Beyonce’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ Is Driving Boot Sales Across the US: These Retailers are Benefitting
The western wear trend is riding high, thanks in part to Beyoncé’s country album debut. And retailers and brands are seeing wins.
Since the superstar debuted her new country-inspired “Cowboy Carter” album in late March, units sold of western style boots in the U.S. have jumped by more than 20 percent week over week, according to Circana’s Retail Tracking Service data. When Beyonce released her two singles “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” at the Superbowl, unit sales for western boots grew by 24 percent that week. And when the former song hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, western boot sales surged 45 percent.
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Boots weren’t the only cowboy accessory to get a lift from Beyonce. According to e-tail company Boohoo, global Google searches for the term “cowboy hat” skyrocketed by 212.5 percent following Beyoncé’s Verizon commercial during the Super Bowl, which marked the debut the two new singles. Searches for “cowboy boots” and “bolo tie” also soared by 163 percent and 566 percent.
“Western is one of those trends that never goes away, but its popularity ebbs and flows,” said Beth Goldstein, footwear and accessories analyst at Circana, in a statement. “We can expect a resurgence in western style this year as a result of the aesthetic playing a prominent role in pop culture – on the stage with Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, and on the runway with Pharrell Williams unveiling Louis Vuitton’s new, western-themed collection at Paris Fashion Week.”
On runways in New York and Europe, Western wear made frequent appearances in the fall collections from Schiaparelli, Isabel Marant and Louis Vuitton. And Taylor Swift’s go-to bootmaker, Christian Louboutin, also embraced cowboy core in his fall 2024 line.
Brands and retailers that specialize in western apparel and footwear have benefitted from the buzz. In a Thursday note to investors, Williams Trading analyst Sam Poser updated western footwear retailer Boot Barn to a “Buy” rating, noting that Beyonce’s new album provides “the positive same-store sales catalyst we needed to see, and will help reinvigorate Boot Barn’s women’s business.”
Poser noted that fill-in orders of key vendor products have increased at the retailer.
In an April 7 note, BTIG analyst Janine Stichter said that the “Beyoncé Effect” is likely a “positive read” for Boot Barn, especially as it seeks to grow its store based to 900 stores, up from its current fleet of close to 400.
Other brands and retailers are expanding their operations amid the western boom. This week, the 10-year-old Parker Boot Company launched a new made-to-order program for its western boots to supplement its existing bespoke structure. Now, the brand’s footwear is open to a wider audience looking to enter the luxury Western footwear market at a more accessible price. And in early March, western boot and apparel company Ariat International opened its newest flagship store in Las Vegas.
“Westernwear has continued to become increasingly mainstream, which we attribute to a host of factors including post-COVID migration trends, the growing popularity of country music, and cultural tailwinds,” Stichter said in her recent note to investors.
In 2023, sales of western boots were similarly strong, in part driven by the hype surrounding Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. In the U.S., Western boots totaled $889 million in sales in 2023, up 30 percent from 2019, according to Circana’s consumer tracking data.
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