The global athletic footwear is accounted for $ 37.76 bn in 2017 growing with a CAGR of 5.1% during the forecast period from 2018 to 2026.
Technological advancement in the athletic footwear industry enabled the companies to manufacture quality products with an objective to fulfill the growing requirement of consumers. Consumers are also willing to spend more on footwear owing to the adoption of high-quality raw material and using of various machines that aim to produce accurate and precise products keeping in mind the comfort of consumers. Companies are also focusing on adopting 3-D printing technology with an objective to produce quality shoes in less time.
For example, in January 2018, Under Armour launched two connected running shoes namely Hovr Sonic and Hovr Phantom with tracking capabilities on stride length, distance, and others. These shoes are synced with connected handset with the help of Under Armour MapMyRun app. These are also equipped with accelerometer, bluetooth module and gyroscope inside the foam soles. In addition, active promotions by the various manufacturers followed by ease of availability of footwear products on online platforms is also fueling the demand for global athletic footwear market during the forecast period from 2018 to 2026.
The increasing demand for comfortable and fashionable footwear among all age groups followed by increasing participation in sports activities is one of the important factors driving the growth of this market. Increasing awareness regarding the health benefits followed by changing lifestyle of consumers is another factor expected to trigger the market growth. The global athletic footwear market is highly competitive with different players making huge investments in brand building and marketing channels.
This in turn aims to establish brand value and presence in the global market with an objective to attract new consumers and expand consumer base. Presence of various small-scale manufacturers offers tough competition to the key players operating in the market. Rise in raw material prices followed by growing environmental concerns over synthetic rubber is expected to restrain the growth of this market during the forecast period. Availability of counterfeit products offered by local manufacturers is also expected to restrain the global athletic footwear market.
The global athletic footwear market has been segmented by product type, price, consumer group, distribution channel and geography. In 2017, running and walking shoes segment dominated the global athletic footwear market by product type both in terms of value and volume. Wide availability in different price ranges followed by daily use by mass population is expected to propel the growth of this segment. In terms of price-based segment, economy footwear is widely favored by all age groups.
Men dominated the global athletic footwear market by consumer group in 2017 both in terms of value and volume. By distribution channel, online retail is expected to be the fastest growing segment owing to growing penetration of ecommerce in developing countries including India and China followed by ease and convenient mode of shopping.
Courtesy: ResearchAndMarkets.com
