Shoe Prices Eased in March, But Could Be ‘Sharply Higher’ Later This Year if Tariffs Remain in Place
Shoe prices eased in March in tandem with overall inflation, according to the latest data from the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA).
Last month, retail footwear prices declined moderately, down 0.7 percent year-over-year, with lower prices noted across men’s, women’s and children’s footwear.
Gary Raines, chief economist at FDRA, told FN that the latest data from March comes with both good and bad news.
“The dip came as headline inflation decelerated in March to its slowest in four years—the good news,” Raines said. “But the price dip also came as duties paid on footwear imports jumped 17.2 percent, the fifth double-digit increase in the last six months—the bad news.”
Raines added that, typically, footwear prices move in step with both headline inflation and duties paid on footwear imports. “If the recent tariff hikes linger, duties paid on imported goods—particularly footwear imports—may push footwear prices sharply higher later this year,” he noted.
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The movement in shoe prices follow weeks of uncertainty on which goods from which countries will receive extra tariffs when imported in the U.S. As of Wednesday, President Donald Trump reversed part of his plan to impose reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners.
Now, the president has placed a 90-day pause on his reciprocal tariff plans, opting for a universal 10 percent rate for all trade partners except China. On Thursday morning, the White House clarified that China’s tariff rate will jump to 145 percent, effective immediately.
March’s movement in footwear prices comes at the same time the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that overall inflation eased more than expected last month.
The bureau’s latest Consumer Price Index (CPI), a broad measure of goods and services costs across the U.S. economy, saw prices decrease 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in March, after rising 0.2 percent the prior month. However, prices were up 2.4 percent over the last 12 months, after rising 2.8 percent in February.
Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the core CPI rose 0.1 percent in March and increased 2.8 percent over the same time last year, the smallest 12-month increase since March 2021.
