Traditional Shoe Incumbents to Lose Ground Could Agile Challengers

Affordability and product innovation appear to be changing the U.S. consumer spending landscape.

According to transaction-level insights across 10,000-plus brands from Consumer Edge, that shift indicates that traditional fashion, luxury and athletic incumbents have struggled to keep pace with the broader growth in U.S. spending, paving the way for a new set of winners.

Data from the 2026 Apparel, Accessories and Report shows that athletic and footwear incumbents are losing ground to agile challengers, including direct-to-consumer competitors. That trend is expected to continue throughout the back half.

Alo Yoga, Vuori and Quince are among the fastest-growing direct-to-consumer players. They have continued to gain ground even against the overall broad softness in fashion spending. Boot Barn is another rising player enjoying sales growth acceleration due to interest in western and workwear.

“Some smaller brands continue to show momentum — most notably Alo, where its share of the direct-to-consumer sub-industry rose 3.5 percent in the first five months of the year, up more than 100 basis points, compared to the same period last year. Vuori gained too, reaching nearly 2 percent, up from 1.5 percent in the same period last year,” said Michael Gunther, Consumer Edge’s senior vice president, research and market intelligence.

Democratizing luxury products is what Quince says it is doing by giving customers “well-made products at prices that reflect what things actually cost to make,” said Joel Dion, Quince’s head of legal.

Turning to larger athletic shoe players, prospects are mixed as smaller competitors inch ahead.

The early read is that athletic lifestyle product has become a tough sell in Europe, in part due to the uptick in interest in dress shoes.

Nike is expected to report fourth quarter earnings on June 30, with its turnaround taking longer than initially expected. Adidas has fared better with the continued acceleration of the low-profile sneaker.

What does stand out is the trend in focus toward niche players, as the Consumer Edge report noted. That is seen via the growth of the On running brand and Amer Sport’s technical performance brand Arc’teryx as well as its Salomon running footwear brand.

Both Amer Sports brands are expected to continue to resonate with consumers, according to Andrew Page, the firm’s chief financial officer. He told Footwear News in an interview last month that the company will gain from the “outdoor tailwind” as people continue to prioritize health and wellness.

The big news for On Holding is that its LightSpray Cloudmonster Hyper shoe is in demand. Featuring the new Surreal Superfoam innovation, production has increased at the brands Busan factory in South Korea. Running is where the brand continues pushing on the innovation front, and its product line has been resonating with running communities.