Table of Contents
Executive Summary – Europe – The Market
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- The market
- Consumer spending
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- Figure 2: Europe (Big 5): Spending on footwear by country, 2016-20
- Figure 3: Europe: Spending on footwear by country, 2016-19
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- Figure 4: Europe (Big 5): Estimated spending on footwear as % all consumer spending by country, 2020
- Figure 5: Europe (Big 5): Estimated spending on footwear as proportion of all clothing and footwear spending by country, 2020
- Sector size and forecast
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- Figure 6: Europe (Big 5): Specialist footwear retailers, sales (excluding VAT), by country, 2016-20
- Figure 7: Europe (Big 5): Specialist footwear retailers, forecast sales, by country, 2021-25
- Specialists’ sales and spending
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- Figure 8: Europe (Big 5): Estimated specialist footwear retailers’ sales* as % of all spending on footwear*, by country, 2020
- Companies and brands: Leading players
- Deichmann Schuh the largest shoe retailer in Europe
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- Figure 9: Europe: Leading footwear retailers, sales, 2018/19-2020/21
- COVID-19 crisis accelerates store closures
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- Figure 10: Europe: leading footwear retailers, outlet numbers, 2018/19-2020/21
- COVID-19 impacted store traffic drive down store sales
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- Figure 11: Europe: leading footwear retailers, estimated sales per outlet, 2018/19-2020/21
- Companies and brands: Market shares
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- Figure 12: Europe: Leading footwear retailers, sales as % all spending on footwear, 2017-19
- Companies and brands: Innovations
- Footwear retailers leverage the power of technology
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- Figure 13: Trying on AZ Factory trainers using the Farfetch virtual try-on service, 2021
- Shopping experience re-imagined
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- Figure 14: Foot Locker’s new Singapore store, 2020
- Race to become eco-friendly and sustainable
- Collaborate to differentiate
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- Figure 15: Slack x Cole Haan trainers, 2020
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- Figure 16: Veja and Rick Owens latest collaboration, 2020
- Make it personal
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- Figure 17: Examples of shoe sketches released by Jimmy Choo, 2020
Executive Summary – Europe – The Consumer
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- The research
- How they shop for footwear
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- Figure 18: Europe: Purchases of footwear, January 2021 (UK: February 2021)
- Where they shop for footwear
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- Figure 19: Europe: Where people buy footwear, January 2021 (UK: February 2021)
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- Figure 20: Europe: top three most used Retailers when shopping for footwear, January 2021 (UK: February 2021)
- Footwear shopping attitudes and behaviours
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- Figure 21: Europe: Attitudes to buying footwear, January 2021 (UK: February 2021)
Impact of COVID-19 on Footwear Retailing
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- Short, medium and long term impact on the sector
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- Figure 22: Short, medium and long term impact of COVID-19 on online grocery retailing, April 2021
- Opportunities and threats
- Limiting time in-store could present new opportunities
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- Figure 23: Decathlon’s ‘scan & go’ service, 2020
- Using technology to enhance service
- Providing a feeling of shopping in-store from home
- Brands experiment with new store formats
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- Figure 24: Dr Martens pop-up at German department store Breuninger, Stuttgart, 2020
- Casualisation: a threat to formal and occasion driven footwear?
