Footwear prices fell last month for the first time in a year, the FDRA reported.

Footwear prices fell in August for the first time in a year, according to new data from the Footwear Distributors and Footwear Retailers of America (FDRA).

Retail footwear prices fell in lockstep with overall inflation last month, down 0.9% year-over-year.

Men’s retail footwear prices rose again in August, up 2.2%, but that was offset by declines in children’s and women’s shoe prices, according to the FDRA. Women’s shoe prices fell 2.4%, the largest drop in 42 months, while boy’s and girl’s shoe prices fell for the sixth straight month, down 2.6% year-over-year, the largest drop in 41 months.

“Based on these latest data, retail footwear prices are up 0.7% year-to-date compared to the first eight months of last year,” FDRA Chief Economist Gary Raines told FN. “The small increase comes as prices for men’s shoes are up 2.2% so far this year, women’s shoes are up 0.6%, and children’s footwear is down 1.4%.

The August decline in footwear prices came as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that overall retail prices slowed at their fastest pace in three and a half years — reaching their lowest level since February 2021.

The bureau’s latest consumer price index (CPI), a broad measure of the cost of goods and services in the U.S. economy, rose 0.2% in seasonally adjusted terms, the same as in July. Prices are also up 2.5% over the past 12 months.

Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the core CPI rose 0.3% in August, up 0.2% the previous month and 3.2% from a year ago.

The indexes that rose in August included housing, airline fares, motor vehicle insurance, education and apparel. The indexes for used cars and trucks, home furnishings and operations, health care, communications and entertainment all fell during the month.