7 Shoe Retailers In Need Of Intensive Care, Plus 1 On The Road To Recovery

Americans aren’t buying shoes like they used to and when they make those new purchases, they are turning more often online. That is the conclusion I draw from comparative data provided by the government. After increasing expenditures on shoes in excess of 4.5% year-over-year from 2010-2016, Americans spent only 1% more in 2017 on shoes, or $80.2 billion, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis personal consumption data. And at retail, sales in shoe stores declined 1.1% for the first 11 months of 2017 as compared to same period 2016, as reported by the Census Department’s Annual Retail Trade Survey, which will be updated mid-February with full year reporting. It is unlikely, however, that December’s shoe store sales are going to pull the category out of its year-long slump. Read more at Forbes.