Winter weather has arrived, setting the stage for boot-selling season.
Tall boots, short boots, booties, block heel boots and square toe boots are among the featured styles offered this year in the women’s boot category. In men’s, variations of the Chelsea boot and options featuring lug soles for rugged winter weather appear to be the norm among some of the brands. There are far fewer kids options, which tend to focus on winter snow boots, as easy-on, easy-off shoes and sneakers are the preferred for children.
The retail backdrop since fall has seen somewhat slower demand for athletic shoes, lower demand for some boots and an increase in demand for dress shoes, including dress boot options. But with winter weather just starting, that could set the stage for increased boot demand just ahead of Super Saturday and this week’s final weekend to finish holiday shopping needs.
“Boot sales are up, including utility boots, fashion boots and cold-weather footwear gear,” said Bruce Wesley, the owner of Wesley’s Shoes, noting that Blundstone has been a standout. He cited this year’s “record snow and incredibly cold weather,” making the month one of the coldest Decembers ever for Chicago. “We are seeing fashion boots selling early. Utility-type boots are selling closer to season as needed. We have found that business dress shoes are trending for both men and women.”
Alicia Murray, a vice president at Murray’s Shoes in Littleton, Colo., said boot season started slow because the fall was warm, but that once “we hit October, sales were strong. We are up 20 percent for boots compared to 2024.”
Murray said there was some carry-over boot inventory from last year and the store marked them down early, which would also explain the increase in sales.
“Insulated boots have been slow since we’ve only had one snow storm this year. I’m hopeful after the first of the year it will pick up once we get colder weather,” she added.
And while Murray’s doesn’t carry a lot of dress shoes, the retailer said customers have been requesting more options. “Dress boots are usually more popular for us, but I’ve heard from customers that they are going back into the office and need more traditional dress shoes, she said, adding that the plan is to add more dress shoe options next year.
Larger Retailers Show Mixed Results
Among larger retailers, when Designer Brands Inc. posted third quarter earnings results last week, CEO Douglas Howe said: “boots have generated a strong start to the season, delivering an 8 percent increase in regular-priced product sales in the quarter,” adding that inventory at its DSW shoe banner is “well positioned to capitalize on this trend as the business peaks.”
“Our assortment is clearly resonating. We’ve seen brown being the hot color this season with high-quality, tall shaft boots trending,” he said.
However, at Caleres Inc., president and CEO Jay Schmidt told investors at its third quarter conference call earlier this month that wholesale boot shipments fell 5 percent from year-ago levels. At retail, he said short boots were down 18 percent, while tall shaft boots were up slightly. “Wide shaft boots stood out with double-digit growth to last year,” Schmidt said, adding that the consumer is “prioritizing trend and newness over basics,” similar to trends in the rest of the firm’s business.
The Caleres’ CEO said Sam Edelman saw strength in the quarter, driven by the positive response to fashion newness that was in sneakers, flats and tall shaft boots. At Allen Edmonds, newness also drove sales in sneakers and dress loafers, although “boots underperformed.” Boot sales were “solid” at Naturalizer, but the Vionic brand faced challenges with casual, short boots.
At its retail chain Famous Footwear, Schmidt said total sales during the quarter fell 5 percent, although comp sales did rise 2.5 percent. Boots were down over 20 percent at the retail chain, he said, while athletic was “strong and positive across men’s, women’s and kids.”
When Steven Madden Ltd. posted its third quarter earnings report last month, its chairman and CEO Edward Rosenfeld also noted that boots “have been the standout led by our casual tall shaft styles,” adding that the company was also seeing “strong performance in dress shoes across various heel heights as well as casuals like loafers, Mary Janes, and mules.”
Meanwhile, retailers are gearing up for the last holiday weekend selling period. They’re offering select discounts on some boot styles in the days leading to this weekend, and there likely would be additional promotions as retailers look to clear out some of their inventory.
At Macy’s, options in women’s include riding leather boots to square toe zip ankle boots from brands ranging from I.N.C. International Concepts to Franco Sarto and Calvin Klein. Some brands are currently between 40 percent to 45 percent off list price. A women’s Classic Ultra Mini Alpine boot from UGG is $126, or 30 percent off its $180 list price. A tall Noma eFlex Buckle Strap Dress Boot from Easy Spirit is marked down 50 percent to $118.99 from $239. And a Michael Michael Kors Mandy Block Heel booties are priced at$49.99, or 67 percent off its price tag of $150.
In men’s, Macy’s website posted some boot styles as “Limited-Time Specials.” They include a Johnston & Murphy Benton leather plain toe boot at 20 percent off to $135.92 from $169.00, a Kenneth Cole New York Tully Chelsea boot at 25 percent off to $138.75 from $185.00, a Cole Haan Chamberlin Grand Chukka lug sole boot at 25 percent off to $150 from $200, and a Tommy Hilfiger Sesame Chelsea dress boot at 40 percent off to $71.40 from $119.00. A Madden Men Maxxin mid-height Chelsea boot is discounted 56 percent to $39.99 from $90, while a Ted Baker Norwich Slip-on boot is marked 40 percent off to $114 from $190.
Not all boots were discounted, but enough were to give consumers multiple boot options in a wide range of price points. There were far fewer boot options for kids.
At Dillard’s, boots across the board for men, women and kids are at full price, with an occasional style marked as a permanent reduction limited to just one specific color option. That is expected to change this weekend as retailers push their final big promotion plans for the holiday season. And at Dick’s Sporting Goods, a price check on Wednesday on boot options ranging from winter boots to casual boots, rain boots and work boots showed most are listed at full pric.
And at Belk, a check of its women’s boots category online showed a number of sales across different brands. they include a London Fog Whylder winter boot marked down to between $19.99 to $24.99 from $75.00, an over-the-knee Jessica Simpson boot with a stiletto heel on sale at $89.70 from $149.50, and a chunky heeled Frye riding boot made from polyurethane priced at $149.99, but available at $104.99 after a 30 percent off coupon that expires on Thursday. At the Easy Spirit website, shoppers can get an extra 50 percent off on select styles.
