Footwear Companies Raise Prices as Pre-Tariff Inventories Run Out

Footwear companies are reportedly beginning to pass along to consumers the cost of tariffs.

Many U.S. companies in this sector stocked up on inventory ahead of the tariffs, but now that it is time to replenish their inventories, they are having to pay tariffs of as much as 50%, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Monday (Sept. 15), citing Matt Priest , CEO of industry trade group Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America .

Pat Mooney , president of Footwear Unlimited , said in the report that his company is raising some of its wholesale prices 5% to 10% because of tariffs.

In a Monday post on LinkedIn thanking WSJ for covering this issue, Priest wrote: “Only place for retail shoe prices to go with footwear tariffs doubling last month is [an emoji for up].”

It was reported Aug. 31 that the impact of tariffs remained a big question mark facing the economy. At that time, the new levies hadn’t led to a jump in prices, largely because businesses had absorbed prices. But with pre-tariff inventories running out, companies were beginning to face tough decisions.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond found that 38% of businesses were only slightly certain or not at all certain about the prices they would charge for the remainder of the year. Close to 60% were either slightly certain or not at all certain about the costs of materials for the rest of 2025.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “ Small Business Growth Monitor Q2 2025: From Headwinds to Hope on Main Street ,” published in August, found that while confidence among small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the United States hit record highs in the second quarter, tariffs on imported goods remained a concern.

The report found that 38% of micro-SMBs reported being directly affected by costs tied to imports, compared to 30% of larger peers. These firms often lack the bargaining power or scale to absorb price increases. For some, the ripple effects show up as cash flow challenges and delayed payments, which 18% of micro-SMBs reported.

PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster wrote Aug. 20 that “new costs are working their way into household budgets as a result of tariffs that have already started, and will continue, to make many products more expensive and/or harder to get.”