- How COVID-19 will reshape the industry
- Sustainability will be high on the agenda
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- Figure 25: Upcycled Melissa x Rombaut collaboration, 2021
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- Figure 26: The Voronoi runner fully biodegradable trainer, 2020
- Rapid delivery could be a key differentiator going forwards
- Brands leverage Augmented Reality to help customers see how shoes will look
- The physical and the digital increasingly merge
- Discounters could strengthen their position in footwear
- The impact of COVID-19 on consumer behaviour across Europe
- COVID-19 concerns remain steady
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- Figure 27: Europe: Those extremely worried about the risk of being exposed to COVID-19, March 2020-April 2021*
- Financial impact of crisis begins to be felt but worse still to come
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- Figure 28: Europe: Financial impact of COVID-19, March 2021*
- More than half of Italians cutting back on non-essential spending
- Concern about spending time in-store highest in mainland Europe
- Click and collect helps to boost online capacity
- Contactless payment demand rises
- Local businesses benefit from consumers wishing to stay close to home
- Online shopping boom
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- Figure 29: Europe: Changes to shopping behaviour since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, April 2021*
- Clothing and footwear continues to be low spending priority
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- Figure 30: Net balance* of expected spending on selected items in the next month, April 2021**
- Italians most likely to be planning to spend less on clothing and footwear
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- Figure 31: Europe: expected spending on clothing and accessories (including footwear) in the next month, April 2021*
- How the crisis is impacting on key consumer segments
- Women tend to be more concerned about the virus
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- Figure 32: Europe: Those extremely worried about the risk of being exposed to COVID-19, by gender and age, April 2021*
- Growth in online shopping is across the board
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- Figure 33: Europe: consumers shopping more online, by gender and age, April 2021*
- Women and older people trying to limit time spent in-store
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- Figure 34: Europe: consumers trying to limit the time they spend in-store, by gender and age, April 2021*
- Older people most likely to be shopping more from local businesses
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- Figure 35: Europe: consumers shopping more from local businesses, by gender and age, November 2020*
- COVID-19: Market context
- UK
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Spain
France
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- Overview
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Areas covered in this Report
- Executive summary
- The market
- Consumer spending
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- Figure 36: France: Consumer spending on footwear (including. VAT), 2016-20
- Sector size and forecast
- Channels of distribution
- Companies and brands
- Key metrics
- Market shares
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- Figure 37: France: Leading specialist Footwear retailers’ sales as % of all specialist footwear retailers’ sales, 2020
- Online
- The consumer
- Who shops for footwear
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- Figure 38: France: Footwear buyers by age and gender, January 2021
- How they shop
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- Figure 39: France: Footwear purchasing channels, January 2021
- Where they shop
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- Figure 40: France: Retailers shopped for footwear, January 2021
- Footwear shopping attitudes and behaviours
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- Figure 41: France: Footwear shopper behaviour, January 2021
- Issues and insights
- COVID-19 will increase the importance of sports footwear and sports retailers in the French footwear market
- New opportunities in rental and second-hand
- The market – Key takeaways
- COVID-19 impacts economic growth
- Financial insecurity for many consumers
- Footwear spending weak
- Specialist footwear retailers’ sales decline by a third
- Sports shops dominate distribution
- Consumer spending
- COVID-19 impacts economic growth
- 2021 may see recovery of over 5%
- Footwear market contracted by 20% over 2020
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- Figure 42: France: Consumer spending on footwear (including. VAT), 2016-20
- Sector size and forecast
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- Figure 43: France: Footwear specialists’ sales, excluding VAT, 2016-20
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- Figure 44: France: Footwear specialists’ sales, Forecasts, excluding VAT, 2021-25
- Inflation
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- Figure 45: France: Consumer prices, Annual % change, 2016-20
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- Figure 46: France: Consumer price inflation on footwear, clothing and all items annual % change, January 2020-March 2021
- Channels of distribution
- Companies and brands – Key takeaways
- An increasingly fragmented market
- The sports brands are strengthening
- Ethics and sustainability are moving up the agenda
- A game of two halves in market shares
- Online sales growing
- Leading players
- Responses to COVID-19
- Courir is racing ahead
- Besson Chaussures
- Former leader Vivarte now has only one footwear brand
- Groupe Éram at the forefront of sustainability issues
- Historic brand André fights another day
- Other retailers
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- Figure 47: France: Leading specialist footwear retailers, sales, 2016-20
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- Figure 48: France: Leading specialist footwear retailers, outlet numbers, 2016-20
- Market shares
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- Figure 49: France: Leading specialist footwear retailers, sales as % of all specialist footwear retailers’ sales, 2016-20
- Online
- Online activity
- Shopping for footwear online
- Online sales of footwear
- Leading online players
- The consumer – Key takeaways
