Sneakers are set to outsell “fashion” footwear in the US for the first time

Source: quartz.com | Marc Bain

When the sneaker industry got going around the middle of the 19th century, the shoes were a niche product—footwear for the rich sport of lawn tennis (hence the enduring term “tennis shoes”).

By now they’ve so far transcended just athletic use that market-research firm NPD Group forecasts “sport leisure” sneakers—the casual sort, as opposed to performance shoes meant specifically for athletic use—will become the largest footwear category in the US in 2020. The incumbent front runner they’ll overtake is what NPD calls “fashion” footwear, a category including most of everything else: shoes, boots, sandals, and slippers.

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