The retail footwear market is still recovering from the sales crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, experts note a number of retail segments that experienced the greatest pressure during the crisis period and faced the most significant decrease in revenue.
Covid-19 has had a severe impact on the footwear industry. Store closures due to quarantine and lockdown measures have resulted in grim consequences, with sales decreasing considerably from January to April 2020. According to a report by World Footwear, sales of footwear declined by close to 42% in the U.S at the end of the first quarter of 2020.
The pandemic disrupted production as well as sales of luxury footwear across many countries through both online and offline channels due to social distancing and stay home policies.
The graph clearly shows how much sales have decreased in 2020.

The global footwear market slowed down even before the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019, the footwear industry began a recession that is likely to continue in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019, global footwear production and exports grew 0.6% and 0.1%, respectively, according to APICCAPS, the Portuguese Footwear Association's World Footwear 2020 Yearbook.
The footwear industry today is still concentrated in Asia, where 9 out of 10 pairs of shoes are produced. Asia also accounts for more than half of the world's footwear production. The share of Europe is 15%, the share of North America is 15%. At the country level, China, India and the United States are the largest markets for footwear consumption.
The European Union, if taken as one region, ranks second in terms of footwear consumption - 2,680 million pairs. Per capita shoe consumption ranges from 1.6 pairs in Africa to 5.6 pairs in North America.