18 • Footwear Insight ~ March/April 2025 footwearinsight.com
SHOP TALK
GETTING A
PULSE ON 2025
INDEPENDENT RETAILERS WEIGH IN ON CONSUMER
CONFIDENCE, KEY ISSUES AND WHAT'S SELLING.
BY BOB MCGEE
U
ncertainty around economic conditions is a concern
that has weighed on consumer attitudes in the first
months of 2025. Although experts and analysts
contend that current economic conditions have
barely changed, U.S. consumer sentiment in March
declined to its lowest level since November 2022,
according to the monthly University of Michigan
consumer sentiment survey. e Federal Reserve
cited this outlook as it decided not to alter a short-
term interest rate last month.
"We are going to have to see how things actually
work out," proclaimed Fed chief Jerome Powell as the
organization's Open Market Committee dropped its 2025 Real GDP outlook to 1.7 percent from
2.1 percent last December and raised its core inflation projection for the year to 2.8 percent from
2.5 percent. For the footwear industry — retailers, vendors and consumers alike — the potential
of elevated prices or further inflation throughout the year are certainly issues to watch.
As we head into the spring and summer of 2025, retailers tell us that while they see some impact
on consumer confidence, it's not all doom and gloom.
Here, three independent shoe retailers answer our questions about current business trends, key
issues they are facing, and what's selling well at their stores. Here's what they had to say.
