Bags / Shoes & Accessories

Inflation continued to rise in August despite lower gasoline prices, rising housing and food costs, Watson & Band Data Watch reported. The latest consumer price index (CPI) released by the Bureau of Statistics showed that consumer prices rose 0.1% month-on-month in August and 8.3% year-on-year. Excluding food and energy, where prices are more volatile, the core CPI rose 0.6% from July and 6.3% from the same period in 2021.

The latest CPI data triggered a stock sell-off on Tuesday morning, according to Huacheng Import and Export Data Watch. By the time of this report, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down nearly 900 points, or 2.7%. The S&P 500 fell 3% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.8%.

But while U.S. retail inflation data remains worrying, new data from the Footwear Distributors and Retailers Association of America (FDRA) shows tentative signs of easing in shoe prices.

Import and export data showed retail shoe prices rose 5 percent in August from a year earlier, down from a 7 percent increase in February, according to the American Footwear Distributors and Retailers Association. The price of men's shoes rose 4%, women's shoes rose 4.9%, and children's shoes rose 6.8%, all of which were slower than in recent months.

Import and export data show that the price of footwear in the first eight months of this year rose by 5.7% compared with the same period last year, which is expected to be the fastest month for footwear prices in decades.

On the one hand, import costs continue to rise, resulting in high retail footwear prices. Average landed costs for footwear rose 22.1% year-on-year in July, the fifth consecutive month of growth of more than 20%, according to calculations based on USITC import data.

On the other hand, the American Footwear Distributors and Retailers Association pointed out that footwear supply is expected to exceed demand this year, indicating that market prices will be lower in the future. Import and export data show that so far this year, footwear imports have increased by about 25.8% compared with the same period last year, but consumer spending on shoes has only increased by about 4.8%.

The American Footwear Distributors and Retailers Association said: "Overall, we expect retail footwear price growth to remain high, but to continue to moderate as we enter 2023."

Neil Saunders, managing director of consulting firm GlobalData, said in a note to clients on Tuesday that the latest data "sends a helpful signal" to consumers, allaying some concerns about rising prices. Sanders added, however, that the upside was "insignificant" considering the cost of living remains high compared to a year ago.

Neil Saunders said in the report: "The reduction in non-food spending is a direct cause of the reduction in consumers' disposable income, and the decline in sales has led to retailers discounting products, which will help to curb categories such as clothing and homewares. inflation.”

To be sure, the current environment is not "favorable" for strong growth in retail sales, despite a slight drop in headline inflation. Adobe's report released on Monday showed that online sales prices rose 0.4% year-on-year in August and 2.1% month-on-month.