to lower-priced non-performance styles.

“However, retailers reported during the year that consumer interest was growing in higher-priced performance footwear, and this was borne out by NPD research,” said Gregg Hartley, vice president of SGMA International, which reported the findings. Spending for “marquee” athletic shoes-those priced $100 or more-rose 18% during the year to almost $600 million as running and basketball styles led the way.”

“But even this gain did not match the 24% growth in spending for casual, low-performance shoes, predominately those constructed of canvas and rubber. Comfort, low prices and casual looks still dominate the market,” concluded Hartley.

“Consumers are looking for comfortable footwear that can be worn in many different situations calling for a sporty but stylish look,” said Lori Monaco, director of footwear at the NPD Group. “The color choices and style options for this segment continue to grow.”

Running remained the most popular shoe category in 2004, capturing 28.9% of all spending in those stores that are most likely to offer performance styles. Spending in this category rose 4.9% in 2004. Basketball, the second most popular category with 22.2% of spending, experienced almost no growth at all. Low-performance styles were third in popularity with 12% of all spending.

Price competition was heaviest in the men’s category. Spending for men’s athletic shoes declined 1.6% to $7.844 billion as the average price for these shoes fell 3.7% to $42.12. Spending for women’s athletic shoes rose 4.2% to $4.839 billion, and the average price per pair increased 3.4% to $35.02. Spending for children’s athletic shoes rose almost 12% to $3.671 billion, but the average price paid increased only 1.1% to $21.80.

Note: NPD revised its research methodology in 2004 based on significantly increased point-of-purchase data from participating stores. The change had the effect of slightly decreasing the size of the market from reports issued in previous years.