Footwear retailer Shoe Carnival Inc (NASDAQ: SCVL) kicked off its third fiscal quarter as the 2022 back-to-school season was in full swing. A breakdown of retail and ecommerce spending trends found that Shoe Carnival Inc stores experience a hike in sales during August, corresponding with back-to-school shopping, while the company’s ecommerce sales instead sees their biggest spike during the holidays. When it comes to customer acquisition, most online sales at the footwear company are from new customers, but most retail sales originate from returning customers.
Retail sales at Shoe Carnival (NASDAQ: SCVL) see a back-to-school boost in August
Looking at annual spending patterns, Shoe Carnival Inc sees its highest retail sales in August of each year. Between July and August of 2022, in-store sales at Shoe Carnival Inc increased 16 percent. When comparing the company’s performance against previous back-to-school seasons, retail sales in August 2022 declined 7 percent year-over-year, but increased 27 percent compared to August 2020 and remained about the same as August 2019. Shoe Carnival Inc also has smaller upticks in retail sales at other times throughout the year, typically around early spring and the holidays.
During the 2022 back-to-school season, Shoe Carnival Inc also offered special promotions for in-store shoppers. In December 2021, Shoe Carnival also acquired Shoe Station, an independent shoe retailer with locations in the southeastern United States. Our analysis includes Shoe Station sales since its acquisition.
But online sales see their biggest annual spike during the holidays
In contrast to retail trends at Shoe Carnival Inc, the most popular time of the year for ecommerce sales is the holiday season in November and December—likely in part because Shoe Carnival Inc participates in Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Between October and December of 2021, online sales increased 60 percent.
Interestingly, reliance on online consumer spending during the holiday season has decreased over the past few years. In 2019, 38 percent of Shoe Carnival Inc’s annual ecommerce sales took place in November and December combined. In 2021, the percentage of annual ecommerce sales taking place in November and December dipped to 24 percent.
Online sales at the company have noticeably stepped up during the COVID era. A big draw for consumers at Shoe Carnival Inc is the gamified shopping experience at its brick-and-mortar stores, but early in the pandemic, the shoe was on the other foot with ecommerce sales rising as stores were closed. Between February and April of 2020, online sales grew 503 percent. In August 2022, ecommerce sales were 84 percent higher than in August 2019, but decreased 33 percent year-over-year. As a percentage of total sales, ecommerce sales at Shoe Carnival Inc accounted for 9 percent in August 2022, compared to 13 percent in August 2021 and 5 percent in August 2019.
Most of Shoe Carnival Inc’s ecommerce sales are coming from new customers, while most retail sales are from returning customers
A closer look at retail and ecommerce trends indicates that in August 2022, 61 percent of Shoe Carnival Inc’s ecommerce sales came from new customers, compared to 27 percent of in-store sales.
For both shopping channels, the percentage of sales that come from new customers has been generally decreasing over the past three years. In August 2019, 73 percent of ecommerce sales came from new customers and 37 percent of retail sales came from new customers. At the beginning of the pandemic, the online channel also saw an uptick in the percentage of sales from new customers—79 percent in April 2020. One of the ways that Shoe Carnival encourages repeat purchases is by offering a loyalty rewards program known as Shoe Perks.
In recent years, Shoe Carnival Inc has been implementing strategies to grow sales both online and in stores. For example, the company has been modernizing its stores and adding new locations. At the end of 2021, Shoe Carnival Inc also dipped its toe into same-day delivery through a new partnership with DoorDash.
To learn more about the data behind this article and what Consumer Edge Research has to offer, visit www.consumer-edge.com.
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