The Most Popular Sneakers Of The Past Year

Over the last five years, sneaker collections have become increasingly popular, with specific hyped colourways turning out to be highly profitable investments. With new releases coming out constantly, sneaker industry had quickly become a costly yet addictive marketplace. The global footwear market is projected to grow from $91 Billion to $138.1 Billion between 2023 and 2027. 

In light of this information, we wanted to take a look at some of the most popular sneakers that have been circulating in the past year. We pulled data from websites such as Nike, Adidas, and StockX to populate the fields and create a comprehensive overview of the top 40 most popular sneakers sold on the after sale market in the last 12 months. 

The Most Sold Trainers Over The Last 12 Months:

Which trainers and sneakers had sold the most products over the last twelve months? Data we collected indicates that the following five trainers made the most sales on the after sale market:

  1. Nike Dunk Low (Panda) 222,568
  1. Nike Air Force 1 (Triple White) – 129,184
  1. Air Jordan 1 Retro (Patent Bred) – 44,734
  1. Air Jordan 4 Retro (Military Black) – 44,294
  1. Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 (Bone) – 43,644

As you can see by this list, The Nike Dunk Low Panda has the most sales by quite a large margin. Especially when you take into account that the sneakers with the least sales was Nike Dunk Low which had 17,176 sales in the last twelve months. 

Most Popular Sneakers

The total amount sold for the Nike Dunk Low “Panda” was approximately £36,723,720, which is a serious amount of money exchanging hands! 

The Highest Average Resale Price Over The Last 12 Months:

High quality sneakers will inevitably have high resale prices. But which ones were actually the highest over the last twelve months? According to the research we have done, there are five clear winners, all of which we have listed below for you to take a look at: 

  1. Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG (Chicago Lost and Found) – £341.00
  1. Adidas Yeezy 700 Boost (Wave Runner) – £297.00
  1. Air Jordan 4 Retro (Military Black) – £284.00
  1. Air Jordan 4 Retro (Red Thunder) – £280.00
  1. Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 (Core Black White) – £271.00

As you have seen, the sneakers with the highest average resale price is the Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG which came at about £341.00. When you compare this large number to the lower ends of the spectrum, like the New Balance brand with an £80.00 average reselling price. You are able to see that this number almost triples. 

Max Price Sold For

The RRP and the average resale price are different to the max price they have sold for. But, which sneakers actually sold for the most? Let’s take a look at that:

  • Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG (Chicago Lost and Found) – £1,212
  • Air Jordan 4 Retro OG (Fire Red)  – £877
  • Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG (Shadow)  – £690
  • Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 (Core Black White) – £629
  • Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG (Stage Haze) – £580

What’s clear from the data is that it’s been a big year for Air Jordan, with particular classic OG styles like the Air Jordan 1 and the Air Jordan 4 doing consistently well on the re-sale market. The general trend is that Air Jordan consistently commands the highest resell value, with less interest in New Balance and almost no interest in adidas tis year.

On the flip side, the shoes that sold consistently well, but for a lower than retail price were as as follows: 

  • Nike Air Force 1 Low – £104
  • New Balance 530 – £107
  • Nike Air Force 1 – £108
  • New Balance 550 – £144
  • Air Jordan 1 Low – £151

As you can see, these prices are remarkably lower than the max prices we mentioned at the top of this section. This demonstrates that with some of the popular general release styles, supply is a lot higher and can meet demand, therefore prices on the re-sale market can actually be lower than at retail.

When you look at the top of the list, a lot of these are in demand collaborations and limited releases. When demand outweighs supply, this is when the price you pay for a sneakers can shoot into the thousands. This huge price discrepancy demonstrates just shoes how in demand some exclusive sneaker styles are compared to the general releases. 

Most Popular Sneaker Silhouettes

Of all the different styles of sneaker out there, some are certainly more popular than others. Below is a break-down of the styles of sneakers which are most popular within the list of the most forty-one most sold products: 

  • Air Jordan 1 – There are 10 Variations of Jordan 1 Sneakers on this List.
  • Nike Dunk Low – There are 6 Variations of Dunk Low Sneakers on this List.
  • Jordan 4 Retro – There are 5 Variations of Jordan 4 Retro Sneaker on this List.
  • Yeezy Boost 350 – There are 5 Variations of Yeezy Boost 350 Sneakers on this List

These are the most popular silhouettes from the most re-sold shoes in the data. While the style of sneakers that are chosen by a customer is a personal choice based on many factors. It is interesting to see which style of sneaker is actually the most popular. 

The least chosen style of sneaker of these popular shoes are as follows: 550, Air Force 1, Dunk High, Jordan 5, Jordan 6, and Yeezy Boost 700. That is not to say that these are not popular styles, they are the least popular of the most sold items in the last 12 months. 

So, which of these sneaker styles sold for the least amount of money? We have listed a few of the cheapest sneaker styles below: 

  • New Balance 530 – The average price of this pair of sneakers is about £84. Which is a profit of £4.
  • Air Force 1 – The average price of this pair of sneakers is about £91. Which is an £18.95 loss in profit. 
  • Air Force 1 Low – The average price of this pair of sneakers is about £95. Which is a £14.95 loss in profit. Generally it was the triple white that tended to be sold under retail.
  • Nike Dunk High – The average price of this pair of sneakers is about £117. Which is a £7.05 profit.
  • Nike Dunk Low – The average price of this pair of sneakers is about £117, which is a £17.05 profit.

Which Brand Comes Out On Top?

The brand which appears most in our data? Of the forty-one sneakers that appear on the list of most popular sneakers, Air Jordans appear twenty-two times. That is just about half of the products we looked at, with the classic Air Jordan 1 topping the list of most popular styles.

At the bottom of the list with the fewest products is New Balance. There are just two products from this brand on the list of most popular sneakers in the past year. The 550 and the 530. It’s also important to note, adidas, Converse, Balenciaga, Asics etc all did not make it into the list.

Final Thoughts

This year has been another big one for Air Jordan 1 and Air Jordan 4, with declining interest in Yeezy and little to no adidas and New Balance amongst the most popular pairs. Popular trainers that we were surprised missed the list were the Nike Air Max 1, the New Balance 2002r, Tom Sach’s General Purpose shoe as well the Air Jordan 11. Whilst these shoes were popular, they just haven’t had as many sales as other popular silhouettes in the top 40.

The data was acquired from very reputable sources, which we looked at extensively when putting this article together. If you would like to check out the sites we got our data from, make sure to check out the sources which we have linked below.

Sources

Nike Retail Prices – Nike.com

All Other Data – Stockx.com/en-gb