Footwear Industry Size (2017–2025)
Given that fashion ranks second on the list of the top online shopping categories, and the industry’s seemingly unstoppable growth, it should come as no surprise that the footwear industry has also performed well in recent years.
If you’re looking to start an online business in the footwear niche, one question you need to answer as part of your research is: How much is the shoe industry worth?
According to the latest statistics, the footwear industry has been growing in recent years. Global revenues in 2022 are estimated to reach $136.7 billion, an 8.3% year-over-year rise.
Despite the increase, this is actually the slowest rate at which the global footwear market has grown in three years.
In 2020, overall revenues breached the $100 billion mark for the first time in history, hitting $108.5 billion. With an annual growth rate of 19%, it’s also the year the industry grew at its fastest pace. In 2021, the market grew a further 16.3%, with revenues totaling $126.2 billion.
These growth rates are much higher than those registered in 2018 and 2019, during which the industry grew at an average annual rate of just 3.6%. In fact, from 2017 to 2025, the market’s slowest annual growth rate was registered in 2018. That year, the industry’s revenues increased just 2.9%.
Despite the slowdown in 2022, the footwear industry is still set to continue growing. Analysts’ annual growth estimates for the next three years are at around 10%. In 2023, the global footwear market’s revenue is forecasted to reach $149.5 billion. This is set to hit $164.4 billion in 2024 before further rising to $181.8 billion in 2025.
Global footwear industry: online vs. offline sales
Thanks to the rise of ecommerce, more and more people are buying footwear online.
In 2022, 30.5% of the total revenue generated by the footwear industry is expected to come from online sales. In other words, just under one in every three dollars spent on shoes will be transacted over the internet.
In comparison, in 2017, the online revenue share of the global footwear industry was at 20.5%. By 2025, this number is expected to increase to 36.6%—an impressive 16.1% rise in less than a decade.