Around the country, women are trading in their high-heeled stilettos for sneakers and ballet flats. Workplaces are becoming more casual, and it is increasingly acceptable to wear sneakers to dinner. But analysts say there are other changes afoot, too: More Americans are working from home, and those who do go into the office are more often walking to work. Fitness trackers such as Fitbit have also made people more aware of how much they are – or should be – moving.
“Even after we get to work, we’re trying not to sit at our desks all day,” said Katie Smith, director of retail analysis at Edited. “We stand. We take the stairs. We walk to lunch. We’re constantly counting our steps, so it makes sense to wear comfortable footwear and clothing.”
Sales of high heels dropped 12 percent last year, while sales of women’s sneakers rose 37 percent to $2.3 billion, according to the NPD Group’s retail tracking service.
The sales decline wasn’t for lack of options: High-heel inventory rose 28 percent from the year before, according to Edited, a New York-based market research firm. And the sagging sales didn’t have much to do with price: About one-third of high heels had been discounted by an average of 47 percent.
“This is not a burn-your-heels moment – the majority of women still have heels in their wardrobes,” Smith said. “But there isn’t an expectation anymore that if I go to a party, I have to put on my spiky heels, stand for two hours and then want to die. Social mores are changing.”
It doesn’t hurt that flats – which are popping up on runways and the red carpet – are having a pop culture moment, either. Marc Jacobs’s latest fashion show featured models in silk lace-up brogues and crystal-embellished ballet flats, while actress Gal Gadot wore gladiator sandals to the “Wonder Woman” premiere.
Tech giants are also taking note: A ballet-flat emoji is slated to make its debut later this year.
“Across the board, there’s an increasing casualization of every occasion, including at work,” Smith said. “We’re dressing in jeans and sneakers. We’re dressing for comfort and function.”
Recent surveys show that women are buying more athletic shoes and sandals than they are dress shoes or fashion boots, according to market research firm Mintel.
High-heel makers, many of which had their heyday in the “Sex and the City” era of the early 2000s, have weathered a wave of consolidation in recent years. Michael Kors last year paid $1.2 billion to buy Jimmy Choo, the upscale shoe company. Two years earlier, Coach bought Stuart Weitzman for $574 million.
Nike last week announced a new retail concept, called Unlaced, that will specialize in women’s sneakers. The company is also expanding its lineup of women’s sizes, and earlier this year released its first collection of sneakers designed entirely by a team of 14 women. There are also signs that Crocs, Tevas, Uggs and Birkenstocks – all known for being comfortable, if less than attractive – are making a comeback.
