Americans Spend $14,640 on Shoes Throughout Their Lives, According to New Survey
Americans will spend an average of $14,640 and will own 256 total pairs of shoes throughout their lifetime, according to a new survey from Kuru Footwear released earlier this month.
The footwear brand, which commissioned this survey of a “statistically significant” sample of 1,000 Americans, said the purpose of the poll was to discover how inflation, foot pain and health conditions, environmental conscientiousness and more have impacted Americans’ relationship with footwear.
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According to the survey, Kuru found that whether they buy shoes online or in person, each American currently owns 12 pairs of shoes. On average, Americans spend $240 each year on footwear and buy four pairs of shoes annually, the survey found.
What’s more, Kuru reported that Americans mostly purchase shoes in person (49 percent) and online (27 percent). About 1 in 10 (9 percent) do their online shoe shopping on brand websites, 13 percent shop at department stores and a small 2 percent look for new shoes at thrift stores.
The survey also saw that 54 percent of Americans replace their shoes between every six months to one year. Only 8 percent replace their shoes every few years, and 38 percent wait until their shoes have broken down.
This data comes as inflation is still impacting Americans despite the gradual decline in prices from last year’s highs. In Kuru’s survey, the company found that 76 percent of Americans say inflation has impacted their shoe purchasing, with 41 percent cutting back on spending, 32 percent waiting longer to replace shoes and 3 percent buying a cheaper version to save money.
“With rising costs on everything from housing to utilities to food, inflation has inevitably affected the lives of millions of Americans,” Kuru said in its survey. “As Americans adjust their budgets to adapt to heightened prices of essentials such as clothing and housing, they must also account for other everyday expenses.”
In August, footwear prices continued to drop year-over-year for the third straight month, while overall consumer inflation reaccelerated last month.
New data released last week from the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) showed that retail shoe prices fell by a modest 0.1 percent in August. Men’s footwear continued its decline last month, dropping 0.7 percent. According to FDRA, the decline in men’s footwear prices was enough to offset price gains in women’s shoes, up 0.5 percent, and children’s shoes, up 0.9 percent last month.
This latest decline pegs year-to-date footwear prices slightly lower versus the same first eight months of last year, FDRA added.
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