- Younger adults and parents buy footwear most
- Stores still dominate but growth in online has accelerated
- A fragmented market
- Different preferences amongst the genders
- Flexibility can motivate more online shopping for footwear enthusiasts
- COVID-19 will increase popularity of casual styles
- Price sensitivity is likely to increase
- Who shops for footwear
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- Figure 50: France: Footwear buyers by age and gender, January 2021
- Parents are a core market
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- Figure 51: France: Footwear buyers by parental status, January 2021
- How they shop for footwear
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- Figure 52: France: Footwear purchasing channels, January 2021
- Where they shop for footwear
- No dominant retailer
- Sports shops the most popular channel
- Pureplayers are weaker than in other categories
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- Figure 53: France: Retailers shopped for footwear, January 2021
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- Figure 54: France: Retailers shopped by gender, January 2021
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- Figure 55: France: Retailers shopped by Parental status, January 2021
- Footwear shopping attitudes and behaviours
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- Figure 56: France: Footwear shopper behaviour, January 2021
- Flexibility can motivate more online shopping for footwear enthusiasts
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- Figure 57: France: Footwear shopper behaviour, those agreeing with online behaviour statements, January 2021
- COVID-19 will heighten consumers’ casual preferences
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- Figure 58: France: Footwear shopper behaviour, those agreeing with COVID-19 behaviour statements, January 2021
- Price sensitivity is likely to increase
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- Figure 59: France: Footwear shopper behaviour, those agreeing with price related behaviour statements, January 2021
- Social media can drive online sales
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- Figure 60: France: Footwear shopper behaviour, those agreeing with social media behaviour statement, January 2021
- Appendix – Data sources and abbreviations
- Abbreviations
- Data sources
Italy
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- Overview
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Areas covered in this Report
- Executive summary
- The market
- Consumer spending
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- Figure 61: Italy: trends in annual consumer spending on footwear, clothing and all items, 2015-20
- Sector size and forecast
- Channels of distribution
- Companies and brands
- Key metrics
- Market shares
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- Figure 62: Italy: leading footwear specialists’ estimated shares of total specialist footwear retailer’s sales, 2020
- Online
- The consumer
- How they shop
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- Figure 63: Italy: how footwear purchased by respondents or for their children in the past 12 months, January 2021
- Where they shop
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- Figure 64: Italy: where footwear has been purchased in past 12 months, January 2021
- Footwear shopping attitudes and behaviours
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- Figure 65: Italy: attitudes and behaviours relating to footwear, January 2021
- Issues and insights
- COVID-19 shifts footwear spending patterns and moves sales online
- Value sales dip more than volumes due to trading down
- Growth in online sales
- An opportunity to increase focus on footcare
- Stores can become more experiential…
- …and focus on what they do best
- Focus on fit
- A wider role?
- What other ways can footwear specialists differentiate themselves?
- Customer service and flexible payment opportunities
- Sustainability: retailers need to look at rental, second-hand and recycling
- A dedicated sustainability area?
- Stocking local products
- The market – Key takeaways
- COVID damages an already weak economy
- Spending on footwear falls by nearly a quarter
- Specialist footwear retailers endure a difficult 2020…
- …and 2021 set to be little different
- Consumer spending
- COVID damages an already weak economy
- Footwear spending suffers as a result of lockdown
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- Figure 66: Italy: Consumer spending on footwear (including VAT), 2015-20
- Market trends
- A growing trend of localism
- Sustainability is becoming an increasing priority
- Sector size and forecast
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- Figure 67: Italy: comparison of indexed monthly retail sales of footwear, leather goods and travel items, 2018-20
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- Figure 68: Italy: Footwear retailers’ sales, excluding VAT, 2016-20
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- Figure 69: Italy: Footwear retailers’ sales, Forecasts, excluding VAT, 2021-25
- Inflation
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- Figure 70: Italy: Consumer Prices, annual % change, 2016-20
- Figure 71: Italy: Consumer price inflation on footwear, clothing and all items annual % change, January 2020-February 2021
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- Figure 72: Italy: Consumer price inflation on footwear by detailed sector, January 2020-February 2021
- Channels of distribution
- Companies and brands – Key takeaways
- A fragmented market
- Retailers adopting a variety of channels
- Flexible payment option could help retailers to differentiate themselves
- Online takes off
- Leading players
- Globo
- Bata
- Foot Locker
- PittaRosso
- Scarpe&Scarpe
- Other leading players
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- Figure 73: Italy: Leading specialist footwear retailers, sales, 2016-20
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- Figure 74: Italy: Leading specialist footwear retailers, outlet numbers, 2016-20
- Market shares
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- Figure 75: Italy: Leading specialist footwear retailers: shares of specialist footwear retailers’ sales*, 2016-20
- Online
- Online activity
- Shopping for footwear online
- Online sales of footwear
- Leading online players
