Must Listen! Footwear Consumer Sentiment in  
Real Time with the NPD Group

Esteemed footwear consumer expert Lori Monaco drops in to Shoe-In to discuss current American footwear consumer sentiments and the shifts impacting retail.  Matt and Andy also explore with Lori the impact politics play on consumers and if footwear buyers really care about "Made in America".

Click here to listen!
Pop Up Goes the Retail Scene as  
Store Vacancies Rise      
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As traditional retail stores close and vacancies mount, landlords across the country appear newly receptive to leases as short as a week, eschewing the typical 10-year time frame, even in locations that once shunned limited stays. 

The upswing in pop-up stores, as the short-term placements are called, is playing out in all sorts of ways, and in all sorts of places - including dark malls, former grocery stores and shuttered art galleries, according to real estate brokers, landlords and tenants.

For retailers, the stores can offer lower rents and far less commitment. For the landlords, the reason is just as clear: A short-term tenant is better than no tenant at all.

    Amazon Patents Shipping Label With Built-in Parachute for Dropping Packages from Drones  
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It's a bird, it's a plane ... oh wait, it's my package of diapers.

Amazon customers could someday be repeating this phrase as the online retail giant this morning  received a patent for a shipping label with a built in parachute to help packages make a soft landing when dropped out of the air by drone or other airborne craft.

According to the newly issued patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the parachute label could look and act just like any other shipping label, but underneath is a system of cords, a parachute, a breakaway cover and possibly a harness to keep everything in place.

FDRA's National Shoe Sales Reports  
The most up-to-date retail data and analysis of nationwide 
brick-and-mortar independents, e-commerce, and mass retail sales
 
U.S. footwear demand grew a year-over-year 1.2% in March, higher
22 of the last 23 months, to
$76.6 billion. 
 
This report includes national data from the US government as well as FDRA analysis and charts (reporting numbers from March).  
 
Footwear sales at Canadian shoe stores declined a year-over-year   -1.5% in March, the first drop in
over three years.
 
Within the broader sector of clothing and
clothing accessories stores, sales at
Canadian shoe stores in March...
 
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How Vince Camuto's Online Shoppers
are Shaping Its Future

The Vince Camuto brand is putting the power in the hands of its customers.

In a presentation titled "If the Shoe Fits" yesterday at the FN CEO Summit in Miami, Leah Robert, chief communications and strategic development officer at parent company Camuto Group, revealed how the brand is leveraging feedback from dot-com customers to help inform its upcoming collections.

"Our founder, Vince Camuto - he started in the complaints department of a store on Fifth Avenue - and he always used to say, 'If you ask the customer what they like, they'll give you everything you need to know," Robert said.

 
Why U.S. Shoe Store Wages are Rising and Why it Won't Last  
 

As the US economy grows and the labor market tightens, shoe stores continue to boost wages to attract and retain workers, but sluggish sales suggest the sector may be reaching a tipping point.
   
 
     
Implications as Children's Footwear Prices Stretch Higher In April
 
U.S. retail footwear prices continued to gain traction in April on the strength of higher childrenswear prices, hinting this market segment may drive total footwear prices higher in 2017 and for the seventh time in the last ten years.  
    
 

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Athletic Footwear April Results: Data & Analysis from Matt Powell, The NPD Group  
 
April Athletic Footwear Overview
As expected, with the shift of Easter/Spring Break from March last year, April was a strong month for the U.S. athletic footwear market. Sales were up 7 percent in both dollar and unit sales, while average selling price remained steady.

However, the strong increase in April was still tempered by the big decline in February, with the year-to-date trend down in the low single-digits. I expect that the sales trend will improve for the back-to-school season, once the noise of Q1 is behind us.

By Category
Classics had another strong month, with sales up 24 percent. It does appear that the rate of growth is beginning to slow. Adidas Superstar growth slowed, and Stan Smith sales were down for the month.

 
  Google's Newest Tool Could Save You Tons of Time and Money Shopping Online
I wouldn't say I'm addicted, but I'm definitely not a casual online shopper.

Thanks to years of buying clothes in the wrong sizes from dozens of different brands, I can now tell - with approximately 95% accuracy - whether a dress, top, or a pair of jeans will fit me, just by looking at it online. Simply put, I know what looks good on me, and what really,  really doesn't. (Off-the-shoulder tops. Light wash denim. Anything strapless.)

Obviously, online shopping has its own set of shortcomings, especially when it comes to fashion. My biggest issue? Wasting money on things I never wear because I'm not sure how to style them.

Footwea r Stories that Caught Our Eye in April

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