Mexico recovered in the first half of 2021 from a previous slump in its footwear exports to the United States market.
In the first half of the current year, shipments from Mexico to its northern neighbor were $ 226 million, an increase of 80.8% year-on-year.
But after Mexico achieved $ 500 million in exports for the full year of 2018, these sales fell to $ 439 million the following year and then to $ 328 million in 2019.
Among all external shoe suppliers in the United States, Mexico ranked sixth from January to June 2021.
In general, the footwear industry is subject to consumer preferences and purchasing patterns and to rapidly changing fashion trends.
Products must appeal to a wide range of consumers whose preferences cannot be predicted with certainty and are subject to rapid change.
In addition, according to the Caleres company, the rapid shift of consumers to online and mobile shopping, which was further accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, requires retailers to reduce shipping costs charged to customers, improve shipping speeds and optimize mobile platforms.
Footwear exports
The trend toward online and mobile shopping increases the volume of smaller shipments, including single pair shipments, from warehouses.
Caleres indicates that the higher volume of smaller shipments can result in higher average distribution costs, including shipping and processing costs incurred at its distribution centers.
Additionally, an increase in e-commerce sales volume, which has higher return rates than in-store sales, can in turn lead to higher shipping and processing costs.
There has also been a consolidation of competitors in the industry, which has resulted in certain competitors that are larger and have greater financial, marketing and technological resources.
China ranked as the largest shoe exporter to the US market in the first half of the current year, with $ 4.802 million, according to US government data.
Then they followed: Vietnam (4.213 million dollars), Indonesia (1.017 million), Italy (968 million) and Cambodia (312 million).