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- Figure 76: Italy: trends in Google searches for leading specialist footwear retailers, January 2020-April 2021
- The consumer – Key takeaways
- Sizing technology could help shift more sales online
- Potential for D2C
- Specialists need to focus on what they do best
- An opportunity to improve levels of customer loyalty
- Scope for offering more flexible payment options
- How they shop for footwear
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- Figure 77: Italy: Purchasing of any footwear in past 12 months, 2017-21
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- Figure 78: Italy: how footwear purchased by respondents or for their children in the past 12 months, January 2021
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- Figure 79: Italy: in-store and online shoppers, how they break down by type, January 2021
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- Figure 80: Italy: key footwear shopper demographics (purchasers of any footwear for themselves or their children in the past 12 months), January 2021
- Where they shop for footwear
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- Figure 81: Italy: where footwear has been purchased in past 12 months, January 2021
- Independent shoe shops appeal most to older buyers
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- Figure 82: Italy: where footwear has been purchased in past 12 months (footwear specialists), by age, January 2021
- Affluent households most likely to buy from independents
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- Figure 83: Italy: where footwear has been purchased in past 12 months (footwear specialists), by net monthly household income, January 2021
- Multiple specialists heavily reliant on children’s footwear
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- Figure 84: Italy: where footwear has been purchased in past 12 months (footwear specialists), by presence of children under 22 in the household, January 2021
- Footwear specialists have poor penetration among online-only shoppers
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- Figure 85: Italy: where footwear has been purchased in past 12 months, by how they shop for footwear, January 2021
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- Figure 86: Italy: where footwear has been purchased in past 12 months, by where footwear has been purchased in past 12 months (selected retailers), January 2021
- Footwear shopping attitudes and behaviours
- Focus on value likely to increase
- COVID-19 impacts on formal footwear
- Shopper interest in help with online fitting/sizing technology could help retailers reduce return rates
- Investment required in making returns process as frictionless as possible
- Potential threat from direct-to-consumer channel?
- COVID-19 dividend for sales of sports/exercise footwear
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- Figure 87: Italy: attitudes and behaviours relating to footwear, January 2021
- Sizing advice will reinforce existing online shoppers rather than attract in-store shoppers, who are more concerned about returns
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- Figure 88: Italy: agreement with statements about sizing advice and returns (% answering yes), by channel used to shop for footwear, January 2021
- Younger consumers particularly interested in buying direct from social media
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- Figure 89: Italy: agreement with statements about buying footwear directly from a social media page (% answering yes), by age, January 2021
- Appendix – Data sources and abbreviations
- Abbreviations
- Data sources
Spain
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- Overview
- Key issues covered in this report
- Areas covered in this Report
- Executive summary
- The market
- The economy
- Consumer spending
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- Figure 90: Spain: trends in annual consumer spending on footwear, clothing and all items, 2015-20
- Sector size and forecast
- Channels of distribution
- Companies and brands
- Key metrics
- Market shares
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- Figure 91: Spain: Leading specialist footwear retailers’ estimated shares of total specialist footwear retailers’ sales, 2020
- Online
- The consumer
- How they shop
- Where they shop
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- Figure 92: Spain: Where they shop for footwear, January 2021
- Footwear shopping attitudes and behaviours
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- Figure 93: Spain: Attitudes to shopping for footwear, January 2021
- Issues and insights
- COVID-19 pandemic makes digital imperative
- Value will be increasingly important
- Specialist footwear retailers need to raise their game
- The market – Key takeaways
- COVID-19 impacts economic growth and financial security
- Growth in footwear spending drops off a cliff
- Online will not offset lost store-based sales for most specialists
- Footwear inflation above overall rate
- Specialists still losing share
- Consumer spending
- COVID-19 hits the economy hard
- Spending on footwear plummetting
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- Figure 94: Spain: Consumer spending on footwear (including VAT), 2015-20
- Sector size and forecast
- Footwear specialists look set to be among the worst hit by COVID-19
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- Figure 95: Spain: Footwear retailers’ sales, excluding VAT, 2016-20
- Figure 96: Spain: Footwear retailers’ sales, Forecasts, excluding VAT, 2021-25
- Inflation
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- Figure 97: Spain: Consumer price inflation on footwear, clothing and all items, annual % change, 2016-20
- Figure 98: Spain: Consumer price inflation on footwear, clothing and all items, annual % change, January 2020-February 2021
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- Figure 99: Spain: Consumer price inflation on footwear, monthly % change, January 2020-February 2021
- Channels of distribution
- Specialists continue losing share
- Clothing stores pose stiff opposition to specialists
- Sports stores: a key channel
- El Corte Inglés still a major player
- Online pureplays led by Amazon
- Companies and brands – Key takeaways
- A fragmented sector
- Merkal launches a transformation plan
- Marypaz announces a new re-structuring following takeover
- Deichmann muscles in
- Online sales of footwear still relatively modest in Spain
- Leading players
- Merkal launches a transformation plan
