Sandals most preferred footwear, sales top $1.2 billion in March 2015

Sandals sales among independent retailers topped $1.2 billion in March 2015, representing an 8 percent increase YoY, according to the latest data from the NPD Group.

While growth in the independent footwear distribution channel was mostly flat in the 12 months ending March 2015, increase was visible particularly for sandals, which accounted for 16 percent of total sales. For the past two years, sandals had the biggest absolute dollar gains among all women's and men's footwear types.

According to Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD, sandals have become seasonless, making it conducive for new product and sales opportunities.

Comfort is also an important factor in choosing footwear. Approximately 85 percent of women and three in four men consider comfort as very important when purchasing new shoes.

Birkenstock was the top selling sandal brand among independent footwear retailers for the year ending March 2015. This is followed by Finn Comfort and Naot.

View a comparison table of sandals suppliers on GlobalSources.com