Footwear Sales Dip in First Half of 2025, But Sneakers Continue to ‘Drive Growth’

Sneakers continued to dominate in the first half of 2025 despite an overall slowdown of footwear sales in the period.

According to new data from Circana’s Retail Tracking Service, in the first half of 2025, U.S. footwear industry dollar sales were down 1 percent, units sold declined 2 percent and average selling price grew 2 percent, versus the same period last year.

Circana said that the declines so far this year were driven by the fashion and outdoor footwear categories. In contrast, the sport lifestyle and performance segments each grew across all three measurements – dollars, units and average price. 

By category, sport lifestyle, or athleisure sneakers, remained the largest footwear segment and grew 3 percent in the first half of the year, with growth driven by running inspired styles. Soccer/football- and cross training-inspired styles remained strong in the segment, Circana added.

In the performance space, running and cross training were standouts, with dollar sales up 7 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Plus, walking shoe dollar and unit sales each rose double-digits.

On the flip side, the fashion shoe category continued to slide, with sales dropping 6 percent based on dollars driven by softness in the seasonal categories. However, Circana stated that there were “pockets of growth” in fashion styles stemming from some smaller segments such as high shaft boots, boat shoes, flats and ballerinas. Sales of pumps were also up, as unit growth more than offset average price declines.

Beth Goldstein, footwear and accessories advisor at Circana, said in a statement that consumers are continuing to focus on their footwear must-haves this year.

“Sneakers are driving much of the growth, along with a handful of fashion styles that offer both newness and versatility,” Goldstein said. “The average price increases we’ve seen so far are largely due to a shift in product mix, with higher-priced brands and items gaining market share. However, as we move through the back-to-school and holiday seasons, rising prices may begin to test the limits of consumers’ wallets—making value an even more critical factor as they prioritize their footwear purchases.”

This data comes as footwear prices largely remain lower year-over-year but are expected to climb later in 2025 due to tariff pressures.

In June, retail dipped 0.6 percent, the smallest decline in the last four months, the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) said. This comes as prices were mixed across each target market the prior month. Men’s footwear prices grew 0.2 percent, the first increase also in four months. But, women’s and children’s shoe prices both declined 1.1 percent from the same time last year.

Gary Raines, chief economist at FDRA, told FN that June’s declines “peg year-to-date footwear prices modestly lower from the same first half of last year.”

“But we note up the supply chain average duties per pair on footwear imports are surging,” Raines said. “These sharply higher duties soon may push the average landed cost of footwear imports sharply higher, which in turn may pressure retail footwear prices to climb later this year.”