Dive Brief:
- Capitalizing on a resurgence of interest in the sport, Brooks Running reported record online sales during the 10-day holiday period ending on Cyber Monday, according to details emailed to Retail Dive.
- Brooks reported a 14% year-over-year increase in website sales during the period. Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday were record-breaking days, up 8% and 14%, respectively.
- Some 46% of the brand’s Cyber Monday purchases were made by new customers. Over the 10-day period, the company added 59,000 new members to its loyalty program, Brooks Run Club.
Dive Insight:
Founded over 100 years ago in 1914, Brooks has discovered new life in its signature running shoe business. Best-selling styles during the 10-day shopping period included its more technically driven models like the Glycerin, Adrenaline and Ghost, which made up a majority of the total sales.
The strong early holiday results for Brooks this year come on the heels of solid year-end sales in 2022. Revenue for Q4 last year was up 6% year over year, according to the company. Brooks in 2022 became the top brand at U.S. retail in adult performance running footwear, maintaining that position through the year to finish with 21% market share, per the NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service cited by Brooks Running.
While the majority of performance shoe sales are still being done at retail stores, the percentage of online transactions continues to rise. Online purchases of running shoes are now over 40% of total sales, according to a report from Circana. And indicative of a growing trend that continues to increase, 80% of Gen Z consumers and over 70% of Millennial shoppers use social media to learn about or discover footwear brands and retailers.
The numbers are encouraging for brands like Brooks that are seeing significant increases in online purchasing. Over 80% of U.S. consumers plan to do some of their holiday shopping online and over three-quarters plan to shop at online-only sites this season, according to Circana’s 2023 U.S. Holiday Purchase Intentions study.
“Consumers have embraced the ease, convenience, and selection that online affords,” Beth Goldstein, footwear and accessories analyst at Circana, said in a blog. “While stores will still make up most of the sales this season, online channels will perform better, aided further by the late holiday.”
The main driver for footwear is the performance category, which includes running shoes, Goldstein said. Dollar sales of performance footwear increased 10% year over year during the Thanksgiving week period, per Circana.
"Footwear’s improved results were driven by performance footwear," Goldstein said in an email. "The growth in the performance category was likely led by running ... as well as the hot brands like Hoka and On playing in this category."