- Marypaz announces a new re-structuring following takeover
- Geox: a chain with a clear product differentiator
- Loewe strength comes from luxury positioning
- Deichmann muscles in
- Camper embarks on a new sustainability initiative
- Pikolinos focuses on digitization while leveraging AI to predict size
- Krack offers footwear sales via WhatsApp video call
- French Courir plans to enter Spain
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- Figure 100: Spain: Leading specialist footwear retailers, sales, 2016-20
- Figure 101: Spain: Leading specialist footwear retailers, outlet numbers, 2016-20
- Market shares
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- Figure 102: Spain: Leading specialist Footwear retailers’ sales as share of specialist footwear retailers’ sales, 2016-20
- Online
- Online activity
- Shopping for footwear online
- Online sales of footwear
- Leading online players
- The consumer – Key takeaways
- Footwear purchasing falls as pandemic means more staying at home
- Non-specialists are most popular place to buy footwear
- Amazon is the top place to buy footwear followed by Sports shops
- Consumer profiles of shoppers at specialists
- Sizing advice could boost online sales
- Brands are recommended to keep pricing budget-friendly
- Potential scope for offering more flexible payment options
- How they shop for footwear
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- Figure 103: Spain: Purchasing of any footwear in last 12 months, 2019-21
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- Figure 104: Spain: How they shop for footwear, January 2021
- Where they shop for footwear
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- Figure 105: Spain: Where they shop for footwear, January 2021
- Specialists resonate more with female buyers
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- Figure 106: Spain: Where they shop for footwear, By gender, January 2021
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- Figure 107: Spain: Where they shop for footwear, by age, January 2021
- Amazon is most popular place to buy footwear followed by sports shops
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- Figure 108: Spain: Where they shop for footwear, January 2021
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- Figure 109: Spain: Where they shop for footwear by gender and age, January 2021
- Specialists need to up their game
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- Figure 110: Spain: Where they shop for footwear by net monthly household income, January 2021
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- Figure 111: Spain: Where they shop for footwear by age of children under 22 in household, January 2021
- Footwear shopping attitudes and behaviours
- Focus on value likely to increase
- COVID-19 dividend for sales of sports/exercise footwear
- Sizing tech would encourage purchasing online
- Returns must be simple and free
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- Figure 112: Spain: Attitudes to shopping for footwear, January 2021
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- Figure 113: Spain: Attitudes to shopping for footwear by demographics, January 2021
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- Figure 114: Spain: Attitudes to shopping for footwear, by how they shop, January 2021
UK
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- Overview
- Key issues covered in this Report
- COVID-19: market context
- Economic and other assumptions
- Products covered in this Report
- Executive Summary
- Impact of COVID-19 on footwear
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- Figure 115: Short, medium and long-term impact of COVID-19 on footwear, 4 March 2021
- The market
- Footwear market declined by 14% in 2020
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- Figure 116: Market size and forecast for footwear, 2015-25 (prepared on 31 March 2021)
- Specialists have taken a big hit in 2020
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- Figure 117: Estimated distribution of spending on footwear, by type of retailer, 2017-20
- Footfall across stores declined due to store closures
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- Figure 118: Year-on-year footfall change, by location, 2015-21
- Companies and brands
- Sports specialists gain share
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- Figure 119: Estimated market shares for top 10 retailers of footwear, by value, 2018-20
- Opportunities in direct mail advertising
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- Figure 120: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on footwear, by media type, 2019 and 2020
- Clarks is the most trustworthy brand while the rest fail to differentiate themselves
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- Figure 121: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, March 2021
- The consumer
- COVID-19 has caused many to be uncomfortable trying footwear on in-store
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- Figure 122: How comfortable people are doing the following activities during COVID-19, 10-19 November 2020
- Women’s seasonal and formal styles suffer
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- Figure 123: Styles of women’s footwear purchased, 2019-21
- Men turn to comfortable styles
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- Figure 124: Styles of men’s footwear purchased, 2019-21
- Disruption in schooling has contributed to declines in children’s footwear
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- Figure 125: Styles of children’s footwear purchased, 2019-21
- More shopped for footwear online than in-store
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- Figure 126: Channels used for footwear purchasing, May 2020 and February 2021
- Over two in five shoppers value familiarity
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- Figure 127: Factors prioritised when shopping for footwear, February 2021
- Pain points for shopping footwear online need to be lessened
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- Figure 128: Behaviours towards shopping for footwear online, February 2021
- Exclusive discounts would draw shoppers to one online retailer over another
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- Figure 129: Factors that help people choose a retailer when buying footwear online, February 2021
- Issues and Insights
- Life beyond the pandemic: what’s next for online footwear shopping?
