Until the COVID-19 pandemic hit, spending on footwear in Spain was broadly static. The economy has suffered a great deal from the outbreak exacerbating already high levels of unemployment, especially among young people and this means that large sections of the population will be increasingly price-, value- and discount-oriented, making it hard for retailers to drive up average selling prices.
Spanish specialist clothing and footwear specialists are seeing their share of all retail sales fall. As a group, selling what is in large part a discretionary product, they will be more severely affected than all retail. Competition from non-specialists is also fierce, for example, from sports shops, clothing retailers and online-only retailers, which have been more effective in identifying and fulfilling growing demand for casual footwear, such as trainers/sneakers.
Nonetheless, we believe there are opportunities for specialists to regain some of the ground they have ceded. In order to compete more effectively, they must improve both their product offer and their service, to give Spanish footwear shoppers a reason to visit either their physical or digital stores. They could also look to enhance their digital footprint and leverage the power of technology to create a smooth online experience and keep customers engaged.
Key issues covered in this report
The impact of COVID-19 on the footwear retailing sector
Channels used for buying footwear
Which retailers and outlet types people buy footwear from
The strategies of the major specialist footwear retailers and their online presence
Opportunities for growth for specialist footwear retailers.
Areas covered in this Report
This report covers the footwear market in Spain, with a focus on footwear specialists.
The report does not cover non-specialists, such as department stores, in detail although these are covered briefly in the Channels of Distribution section and also in our consumer research.
The report combines analysis of the market in Spain, including market sizes, specialists’ sales and forecasts, along with our in-depth consumer data, which analyses shoppers’ behaviour.
For the consumer research we asked questions on the following topics:
How consumers had shopped for footwear, in-store or online
Which retailers had been used for footwear shopping, in-store and online
Agreement with a variety of attitude/behaviour statements towards shopping for footwear
For the purpose of this report, Mintel has used the following definitions:
Consumer spending: The total amount spent by Spanish households (including sales tax) through all retail channels – both specialist and non-specialist. This covers all footwear categories, including trainers, but excludes game specific footwear (e.g. football boots, ski-boots) and orthopaedic footwear.
Retail sales: total sales of all types of footwear (excluding sales tax) via stores and directly to the consumer by specialist retailers of footwear. It includes online sales of these retailers where the majority of sales are in bricks and mortar outlets.
