40+ Footwear industry statistics 2021 [Research Review]

The spread of the coronavirus resulted in businesses shutting down their doors for the most part of 2020. Surprisingly, the footwear industry did not plummet, thanks to online shopping and the growing fitness trend of home workouts.

To show the growth of the footwear industry, we have sifted through 18 market reports to highlight the latest industry developments and projections.

Global footwear industry

• Despite stores being closed for most of 2020, global sales of footwear reach $384.2 billion and it is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.3%, to reach $440 billion by 2026
• The casual footwear market size is expected to reach $213.3 billion at the end of the forecast period, at a growth rate of 2.6%
• The athletic footwear segment, which accounts for 37.6% of the global footwear industry, is projected to grow at a rate of 1.9% annually
• The outdoor/rugged footwear market had a combined revenue of $17.4 billion in 2020, from the US, Canada, Japan, China, and Europe, which is expected to continue growing by 2.6% every year, to reach $20.8 billion by the end of the analysis period 

Footwear industry by region

United States

• The U.S. shoe industry, which makes up 27.1% of the market, is expected to record $105.8 billion in revenue in 2021
•  An average American would buy 5.62 pairs in 2021 and spends about $244.07 on shoes
• In 2022, the footwear industry by volume is projected to grow by 16.2% and is expected to produce 2,360 million pairs by 2025
• 89% of footwear sales are from non-luxury brands
• According to the Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America, 25 million pairs of shoes are produced in the U.S. per year
• 1.9 billion pairs of shoes were imported and sold in the U.S. in 2020, which makes up 99% of the total footwear sold in the country
• Shoes sold in the U.S. come from
  • China - 61.2%
  • Vietnam - 24.3%
  • Indonesia - 5.2%
  • Other countries - 9.3%

Other countries and regions

• China, which holds the second-largest share in the global footwear market size, is estimated to grow by 3.6% per year, to reach $80.9 billion by 2026
• Germany is projected to reach $83.8 billion by 2026, growing at a rate of 1.8% during the forecast period
• By 2026, the Asia-Pacific footwear market is expected to hit $3.4 billion in revenue
• As for Latin America, the shoe industry in that region is expected to increase by 2.8% between 2020 to 2026

Athletic footwear industry

• In 2020, the global athletic footwear market (sports shoes, training shoes, hiking/outdoor shoes, walking shoes) was worth $71.8 billion, to reach $100.3 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 4.9% from 2020 to 2027
• By 2027, the running shoe market is expected to reach $38.4 billion, growing at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2020 to 2027
• The sports shoe market growth is expected to experience a 5.3% CAGR for the next 7 years
• In the U.S., the athletic footwear industry was worth $19.4 billion in 2020
• China is expected to grow by 7.8% annually to reach a market value of $21 billion by 2027
• Meanwhile, the following markets are also expected to grow during the forecast period
  • Canada - 3.9%
  • Germany - 3.5%
  • Japan - 2.8%
• The athletic footwear market by volume is expected to grow by 25.3% annually starting in 2022 and is expected to reach 625.98 million pairs by 2025
• In 2015, the men's athletic footwear revenue hit $52,210.1 million while the women's segment was worth $35,357.3 million in revenue
• The fastest-growing region is Asia-Pacific at 2.6% annually, while LAMEA grows at a CAGR of 2.4% during the forecast period.
  • The increase in sales of athletics shoes is due to
  • people becoming more aware of the importance of fitness
  • more people are getting involved in sports
  • the growing interest in designer athletic shoes
  • endorsement by celebrities

Sports footwear (running, basketball, soccer, football, cricket, etc.)

• In 2020, the global sports footwear market was worth $93.6 billion and is expected to grow by 4.8% per year until 2028, to reach $135 billion by the end of the period
• Revenue of sports shoes declined by 8.9% from 2019 to 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic
• More than 50% of sports shoes were bought by men while only 32.8% of the consumers were women
• North America's sports footwear market stood at $39 billion in 2020 
• In 2020, the global running shoe market was worth $15,060 million and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.9% between 2022 to 2027, when it is expected to hit $18,950 million
• Sales of basketball shoes only may up 5% of the athletic shoe industry revenue

Walking shoe market

• The global walking shoe segment was worth $8.1 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.6%, to reach $11.1 billion by the end of the forecast period
• Meanwhile, the markets of Australia, India, and South Korea, Asia-Pacific are expected to bring in combined revenue of $13.6 billion in 2027
• Between 2021 to 2025, the hiking and trail shoe segment is expected to grow by 7.93% annually and is projected to be worth $4.3 billion by the end of the forecast period

Sneaker industry (athleisure footwear)

• The worldwide sneaker industry was worth $70 billion and is expected to reach a market value of $102 billion by 2025
• In terms of revenue in 2020, the key players driving the athleisure segment are:
  • Nike - $23 billion
    • In 2021, North America alone is estimated to bring in $11.6 billion of Nike's total sneaker revenue
  • Adidas - $13.67 billion
    • In 2020, Adidas AG sold 379 million pairs of sneakers worldwide
  • PUMA - $2.91 billion
    • Sneaker sales make up 45% of Puma's revenue in 2020

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Use of content

• If the footwear industry statistics piqued your interest and you want to know more, you can reach out to Nick Rizzo at nick@runrepeat.com. He’d be happy to answer any queries. He’s also available for interviews.
• Data from this analysis is free to use for any online publication. We only request that you link back to this original source.

References