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- Figure 130: Example of the new Instagram Shop option introduced at the start of the pandemic, 2020
- What does the future hold for formal footwear?
- The Market – Key Takeaways
- COVID-19 has led to 14% decline in footwear
- Sports specialists have gained share
- Footwear retailers must adapt to the move online
- Market Size and Forecast
- Short, medium and long-term impact on the footwear industry
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- Figure 131: Short, medium and long-term impact of COVID-19 on footwear, 4 March 2021
- COVID-19 has caused a 14% decline in footwear
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- Figure 132: Market size and forecast for footwear, 2015-25 (prepared on 31 March 2021)
- Figure 133: Market size for footwear, 2015-20
- Store closures have heavily impacted the market
- Share of the market by women’s, men’s and children’s footwear
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- Figure 134: UK footwear sales, segmented by market value and percentage share, 2015-20
- Figure 135: UK footwear sales, segmented by women’s, men’s and children’s, % share, 2018-20
- Market drivers and assumptions
- Learnings from the last recession
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- Figure 136: Value sales of footwear, 2007-12
- Figure 137: Consumer spending on footwear, 2007-12
- Forecast methodology
- Channels to Market
- Specialists have taken a big hit in 2020
- Sports retailers gain share
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- Figure 138: Estimated distribution of spending on footwear, by type of retailer, 2017-20
- Department store closures negatively affect specialist concessions
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- Figure 139: Estimated distribution of spending on footwear, by type of retailer, 2017-20
- Online sales have dominated
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- Figure 140: Estimated online sales of footwear, 2017-20
- Online distribution
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- Figure 141: Estimated distribution of online sales, 2017-20
- Market Drivers
- Number of people buying fashion items has declined
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- Figure 142: Trends in items respondents have purchased for themselves, December 2019 and December 2020
- Footwear experiences deflation
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- Figure 143: Annual changes in CPIH for footwear (including repairs), 2008-20
- Figure 144: Monthly year-on-year change in CPIH for footwear market, by category, 2020-21
- Footfall across stores declined due to store closures
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- Figure 145: Year-on-year footfall change, by location, 2015-21
- Reliance on online retail experiences sharp jump
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- Figure 146: Internet sales as a percentage of total retail sales, 2015-20
- Figure 147: Internet sales as a percentage of total retail sales, monthly, 2019-21
- Brexit deal causes confusion and delays
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- Figure 148: Economic outlook towards Brexit, February 2021
- Trainers are top purchased sportswear item…
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- Figure 149: Sportswear and outdoorwear categories purchased, 2018 and 2020
- …as more people started walking for leisure
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- Figure 150: Active adults taking part in sports or physical activity at least twice over a 28-day period, millions of people, mid-March-mid-May 2019 and 2020
- Companies and Brands – Key Takeaways
- Many struggling specialists have entered into CVAs
- Digital footwear innovations stand out
- Opportunities in direct mail advertising
- Leading Footwear Retailers
- Leading footwear retailers continue to see sales declines
- Clarks taken over by LionRock Capital
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- Figure 151: Leading footwear specialists: UK revenues, 2016-20
- Kurt Geiger puts expansion plans on hold
- Major retailers turn to CVAs or enter administration
- Dune sticks to formalwear and applies for CVA
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- Figure 152: Leading footwear specialists: UK outlet numbers, 2016-20
- LK Bennett extends administration and enters CVA
- Hotter enters CVA
- Soletrader restructures
- Aldo UK arm enters administration
- Sales per outlet
- Shoe Zone shakes up board and shuts stores
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- Figure 153: Leading footwear specialists: estimated UK sales per outlet, 2016-20
- Operating profit
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- Figure 154: Leading footwear specialists: UK operating profits, 2016-20
- Market Share
- Non-specialists gain share
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- Figure 155: Estimated market shares for top 10 retailers of footwear, by value, 2018-20
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- Figure 156: Estimated market shares for top 10 footwear retailers, by value, 2016-20
- Launch Activity and Innovation
- Fruit and veg footwear
- Tommy Hilfiger produces apple skin footwear
- Reebok releases shoes with vegetable soles
- Zèta Shoes launches footwear made of grape leather
- Shoes made from dog hair and mushrooms
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- Figure 157: Emilie Burfeind’s ‘Sneature’ combining trainers with nature, 2021
- Closing the loop
- Melissa closes the loop with upcycled shoes
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- Figure 158: Upcycled Melissa x Rombaut collaboration, 2021
- Biodegradable trainers that are home-compostable
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- Figure 159: The Voronoi runner fully biodegradable trainer, 2020
- Salomon designs 100% recyclable shoes
- Bottega Veneta unveils 100% biodegradable clog
- Footwear collaborations
