Bags / Shoes & Accessories

According to the observation report of Huacheng Import and Export Data, in 2021, footwear expenditure surged by nearly 30%, reaching a record high of US $100.7 billion. However, due to inflation and other economic problems in 2022, the frequency, brand and channel of American consumers to buy shoes will change dramatically.

According to a report released by AlixPartners, a global consulting company, a survey of more than 1000 American adults found that inflation caused 43% of women and 30% of men to delay buying new shoes, while only 15% of women and 25% of men said they were not affected by inflation.

At different age levels, the proportion of consumers who delayed buying shoes due to inflationary pressure was:

・ 18-24 years old: 37%

・ 25-34 years old: 32%

・ 35-44 years old: 35%

・ 45-54 years old: 41%

・ 55-64 years old: 48%

・ 65 years old and above: 54%

Most consumers consider cost more than brand loyalty when buying shoes. In order to save costs, 60% of consumers said they would look for new footwear brands, and 80% said they would change retail channels.

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, 52% of women and 43% of men in the sports shoes segment said they would change their purchase channels to find more favorable prices. For non-sports shoes, "online purchase+door-to-door delivery", "online purchase+roadside pickup" and "comfortable wearing" are the three main reasons why consumers choose to buy new brands.

The purchase channels of shoes vary according to the age of consumers. 77% of the respondents have chosen to buy shoes in physical stores in the past 12 months. Wal Mart, Nike and Adidas are the three mainstream choices for people to buy sports shoes in physical stores. Famous Footwear ranks the fifth in the list of classic Macy's and DSW. Compared with last year's survey, Nike and Wal Mart saw the biggest increase in purchase popularity, with 14% and 13% respectively. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation reported.

However, 56% of respondents said they would also buy shoes online, up 20% from last year. Among them, Amazon was the primary online shopping channel for 66% of the respondents, up 15% year on year. Nike, Adidas, Wal Mart and DSW ranked among the top five online shoe retail channels. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation reported.

39% of respondents aged 55 to 64 and 43% of respondents aged 64 and above said that online shopping was the main reason for their preference for shopping convenience, while for 35% of respondents aged 18 to 24 and 39% of respondents aged 45 to 54, the main reason for online shopping was for more product choices. In addition, 89% of online consumers want free delivery and free return services.

Other recent consumer surveys have also drawn similar trends. A survey conducted by PowerReviews in the summer of 2022 found that 74% of footwear expenditure occurred online. According to the data of Morning Consult, 85% of American respondents said that rising inflation had changed their shopping habits; 62% of respondents worry that inflation will lead to higher prices of clothing and footwear products.

Today, "digital priority" has become the mainstream trend of retail development, which also means that in order to improve the transformation, sellers must learn to think and act in a digital way, pay attention to controlling production and transportation costs, improve the flexibility of supply chain and operation, and attract more consumers.