In the last two weeks, retailers like Foot Locker, Shoe Carnival and Genesco reported a strong start to the crucial back-to-school season. And these gains were, in large part, driven by new marketing initiatives.
At Shoe Carnival, for example, chief executive officer Mark Worden this week called out the brand’s new “digital-first marketing approach” that drove customer engagement throughout the crucial season. This strategy represented a departure from the chain’s previous focus on more traditional channels like television and allowed the company to quickly pivot efforts into whatever products were trending in real time, as opposed to getting stuck with a bet made on a product that didn’t end up landing.
“Bottom line, this new approach contributed to a record-setting Q2 sales and comparable sales growth during back-to-school without spending additional marketing dollars versus the prior year,” Worden said in a call with analysts this week, adding that the retailer didn’t spend more. “The effectiveness of our spend and added flexibility to react immediately to the customer are exciting to me, but we intend to continue building our expertise in this area going forward.”
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At Foot Locker, July was the retailer’s strongest month in the second quarter thanks to a strong start to the back-to-school season that was bolstered by sneaker-focused marketing efforts, executives said. Plus, penetration for Foot Locker’s newly launched loyalty program, FLX, was also its highest in July.
“As we move into the back-to-school and holiday selling period, we’re continuing to scale and activate the new program and benefits and we look forward to sharing incremental insights as the program moves towards our 50 percent loyalty penetration target by 2026,” Foot Locker president and chief executive officer Mary Dillon said in a call with analysts last week.
At Genesco, chief executive office Mimi Vaughn attributed a Q2 sales bump to a strong start to the back-to-school season that continued through the third quarter in August. Last quarter, Vaughn said Journeys would roll out “an in-store digital and social refresh” to spread awareness of the retailer’s robust assortment of athletic and casual shoes.
“We’re very encouraged by the positive reaction to Journeys’ improved back-to-school assortment, and optimistic we’ll be positioned to drive similar results for holiday,” Vaughn said in an earnings call on Friday.
Vaughn also called out the recent hiring of Stacy Doren as Journeys’ new chief marketing officer, a role that will help the chain raise its brand awareness by marketing to new consumers via digital and social channels.
FN reported this year that shoe retailers were bolstering their assortments and marketing efforts to meet demand among value driven consumers this back-to-school season. For example, DSW said it was being intentional with its family-focused marketing and is prioritizing a strong assortment of key styles and colors. And the Caleres-owned Famous Footwear also said it would roll out a new marketing campaign across all channels to highlight its assortment of kids brands.
According to the 2024 U.S. Consumer Footwear survey from global consulting firm AlixPartners and the Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America (FDRA), consumers listed quality, comfort, size availability, design and product reviews among the most important drivers of shoe purchases for the BTS season this year. Comparatively, price ranked as the sixth most important attribute, marking a departure from the trend that characterized BTS shopping for the last several years.