- Cole Haan teams up with messaging platform Slack
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- Figure 160: Slack x Cole Haan trainers, 2020
- Allbirds collaborates with streetwear artist
- Birkenstock teams up with CSM graduates
- Veja and Rick Owens team up for sustainable trainers
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- Figure 161: Veja and Rick Owens’ latest collaboration, 2020
- Personalisation
- Draw your own Jimmy Choo’s
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- Figure 162: Examples of shoe sketches released by Jimmy Choo, 2020
- Luxury footwear brand Malone Souliers launches shoe design service
- Nike allows users to customise trainers via smartphone
- FAMZON offers customers customisable heels
- Experiential stores
- Foot Locker opens Singapore store with basketball court
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- Figure 163: Foot Locker’s new Singapore store, 2020
- Adidas’ new Soho store focuses on local creativity
- Virtual footwear
- Farfetch launches tool to try footwear on virtually
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- Figure 164: Trying on AZ Factory trainers using the Farfetch virtual try-on service, 2021
- JD partners with Sony to enable customers to measure feet online
- Buffalo London releases shoes that can only be worn virtually
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- Figure 165: Buffalo London x The Fabricant Classic BurningFor digital shoe, 2021
- Gucci releases digital trainers
- Efforts towards inclusivity
- Zappos trials single-shoe policy
- Nike launches hands-free shoes
- Advertising and Marketing Activity
- Total sector advertising spend plunges 26% year-on-year in 2020
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- Figure 166: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on footwear, 2017-20
- Stay-at-home rules drive down advertising spend on shoes and boots
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- Figure 167: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on footwear, by product category, 2017-20
- Digital accounts for the biggest share of sector advertising spend
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- Figure 168: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on footwear, by media type, 2019 and 2020
- adidas is the single biggest advertising spender
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- Figure 169: Total recorded above-the-line, online display and direct mail total advertising expenditure on footwear, by leading advertisers, 2017-20
- Sports footwear brands largely eschew TV advertising
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- Figure 170: Leading advertisers’ total recorded above-the-line, online display and direct mail total advertising expenditure on footwear, by media type, 2020
- Campaign highlights
- Skechers launches its biggest UK brand campaign to date
- JD Sports recruits all-star line-up for its Christmas campaign
- Dune focuses on its London roots with the help of X-Files star
- Clarks honours its iconic Desert Boot and Black creatives in separate campaigns
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- Figure 171: Clarks Originals x FANGIRL In Her Shoes campaign, 2021
- Hotter’s bold TV relaunch campaign
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
- Brand Research
- Brand map
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- Figure 172: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, March 2021
- Key brand metrics
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- Figure 173: Key metrics for selected brands, March 2021
- Brand attitudes: Clarks trustworthy and great customer service
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- Figure 174: Attitudes, by brand, March 2021
- Brand personality: Schuh and Footasylum are fun brands
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- Figure 175: Brand personality – Macro image, March 2021
- Brand personality: Russell & Bromley expensive
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- Figure 176: Brand personality – Micro image, March 2021
- Brand analysis
- Clarks trustworthy, reliable and highly recommended by those who have used the brand
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- Figure 177: User profile of Clarks, March 2021
- Footasylum fun, stylish and an excellent customer experience
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- Figure 178: User profile of Footasylum, March 2021
- Schuh fun and inexpensive
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- Figure 179: User profile of Schuh, March 2021
- Office considered somewhat untrustworthy and not a brand not worth paying more for
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- Figure 180: User profile of Office, March 2021
- Russell & Bromley exclusive, aspirational and expensive
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- Figure 181: User profile of Russell & Bromley, March 2021
- Hotter Shoes functional, but somewhat innovative
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- Figure 182: User profile of Hotter Shoes, March 2021
- Aldo inexpensive, but untrustworthy
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- Figure 183: User profile of Aldo, March 2021
- Reading word clouds
- The Consumer – Key Takeaways
- COVID-19 has presented issues for seasonal footwear
- The rise in online shopping has made Amazon more of a threat
- Shoppers now wait for sales before purchasing
- Impact of COVID-19 on Consumer Behaviour
- People are cutting back on non-essential spend…
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- Figure 184: Changes in habits since the start of COVID-19, by gender, 4-12 March 2021
- …as savings have declined
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- Figure 185: Changes in levels of savings since the start of COVID-19, by gender, 4-12 March 2021
- Fewer people are buying fashion items
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- Figure 186: Changes in spending habits since the start of COVID-19, 4-12 March 2021
