Is the footwear climate getting more promotional? With fall shopping in full swing, BTIG is taking stock of where things stand.
Among the players that the investment firm tracks, four shoe brands were more promotional last month compared to the same September 2025 period, while three brands featured a lower number of advertised promotions over the same period.
The three outliers in September were On Running, Steve Madden, and Ugg. The four brands that had a higher number of advertised promotions were Birkenstock, Hoka, Vans and Boot Barn.
Except where noted, the second quarter refers to the three-month period ended September 2026.
Birkenstock
Birkenstock was more promotional last month on a year-over-year basis, according to BTIG analyst Janine Stichter.
The brand offered an extra 10 percent to 15 percent off sale styles for the month. “We believe this is partially a strategic effort to support growth in the DTC (direct-to-consumer) business,” Stichter said.
Stichter is expecting gross margin to be up 50 basis points year-over-year for the fourth quarter ended September, helped by channel mix and DTC growing faster than wholesale.
Boot Barn
For advertised promotions, Boot Barn was more promotional in women’s western boots, offering select boots for $99 and up to $75 off select items, representing the ongoing softness in the category. The company was also less promotional across the remainder of its business. And the retailer advertised similar clearance deals of an extra 25 percent off clearance boots, apparel and accessories.
Stichter is projecting gross margin up 20 basis points year-over-year, driven mostly by freight improvement, tariff refunds and product margin expansion.
Hoka
Hoka had more advertised promotions last month on a year-over-year basis, offering rewards members $20 off on purchases of $150 or more for five days around Labor Day. And from Sept. 17 to 23, the brand also offered 20 percent off after purchasing more than two items. The brand also advertised a free gift with purchases of over $200. While the offer was made both this year and last year, the value of the gift this year was $45 and was available over a five-day period, versus last year’s gift value of $33 over a three-day period.
Stichter is projecting second quarter gross margin to be down 120 basis points year-over-year, driven by net tariff headwinds and rising freight costs.
On
Stichter said that On was slightly less promotional year-over-year in September. There was one advertised 40 percent off on its sale page for one day in the same year-ago period, but was not repeated last month.
She is forecasting gross margin to be down 100 basis points in the third quarter ended September 26, 2026.
Steve Madden
From an advertised promotion standpoint, the company was less promotional year-over-year in September. The brand’s Labor Day sale fell in September this year, versus August into September a year ago, although the sale in both years lasted seven days. One key difference this year was that the sale was shallower, at only 30 percent off select styles versus up to 60 percent off a year ago.
Stichter expects that third quarter (ended September) gross margin to be up 100 basis points year-over-year.
Ugg
Ugg had slightly fewer advertised promotions in September year-over-year, according to the analyst.
Ugg in September 2025 advertised a $20 reward on certain styles over the course of seven days that was not repeated this year.
But a Labor Day sale of up to 50 percent off, plus an additional 10 percent off for Ugg Rewards members, was held in September this year, versus August into early September a year ago. Except for the shift in timing and this year’s sale lasting one day longer, the sale itself was comparable year-over-year.
Stichter is projecting gross margin to be down 120 basis points year-over-year, driven primarily by net tariff headwinds and rising freight.
Vans
Vans, which is still in the midst of a turnaround, had slightly more advertised promotions year-over-year in September. Its Labor Day sale was both broader and deeper than last year, with up to 60 percent off sale styles and 30 percent off select full-price styles.
The brand this year also offered BOGO (buy-one-get-one) 50 percent off select shoes, apparel and accessories, versus last year’s 40 percent off sale styles and 40 percent off select backpacks. And Vans also matched last year’s deal of an extra 30 percent off sale styles for six days in late September.
Stichter is projecting gross margins for the second quarter to be up 150 basis points year-over-year.
UBS Tracking Data
UBS on Monday also disclosed its Tracker report for September reflecting pricing, promotions, and inventory levels. The tracker has data points for over 65 fashion brands, 35 luxury brand, and 30 sportswear brands across seven categories and over 26 countries and regions that are sources from thousands of websites. Metrics include average price, discount, inventory age, and stock-keeping unit count, among other data points.
Among the shoe companies in the tracker’s index are Birkenstock, Champs Sports, Columbia Sportswear, Converse, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dillards, Famous Footwear, Finish Line, Foot Locker, Hoka, Lululemon, Nike, Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, On Running, Puma, Reebok, REI, Shoe Carnival, Under Armour and Vans.
The pricing data shows that “out-the-door” prices for softgoods — apparel, footwear and accessories — rose 3.5 percent year-over-year, although that also reflected a slight slowdown from the 3.9 percent increase in August.
“The monthly year-over-year price change has been positive for 13 consecutive months, and 52 out of the last 55,” noted UBS softlines analyst Jay Sole.
Sole cited Birkenstock for having the largest year-over-year increase in promotions in September.