- Online shopping has increased
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- Figure 187: People shopping more online since COVID-19, 16 April-12 March 2021
- People have been reluctant to try product on in-store
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- Figure 188: How comfortable people are doing the following activities during COVID-19, 10-19 November 2020
- Two in five do not expect to be taking a holiday in 2021
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- Figure 189: Holiday booking intentions for 2021, 4-12 March 2021
- Types of Footwear Bought
- Footwear purchasing continues to decline
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- Figure 190: Number of people who purchased footwear, across categories, 2019-21
- Women’s seasonal and formal styles suffer
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- Figure 191: Styles of women’s footwear purchased, 2019-21
- Men turn to comfortable styles
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- Figure 192: Styles of men’s footwear purchased, 2019-21
- Trends towards casual office attire will damage the formal market
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- Figure 193: Men’s formal footwear purchased, by employment status, 2019-21
- People increasingly likely to buy just one style of footwear
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- Figure 194: Repertoire of styles purchased, by gender, 2019-21
- Types of Children’s Footwear Bought
- Disruption in schooling has contributed to declines
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- Figure 195: Styles of children’s footwear purchased, 2019-21
- Children’s footwear purchasing spread fairly equally across genders
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- Figure 196: Styles of children’s footwear purchased, by gender of purchaser, February 2021
- Those with young children likely to purchase several styles
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- Figure 197: Repertoire of children’s footwear purchased, by age of children in household, February 2021
- Where Footwear Is Bought
- More shopped for footwear online than in-store
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- Figure 198: Channels used for footwear purchasing, May 2020 and February 2021
- Fewer young people are shopping via laptops
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- Figure 199: Online channels used for footwear purchasing, by age, February 2021
- Online-only retailers show growth in customers
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- Figure 200: Types of retailer footwear was purchased from, 2019-21
- Younger shoppers tend to prefer clothing or sports specialists
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- Figure 201: Types of retailer footwear was purchased from, by age, February 2021
- Amazon is now the most popular footwear retailer…
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- Figure 202: Retailers footwear has been purchased from, 2019-21
- …and alongside ASOS picked up the most shoppers since 2020
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- Figure 203: Percentage point change in retailers used for purchasing footwear between 2020 and 2021
- Younger shoppers are less loyal to one retailer
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- Figure 204: Repertoire of retailers used for footwear, by age, February 2021
- Priorities for Footwear Shoppers
- Over two in five shoppers value familiarity…
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- Figure 205: Factors prioritised when shopping for footwear, February 2021
- …with older shoppers particularly susceptible
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- Figure 206: Factors prioritised when shopping for footwear, by age, February 2021
- Behaviours towards Footwear
- Pain points for shopping footwear online can be lessened
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- Figure 207: Behaviours towards shopping for footwear online, February 2021
- Shoppers now wait for sales before making purchases
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- Figure 208: Behaviours towards discounted footwear, February 2021
- While many put off buying footwear, others invested in practical pieces
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- Figure 209: Behaviours towards footwear during COVID-19, February 2021
- CHAID Analysis
- Parents and those buying shoes from clothing stores want sizing advice
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- Figure 210: Footwear Retailing – CHAID – Tree output, February 2021
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- Figure 211: Footwear Retailing – CHAID – Table output, February 2021
- Important Factors when Choosing an Online Retailer
- Exclusive discounts pique shoppers’ interests
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- Figure 212: Factors that help people choose a retailer when buying footwear online, February 2021
- One in five of those aged 16-24 want to try footwear on virtually
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- Figure 213: Factors that help people choose a retailer when buying footwear online, by age, February 2021
- Young parents more likely to rely on discounts and pay-later schemes
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- Figure 214: Prioritising discounts and the ability to use pay-later schemes when shopping online, by age of children in household, February 2021
- Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Forecast methodology
- Footwear forecast
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- Figure 215: Market size and forecast for footwear, 2015-25
- Figure 216: Forecast consumer spending on footwear, 2020-25
Appendix – Data sources and abbreviations
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- Abbreviations
- Data sources
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